Lower, middle, and upper divisions often have their own approaches for delivering instruction, relating to students, offering extracurricular experiences, and structuring the time between the start and end of the school day. In each division we have to think about students, teachers, and curriculum. What practices and beliefs should span all three divisions, and which should be modified to best suit the needs and mission of each division?
We often talk about faculty culture as it applies to an institution, but the reality is that if your school has more than one division, those divisions have subcultures within themselves. Some elements carry across divisions, some are division-faculty specific.
How do the cultures differ? Much revolves around the developmental stages of the students. Here are just a few characteristics:
Lower School
- Homeroom-based, with a tight connection between the student and the teacher
- Developmentally, much larger differences among the students based on age than any other division
- Teachers are more child-focused than content-focused (content remains important, of course)
- The schedule is highly flexible, since one teacher, primarily, is paired with one classroom of students, allowing for fluidity
Middle School
- This is a bridge, incorporating elements of the lower school and the upper school experience
- Students face the biggest transition emotionally and physically of childhood (the hormones kick in, growth spurts, emotional upheaval …)
- Teachers are still highly student-centered, but content-oriented as well
- Teachers love the challenge of working with kids in this stage of their development
- Ideally, the middle school can employ a teaming process, meaning one group of students is teamed with one group of teachers (if the staff/school is large enough to make this work)
Upper School
- Students have developed, and continue to develop, a greater level of maturity and focus, as they identify the areas that interest them
- The schedule is more complex—students have more freedom to explore their strengths and interests
- Teachers are highly content-oriented but must adapt to student needs
- Teachers think more about their own disciplines—cooperation among teachers in all the academic disciplines can be difficult
If your school is only one division, you may be less sensitive to these differences since you don’t “see” other divisions every day. But if you are part of a multidivision school, it’s essential that you understand the differences between all the “worlds” to help your school function as a single unit, not as a place of disjointed parts. Understand where your students are and who they are, and where they will be going next as they mature and rise to the next level.
More Resources for Consortium Gold Members
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 36 No. 2 Understanding Faculty Culture Differences Across School Divisions
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 34 No. 13 The 21st Century School: Teaching Time
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 32 No. 15 Portrait of the Graduate—Moving from Division to Division
