Beacon's curriculum takes advantage of the newly developed skills and abilities of young adolescents. Beacon's Middle School creates new academic and social connections between students, teachers, curriculum and life experiences.

Beacon offers an academically rigorous, skill building, project-based, interdisciplinary curriculum that is flexible enough to meet each student at his or her individual level of readiness.

Three times per year a conference brings parent, student and teacher together to review progress and identify the next set of educational goals.

Core Courses at Beacon are taught in blocks. Block scheduling allows enough class time for multiple learning activities with extensive supervised practice. Core teachers use a team approach to teaching language arts and social studies. Language arts includes the skills of written and verbal communication; interpretation of communication and texts; reading for pleasure, information, research and reporting. Social studies covers the skills of history, geography, demographics, economics, sociology, and civics.

Beacon's Mathematics and Science courses build core skills with broad organization of content and skills competency requirements. The Mathematics program covers arithmetic, prealgebra, and algebra, statistics and probability; calculation, computation and practical (life-skill) applications; as well as related computer database programming. In Science students develop the skills of scientific methods, laboratory procedures, measurement, computer literacy, data compilation and problem solving.

Arts Infusion coordinates the teaching of expressive skills with the integration of the arts into the core curriculum. Middle School students gain confidence from arts immersion as they assess their work, plan the next step, take risks and reassess an essential life-skill.

Technology Lab experiences develop mastery of hardware and software skills while teaching critical analysis, organization and presentation of information.

Exploratories are classes of shorter duration that stimulate or build upon interest, talent, leadership skill and inquiry. Mini-courses may include arts, student publications, study skills, teen life, student government and community awareness.

Physical Education and after school team sports address issues of adolescent health, development of large motor skills and team building.

Beacon's Extended Year (September through mid-July), along with block scheduling, creates more instructional time for teachers and more time on task for students. This provides the space to teach and learn in multiple ways and in greater depth.

The Life Experiences Program is based on EPIC (Every Person Influences Children), a self-esteem program for students, parents and teachers that was primarily authored by Beacon's founder, Thelma Farley. EPIC is currently being used in schools nation-wide.

The Advisory Program which meets twice a week is set aside for small groups of students from different grade levels to explore topics of mutual interest or get individual support centered around social growth. Each student has an advisor to act as his or her advocate during all three years in middle school.

Successful Learning
Beacon's graduates routinely achieve standardized test results which are significantly above grade level and rank in the highest percentiles nationwide. Our graduates go on to high schools which maintain the highest academic standards where they adjust easily with the vast majority making the honor roll or winning other accolades.

Beacon students are recognized as confident, highly motivated and productive contributors who have a love of learning and are effective at doing so.

A Middle School Week
Outlined below is an example of a typical middle school week schedule. Classroom instruction begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 3:00 p.m. Extended care is offered before school from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and after school from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.