Welcome to Middle School

At Stratford, our teachers and students cherish these special years between the Lower School and the Upper School. We provide an environment that meets students where they are while encouraging and celebrating their development into young men and women.

We know from research and personal experience that a child’s time in middle school are some of their most developmentally formative years. With this understanding, we seek to encourage our students to both enjoy and employ their natural enthusiasm, curiosity and passion in the classroom and beyond. Our teachers are not only experts in their respective fields, they are experts at understanding this age group. They work tirelessly to create classroom experiences that match our students’ energy, and their efforts result in a rigorous and colorful curriculum that students embrace and genuinely appreciate. Additionally, all teachers participate in a Tutorial program after school where they remain in their classrooms for students to seek additional help.  

Since middle school is also a time for exploration, Stratford offers vibrant programs in the arts, music, technology and athletics. During this time, we encourage students to seek out their passions while maintaining the crucial balance of fun and time to enjoy friendships. While academics are important and remain our primary priority, we believe the middle school years should be filled with opportunity for social and emotional growth, too. Our middle school faculty and our counseling staff work together to promote a culture of caring and respect. Special speakers and meaningful programs like Girl Talk seek to make students more aware of their own emotional well-being and that of their peers. Teachers and administrators strive to teach empathy by modeling healthy and respectful relationships with students, parents, and colleagues.

We also believe the Stratford Academy Middle School is the optimal size—large enough to field a full array of opportunities but with small class sizes to foster a nurturing environment for every individual. Make no mistake about our program: every student is known and every student is loved. The faculty and staff stand committed to carefully guiding each student on his or her own path towards independence. The journey into older adolescence and adulthood begins in middle school. Our goal is to make that journey as productive, inspirational, stimulating, and soul-growing as our time together in the middle school will allow.