Welcome

Middle School Mission

The Bancroft Middle School strives to develop confident learners who are well prepared to address the challenges in our Upper School and in life.  In a safe, rigorous, and experiential learning environment, dedicated teachers promote independent organizational skills and manage each student’s transition to more abstract and inferential thinking. Students are steeped in a culture of compassion and respect. Through our community service program and a curriculum that celebrates world cultures, they learn to think beyond themselves and to embrace their roles as global citizens.

The faculty and I hope that you enjoy your virtual tour of our facilities and program. We take great pride in our rigorous interdisciplinary academic program as well as our ability to "develop the whole child." At Bancroft, "developing the whole child" means providing numerous opportunities for students to grow intellectually, artistically, athletically, socially, and emotionally.

Our Advisory program links students with a faculty member who is responsible for monitoring the academic, social and emotional development of their advisees. Advisory groups meet for one class period and one lunch each week, plus a daily homeroom period, to address a variety of character education themes. Each year the seventh grade students make a trip to the Sargent Center to further develop their problem solving skills with their advisory groups.

We also take pride in the level of support that we provide to students. While 60% of our students are Johns Hopkins qualified Talented Youth Scholars, all students need support to ensure that they are developing the skills that will sustain them in our demanding Upper School Program. Our Flex periods are designed to allow students to have one-on-one support from their teachers. Each grade has a dedicated team of teachers who meet for two and a half hours every cycle to discuss student progress and review their programs. We also have a learning specialist who assists students with their study skills. Look at our schedule to see the different ways that we support students, and to clarify our terminology, you may want to explore our schedule definitions page.

Our Arts program provides every student with experiences in drama, music, and two and three-dimensional visual art. The goals of our Art program are to provide every student with a broad range of artistic experiences and to develop the skills of every student.

Our Community Service program allows our Middle School students to put down their books and move out into the community to support our neighbors. We also live out community service on a regular basis through our activity program and our various service-based learning initiatives.

The Physical Education program places an emphasis on techniques, skills, precision, performance and participation. Students are involved in team sports and activities where rules, sportsmanship and positive peer interactions are emphasized. Our "Adventure" program takes advantage of the School’s high ropes course to build group problem solving skills.

Our program would be merely rhetoric if it were not for our outstanding faculty. They are the ones who bring our program to life every day. They are a committed and professional group who genuinely understand the developmental stages of Middle School students. They are constantly making minor changes in their programs to ensure that they are providing the best educational experience for their students.

Again, we hope that you enjoy your virtual tour of our Middle School. We are committed to ensuring the success of every student. Truly, "the good stuff is in the middle."

Roger Jones
Head of Middle School