8th Grade Experience

In 8th Grade, the focus shifts toward encouraging students to think outside themselves and their school community and develop their understanding of their larger urban community and ability to affect change. In preparing students to transition to the Upper School, we build their sense of agency through the following essential questions:

• How do I function as a larger community, city, and society member?

• How do I understand the world, and how can I affect change within it?

• What skills will I need to be both an independent learner and a leader of positive change in the future?

8th Grade programming includes:

• As part of an end-of-year capstone project, each 8th Grade advisory partners with a non-profit organization to answer the essential question: how can we positively impact our communities? Each advisory works with an alum currently employed by that organization to see how the ECFS experience has impacted their professional trajectory and desire to give back to the greater community. Advisory groups meet with their alumni liaison either in person, on campus, and/or on Zoom, culminating with a mini-documentary highlighting their findings.

• Students also spend a day working with a local service organization in the city. In preparation for the types of opportunities they will have in the Upper School, students learn how service organizations benefit communities.

• Students are simultaneously presented with greater academic rigor and greater academic freedom with regard to elective choices. Skills such as organization, time management, and self-advocacy continue to be reinforced through programs such as advisory.  

• Students participate in end-of-year events that prepare them for the transition to Upper School and highlight the importance of traditions in celebrating accomplishments and maintaining community.