Creating Habits for Success

SJCA understands that the skills and habits developed in middle school are not only indicators of high school achievement, but also directly impact college success. Thus, the SJCA Middle School focuses not just on the academic skills necessary for future success, but also on the specific habits that lead to independent, purposeful learning.

Middle school is an exciting time at SJCA, with new challenges and opportunities. Students begin to take responsibility for their educational experiences. Most importantly, middle school is a gateway, creating the habits that will lead our students toward high school and college success.

In our nurturing middle school environment, subjects become departmentalized and students move from class to class. Small class sizes ease the transition from elementary school. As the workload increases gradually from 6th to 8th grade, our students begin to take responsibility for their educational experiences.

In a typical, non-pandemic year, SJCA middle school students:
  • Benefit from our sequential curriculum aligned with SJCA High School.
  • Learn time-management skills and independent study habits.
  • Experiment in science labs.
  • Write essays, poetry and novels.
  • Explore college and career opportunities through Naviance.
  • Receive individualized academic support.
  • Earn high school placement for math classes taken.
  • Develop a depth and breadth of technology skills through our 1-to-1 laptop program.
  • Enjoy a myriad of opportunities from band, Wednesday clubs, student government, and athletics.