“Generally, every middle school has an elective program, but they’re often smaller than ours,” said Middle Years & Connections Principal Matt Nuttall. “Our biggest difference is the menu of mini-course offerings. We have classes that aren’t happening at other schools.” 

Mr. Nuttall believes in helping students uncover their passions, while also respecting full-year commitments like band or debate. “We want our students to have a wide breadth of experiences,” he said. “A student might explore a wide variety of options in sixth and seventh grade and then hone in on a special interest like theatre arts to focus on it year-round.

Students rotate through ten mini-courses in a school year, and each session they are asked to rank their top three choices before Mr. Nuttall completes placements. The beauty of mini-courses is that they honor student voice and choice and allow the kids to have an active role in their Middle Years experience. 

Mini-courses highlight the diversity of interests and talents within the Middle Years program at HMS and put students at the center. “Students are doing challenging and fascinating things that celebrate creativity and ingenuity,” Mr. Nuttall said. 

Students choose from a variety of courses that change every six weeks. New options often emerge based on student and faculty passions. This year, a new mural adorns the PE Shed on the Lower Meadow, thanks to a seventh grader named Molly. Passionate about art, she researched murals, identified a faculty sponsor for the course, and worked alongside her peers to bring the mural to life. Students’ ideas and passions are at the heart of the High Meadows experience. 

Additionally, teacher Kimberly Reingold introduced a new engineering course tied to the multifaceted Future City competition, a global STEM program in which middle school students imagine and create sustainable city concepts. This year, HMS students designed “Turlantis,” a turtle-shaped floating city set 100 years in the future. The floating city is modeled after a turtle and includes residential, commercial, recreational, and industrial zones, all protected by a shell. Built with eco-friendly, recyclable materials and a budget under $100, the project featured a scaled model, an essay, and an oral presentation to judges. This year, the team finished in the top-20 in the state.

“Mini-courses are a big part of what we do. If someone asked me about what makes our Middle Years program special, there is no question that our mini-courses are a foundational differentiator and a space where we can have the most impact on our students,” said Mr. Nuttall.

At High Meadows, middle schoolers don’t just learn, they experience. Middle school years can seem like a blur in a student’s academic history, yet most students tell us that their time at High Meadows stands out as a highlight in their educational journey. That’s because High Meadows faculty and staff embrace students’ natural creativity, exploration, and purpose. Mini-courses place an exclamation point on that student-centered approach that makes us so different. Mini-courses aren’t just electives, they’re launching pads to joining high school clubs, selecting college majors, pursuing careers, and chasing lifelong dreams.