Skip To Main Content

Header Desktop

Header Interior

Sticky Header

Landing Nav

Grades 6-8

 

 

Middle School

Our Middle School program is the capstone of the Villa Academy experience, culminating in three dynamic, empowering years of study, growth, and leadership.

Applying to Villa

Villa's exceptional Middle School not only prepared [my child] for high school and beyond, but also instilled a strong sense of self and confidence. 

Middle School parent

Vibrant & Inclusive

Villa’s Middle School is a vibrant and inclusive learning community in which students take increased ownership of their purposeful, expansive learning. During these pivotal years, students come to know themselves as learners, leaders, and individuals within a community. Throughout their Middle School years, they meet challenging academics, increasingly complex problems to solve, opportunities to create, and invitations to serve. As the senior members of our student body, Villa Middle School students understand that they have a sacred responsibility to lead and guide others, in preparation for lives of service and purpose beyond Villa.

At Villa Academy, we are growing confident young minds with strong moral character who are prepared to make a difference. Our inquiry-based approach to education balances theory with experience, pairing student-centered academic excellence and whole child wellness with our values of growth, justice, and student agency.

Joyful & Confident learning

Through its unique, challenging, and differentiated curriculum, Villa’s Middle School provides students with the skills and experiences in practical preparation to thrive in high school and beyond. Our graduates are joyful learners, exceptional communicators, and purposeful people. Regardless of where their journey takes them, Villa graduates know themselves and their world, and seek opportunities to positively impact it.

Play and Pause Buttons for Slideshow
Middle School 14
Middle School 14
Middle School 13
Middle School 13
Middle School 12
Middle School 12
Middle School 11
Middle School 11
Middle School 10
Middle School 10
Middle School 9
Middle School 9
Middle School 8
Middle School 8
Middle School 7
Middle School 7
Middle School 6
Middle School 6
Middle School 5
Middle School 5
Middle School 4
Middle School 4
Middle School 3
Middle School 3
Middle School 2
Middle School 2
Middle School 1
Middle School 1

Villa's Middle School at a Glance:

One thing that I miss about Villa is seeing the friends I made there every day. I remember a highlight was playing tag in the woods with them during PE or launching model rockets in science class to see whose went the highest.Will mumford, class of 2022

Every day after school, my best friend and I would run around the woods together...Today, my exploration happens in the Robotics Lab, as I continue to pursue my academic journey as a very enthusiastic member of the Holy Names Robotics team.Allie staiger, class of 2021

During these years of rapid growth and change, Villa’s Middle School provides a supportive space in which students can be known, be challenged, and belong. Their social-emotional development is nourished through Middle School Advisory, which provides a small, grade-specific cohort of students that, led by a trusted Villa adult, addresses the dynamic needs of middle school learners while intentionally building community. Villa Middle School students come to know the power of their decision-making, both in the present and the future, and understand themselves both as individuals and community members.

As the senior members of Villa’ student body, Middle School students understand their roles as leaders in the community. They guide Student Council, assemblies, and spiritual life on campus. Our Buddy program, which partners Middle School students with Early Elementary “buddies” each year, imbues older students with a clear sense of leadership and responsibility.

Education of the Heart  Extended Day 

Stretch & Challenge

Our Middle School mathematics program meets students where they are and provides ongoing opportunity for stretch and challenge. Students are thoughtfully placed in math classes according to their needs, positioned to build the critical skills required for future mathematics study. Advanced math students may graduate having completed two full years of high school mathematics (Algebra I and Geometry) as appropriate to their math placement.

Critical Thinking, Research, & Communication

English, Social Studies, and Religion classes all require Middle School students to grapple with texts, inquire as to the meaning and use of language, assess the validity of sources, and consider various means of effective communication. Long-range global research projects such as the “World Fair” in 7th grade and capstone Culminating Project in 8th grade (through which students conduct a year-long study of a self-selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goal) prepare Villa graduates to take on the rigors of high school with skill and confidence.

Outdoor & Experiential Learning

Villa’s Middle School Science program invites students to consider the wonders of the natural world and make meaning of them. Frequently engaging in outdoor, experiential learning, courses take students beyond the classroom for physics experiments, dissections, and rocket launches. Students not only learn the scientific method, but learn to evaluate its results–to review, challenge, iterate, and try again. Research and presentation of creative, individual and small group work are also key components of Middle School Science courses.

Villa Academy At a Glance:

Preschool - 8th Grade

  • Dynamic, inquiry-based learning approach as a student-centered teaching method and learning process.
  • Low student-to-teacher ratio facilitates personalized attention and educational differentiation.
  • Students contribute to their educations through pursuing their interests, their curiosities, and their thoughts on best strategies for problem-solving; they are given daily opportunities to share “voice and choice.”
  • Intentional scaffolding from Preschool through 8th grade, which enables our students to grow in authenticity, leadership, independence, and self-advocacy.
  • Social justice-informed curriculum prepares students for a world beyond Villa Academy.

Learn More

 

A Community of Belonging

  • An inclusive, equitable learning, and social environment where we welcome and celebrate diversity.
  • Our empowered students become stewards of their lives, champions of academic growth, attentive to their mental and social wellbeing, and caretakers of the environment.
  • 30+ sports, clubs, and activities invite students to explore their interests and passions, find balance, and create meaningful connections.
  • Financial assistance, opportunities, and support for our students and families.

Learn More

31-acre Lakefront Campus

  • A large, lush campus where students can explore and learn in an enriching and natural environment.
  • Expansive facilities include a gym, an all-weather multi-sport turf field overlooking Lake Washington, theatre, art studio, music room, and makerspace.
  • Science at Villa is hands-on! Throughout the year, we incorporate Villa’s expansive campus as an outdoor learning lab, where the garden, orchards, woodlands, and other resources enhance learning in all science topics.

Learn More

The Villa Difference

THE VILLA DIFFERENCE

Villa is the only independent school in the city of Seattle nurturing the holistic development of children: mind, body, and spirit. Dedicated to inquiry-driven, student-centered academic excellence, Villa simultaneously tends to whole child growth and integrated health, informed by clear and compelling research on the powerful influence of nature, spirituality, and social-emotional intelligence on academic thriving. Our empowered students become stewards of their lives, caretakers of their mental and social wellbeing, and custodians of the environment. Villa firmly stands in commitment to the transformative power of our Cabrinian tradition of “education of the heart.”
 

LEARN MORE

Be Known.

Inspired by the Cabrinian tradition of “education of the heart,” we practice whole-child education— mind, body, and spirit—that engages students’ minds in intellectual pursuits, recognizes them as unique individuals, challenges them to strive and grow, and honors their innate spirituality. 

Be Challenged.

Our dynamic inquiry-based program challenges and supports each child to learn and explore with a growth mindset, resulting in academic excellence and moral development. By nurturing the development of mind, body, and spirit, we’re growing curious and confident learners, equipped for success and fulfillment in high school–and far beyond.

Belong.

Villa affirms the critical need to amplify diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging (DEIJB) work in order to expand our communal vision of a more just world. Through justice-focused community engagement, we grow in compassion and stand in solidarity with others, particularly those who are marginalized.