Programs 
Adolescent Program
Annie Frazer, Adolescent Program Director
Arbor Adolescent Program is a leader in the field of Adolescent Education. In fact. we are one of only two middle schools in the Atlanta area that base their curriculum on the Montessori philosophy. According to the Carnegie Foundation, a middle school “should be a place where close, trusting relationships with adults and peers create a climate for students' personal growth and intellectual development.” The Foundation suggests a small “one-house” school to eliminate fragmented learning and to encourage opportunities for teachers to develop “sustained personal relationships with students. “ Arbor teachers act as coaches for project-based learning in each subject area and each child has a teacher as his or her advisor throughout the program. The small class size, one-room school, and access to teachers all help to keep Arbor on the cutting edge of adolescent education.
Arbor’s adolescent program offers a challenging curriculum in an environment that is conducive to the academic, personal, and social needs of 12 to 14 year olds. The program is based on Maria Montessori’s directive to educate the “whole child.”
Arbor delights in the special challenge of educating adolescents. We welcome applications from graduates of other Montessori elementary programs and from students with no previous Montessori experience.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPLETING THE CYCLE
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We hope that every child who enters Arbor will remain to complete our adolescent program. The Montessori curriculum is designed to correspond with the child's natural planes of development. Rather than impose an artificial one-year cycle of learning, Montessori establishes a curriculum that comes to closure at ages 6, 12, and 14—times when the child is ending one stage of development and entering another. In the last year of each of these cycles all the materials and exercises of the earlier years bear fruit.
Arbor students look ahead to the ends of these cycles. The four-year-old longs to become an afternoon child; the elementary child looks forward to his or her sixth year; the sixth year student eagerly anticipates middle school, and the 8th grader is ready for high school. It's not just the new lunchbox and longer day, not just the trip to Cumberland Island or the graduation ceremony to which these children look forward. They are aware of their older classmates' maturity and mastery. They sense the ripening of their own academic skills and look forward to taking their turn as class leaders. We believe that each child deserves and benefits from the opportunity to complete these cycles.
A YOUNG ADOLESCENT IS SOMEONE IN SEARCH OF…
Responsibility.Adolescents are anxious to contribute in a meaningful way. In the adolescent program at Arbor, students have many opportunities to experience the responsibilities of leadership and of making choices within a loving, supportive environment.
Knowledge. With their expanding capacity for abstraction and critical thought, adolescents are highly creative thinkers and learners. Our interdisciplinary project-based approach supports flexible thinking and a personal connection to what students are learning.
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Connection. Adolescents long to feel a sense of belonging within their peer group. Arbor's adolescent program classroom is a unique place where the concepts of acceptance and belonging are discussed and where each student agrees to take responsibility for creating a place where everyone feels welcome and valued.
Self. At Arbor, we seek to bring forth what we call the noble adolescent. We believe that by calling to the adolescent’s highest self, by respecting and honoring each student’s differences and complexities, we create fertile ground for his or her individual growth.
ARBOR MIDDLE SCHOOL’S UNIQUE APPROACH TO LEARNING
In order to accommodate a wide range of interests and learning styles, teachers vary their techniques in the classroom; lectures, seminars, group learning, and hands-on activities are all employed to target different types of learners. In this way, teachers can expect students to be fully engaged in their learning. In the adolescent program, students demonstrate their mastery of material thorough various methods: quizzes and tests, book reports, oral presentations, group work, visual projects, demonstrations, and labs.
EVALUATION OF STUDENTS
In measuring student progress Arbor, emphasizes formative evaluation. Our goal is to help students identify their individual strengths and weaknesses as they assess their progress. Standardized tests supplement our own measurements of student achievement. In addition to grades combined with written evaluations, parent-teacher-student conferences are held twice a year. Arbor carefully prepares students for a smooth transition to public, private or parochial high schools. Our teachers work closely with parents, students and other schools to assure proper placement of our graduates in their new academic communities.
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Spanish is an enriching part of the middle school curriculum, ensuring students a solid foundation in this language before entering high school. Each member of the adolescent program has the chance to become part of Phoenix athletics; there are no try-outs for our girls and boys basketball, cross country and track teams. There are opportunities for participation on the debate team, and many chances for creative expression in our art and music classes. Each spring the students direct, choreograph, create sets and lighting, and act in a dramatic production.
“It is the education of adolescents that is important, because adolescence is the time when the child enters on the state of adulthood and becomes a member of society.”
--Maria Montessori