What grades does BHS serve? How do you meet the specific needs of middle-school students?

Currently, BHS includes grades 5th through 8th. 

Throughout the United States, middle schools are often a division within a larger school, especially for independent schools or smaller public school districts.  For example, schools are typically Pre-K through 8, 6 through 12 or Pre-K through 12.  Therefore, resources, vision, expertise, and focus are split amongst the different divisions.

At The Beech Hill School, our focus, attention, and expertise is entirely devoted to the middle school experience.  Thus, everything at BHS - our hiring, our professional development, our mission – is guided by and designed around the needs of middle school students.  While many public schools establish unique middle schools, they are still part of a larger administrative unit and/or are much larger in scale.  Our teachers and administrators are experts in early adolescence.  Small class sizes and strong advisor/advisee relationships allow our program to be developed and implemented with precision, care, and purpose.

The Beech Hill experience is designed to meet the unique needs of middle school students as they navigate the many cognitive, social, physical, and emotional changes and challenges of early adolescence.  Cognitively, middle school students bounce around a continuum from concrete to abstract thought as they learn new material, make connections and begin to appreciate their impact and relationship with the world outside of themselves.  At BHS our teachers are acutely aware of where each student is on that continuum of thought and help to foster more abstract reasoning and perspective.

The middle school years can be a time of uncertainty for parents as well. BHS is committed to supporting the needs of our parents through regular round-table community conversations, and open and direct communication between faculty and parents.  When a child is enrolled at BHS the family becomes a part of a supportive, inclusive community where we work together to foster and celebrate the lives of middle school students.

What is the vision of The Beech Hill School?

The Beech Hill School is proud to focus exclusively on the developmental needs and challenges of middle school aged students.  Every aspect of our community - size, curriculum, schedule and faculty - supports the specific needs of middle schoolers.

At the Beech Hill School, we believe that middle school students thrive in communities where their strengths are celebrated and they are individually challenged on a moment-to-moment basis.

The vision of The Beech Hill School is to develop intellectually curious and capable young adults who will become contributing citizens and informed decision-makers.

What is the mission of The Beech Hill School?

The Beech Hill School is proud to focus exclusively on the developmental needs and challenges of middle school aged students.  Every aspect of our community - size, curriculum, schedule and faculty - supports the specific needs of middle schoolers.

At the Beech Hill School, we believe that middle school students thrive in communities where their strengths are celebrated and they are individually challenged on a moment-to-moment basis.

The Beech Hill School is

• Creating a safe, nurturing and enriching learning environment;
• Balancing a traditional, rigorous academic curriculum with a rich extracurricular program;
• Utilizing a progressive, student-centered pedagogy;
• Valuing and implementing meaningful assessment which guides instruction;
• Embracing appropriate technology;
• Expecting both students and faculty to be members of a collaborative learning community guided by shared purpose;
• Endeavoring to extend learning beyond the classroom;
• Being governed by an Honor Code, dependent on respect, responsibility, integrity, and honesty;
• Attracting, hiring, retaining, and developing exemplary teachers;
• Supporting, encouraging, and expecting faculty to learn and grow in their own discipline and teaching practice;
• Building a strong family-school partnership;
• Celebrating differences and achievements; and
• Learning from, and persevering through, setbacks.

Why does a faculty member choose to work at BHS, where do faculty come from, and what qualifications are required of new faculty?

The strength of any school is tied tightly to the quality of its teachers.  At The Beech Hill School, we take great pride in our teaching faculty, and provide them the autonomy, support, and community that make this school an ideal place to teach.  When hiring, we do not limit our searches geographically, and as a result have a teaching staff that has lived and worked in schools throughout the United States.

Faculty at The Beech Hill School must have a passion for teaching, learning, and life.  While our faculty are required to have at least a bachelor’s degree, most have advanced degrees.  In fact, 83% of our faculty has advanced degrees in education or a field related to their specific teaching discipline.  Educators at The Beech Hill School must not only have mastered the content they teach, but they must also share in the beliefs that:

• Middle School is critical for future achievement
• Teaching and Learning is a human endeavor
• Learning is a lifelong process
• A sound community is essential to learning

Finally, at BHS each faculty is a committed and experienced middle school educator.  With a keen understanding for the balance of setting boundaries and providing structure while allowing students the freedom to explore and express themselves, the BHS faculty strive to meet the specific needs of our middle school aged population.  Ever available for counsel and yet always respectful of student space, students at BHS find the faculty to be accessible, supportive and respectful.  Finally, BHS faculty are committed to presenting attainable and safe challenges to our students on a daily basis – thus providing an environment where young adolescent students may take safe and calculated risks.  At BHS our faculty provide a high ceiling of achievement balanced by a soft landing for struggles and failures.

What does "rigor" mean at The Beech Hill School?

