Our Approach

Most elementary schools don’t look the way we remember them. Recess and lunchtime are shorter. Rigorous academics are introduced much earlier. Children are required to sit for lengths of time that don’t always make sense.

The after school hours aren’t much better. Increased homework and the earlier introduction of focused sports have left little time for children to enjoy the freedom of playing in the neighborhood, running from yard to yard.

Electronics have disconnected our kids. Often introduced with good intentions, electronics are filling even the smallest gaps between school, activities, and homework. Instead of noticing the world around them, kids are plugged into devices, missing opportunities for simple noticing.

By the time children arrive at middle school, many are over-scheduled, under-connected, stressed, and confused. They often have large gaps in their social, emotional, and organizational skills- right when the expectation for maturity and independence intensifies.

The result? Lost, anxious kids.

The Accord School firmly presses the pause button. We pause unrealistic expectations, social pressure, electronic saturation and the “culture of mean.”

We purposely teach the skills that the world just expects middle schoolers to know- and we do it with kindness, grace, and a terrific sense of humor.

We focus on building critical life skills across three years:

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Year One:

  • Emotional Awareness and Regulation

  • Personal Responsibility and Self Management

  • Academic Awareness, Individual Strengths and Weaknesses

  • Self Esteem

Year Two:

  • Social Thinking and Relationship Building

  • Discomfort Tolerance

  • Resilience

  • Personal and Academic Accountability

  • Work Ethic

Year Three:

  • Academic Independence

  • Ownership of Responsibility

  • Meaningful Community Involvement

  • Using Talents to Serve Others

While experiences vary between students, most stay at The Accord School for three or four years. Once skills are solidly in place and confidence is soaring, students are ready, with the support of their families and The Accord School, to launch into the larger academic world.