One of the most important reasons that families choose a Beech Hill School education is its steadfast commitment to providing a rigorous and diverse education within the class day; from 8:30 – 3:10.  As such, we have developed a uniquely rich class schedule and curriculum.  At BHS, we define "rigor" in the following ways:

• Rigor means gauging each student’s progress and asking if it is in keeping with his/her ability.

• Rigor means emphasizing depth over breadth and focusing on skill development rather than content memorization.

• Rigor means high expectations of work quality and effort.

• Rigor means challenging students to make connections and think more broadly, guiding them to more abstract thought.

• Rigor means students who are actively engaged and developing their own ability to self-assess.

• Rigor means the integration of curriculum across disciplines and the opportunity to explore new and exciting courses through an extensive elective program.

How does The Beech Hill School support student's extra-curricular interests and commitments not associated with the school?

Middle school students have an abundance of opportunities to engage in community programming, like sport teams, Scouting, music lessons, art lessons, and other specialized programming.  We want our students to maintain a connection with the communities in which they live and to participate in activities at levels that are appropriate.  The Beech Hill School supports and encourages students to continue participating in their extra-curricular activities.  As such, many of our students are able to compete at very high levels in sports like hockey, equestrian and skiing or to follow their passion for music or the arts at the highest levels.  At times, this commitment may require travel and missed classes.  The Beech Hill School is uniquely qualified to serve students in this situation, as our advising system, comprehensive communication, and individual attention makes it possible for students to keep pace.

How does BHS teach study skills?

The Beech Hill School creates a foundation for achievement within its students.  Thus, we need to prepare our students to be adaptable, self-aware, and resilient.  How they learn is as important as the content they cover.  All students meet in a specifically designed Skills class three times a week to focus exclusively on the development of study, life, and leadership skills that support successful lifelong learning.  The Beech Hill School communicates regularly with leaders in secondary schools to better understand the skills required beyond middle school , and we modify our Skills curriculum accordingly to be sure our students are equipped with the skills required for success in secondary school and beyond.

In addition to Skills Class, all Beech Hill students have multiple study halls per week.  During this period, students learn to make productive use of their time.  Students have the opportunity to work with teachers for extra help and to work collaboratively with classmates on projects.

How does BHS help with secondary school placement?

We support the aspirations of our students to explore options for high school, including local public high schools and independent schools.  Many of our students choose to apply to independent secondary schools.

Toward the end of a student's seventh grade year, his/her family will begin working with the BHS faculty to help find the best secondary school program to complement the student's academic strengths and weaknesses and his/her extra-curricular interests.  BHS students have the opportunity to meet with a variety of secondary schools that come and visit with the students; this helps BHS students understand the great variety of school choice available to them for high school.

Working with our Head of School, BHS students have mock-interviews, review essays, and prepare for their school visits.  In addition, BHS parents have the full support and guidance of the BHS faculty as they traverse the secondary school search.

Where do BHS students go for high school?

BHS students matriculate to various public and independent schools.  After the rigors and preparation of BHS, most students attending their public high school will be eligible to enroll in honors or advanced classes levels classes.  BHS administrators work with families to support the desire to enroll in accelerated classes and will partner with the high school to help correctly place a student in courses.  

Many BHS students elect to attend an independent secondary school.  These schools are eager to welcome BHS students to their communities.  Over the past three years, our eighth grade students have been admitted to The Holderness School, Brewster Academy, Linden Hall School, Proctor Academy, St. Paul's School, The Derryfield School, The Tilton School, and Bishop Brady High School.

The Beech Hill School is committed to small class size. Why?

Compelling evidence and research substantiates the value of small class size in learning outcomes. The Beech Hill School is committed to maintaining classes of roughly 12 students or less.  Our short term growth strategy, approved by our Board of Directors, has established admission goals of roughly 36 students, equivalent to one class of 12 students in each grade.  

Although much has been made of the positive effects of small class size, the effects are substantially greater when a small class size is part of a small community.  Many schools, both public and independent, boast small class sizes.  However, the effect of these is limited when the school community is too large.  At BHS, we are committed to small class sizes within a small school community.  Thus, in the long term, BHS will have a maximum capacity of about 85 students.  The results of a student attending a small school are important, particularly during a developmental time when students are often exploring their own self-identity.

"As students move through the middle grades, they do better in a more personalized learning environment where their teachers know them well," said Nancy Ames, Education Development Center Vice President and a member of the National Forum's* policy committee which helped draft the statement. “It's a concept that makes common sense. If all of your teachers know your full name and something about you, chances are you won't slip through the cracks," Ames said.

At BHS everyone in the community knows each student.  Each BHS student’s strengths are celebrated and weaknesses are supported.  BHS students learn to work together and to appreciate the differing strengths and weaknesses of their cohorts.  At a time in a child’s development when many students question who they are and who they will become, The Beech Hill School provides a community where each voice is heard, each opinion valued, each success celebrated, and each failure supported.

* The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform is an alliance of educators, researchers, national associations, and officers of professional organizations and foundations, dedicated to improving education in the middle grades.