Enhancing the K-8 Experience
For most students in the United States—including those in our city’s public schools—middle school begins in Grade 6. Although Grade 5 is part of Browning's Middle School, it shares an important commonality with Lower School – an academic program based on a homeroom model, where a single teacher is with the students a significant portion of the day. In a decision that we believe will better meet the needs of our Grade 5 boys and our Middle School students, starting in the 2025-26 school year our Lower School will contain Grades K-5, with our Middle School containing Grades 6-8.
Moving Grade 5 to Lower School will create several practical benefits and programmatic opportunities in both divisions. This structural change will enable more collaboration between Grade 4 and Grade 5 teachers, who can better align and scaffold curriculum to meet boys’ needs and extend them appropriate challenge, while maintaining the academic rigor of Grade 5. The addition of Grade 5 to Lower School will expand clubs and co-curricular activities in chess, music, art, and math, and transform the successful Kindergarten/Grade 4 buddies program into a two-year mentoring relationship. We will be able to enhance our physical education program for Grade 5, while also creating a robust intramural sports program for Grades 4 and 5 together. It also affords us the opportunity to move direct instruction on the Browning Learning System—our approach to executive functioning—into Grade 4 and 5.
Middle School benefits from the change as well. This division will be able to streamline scheduling to maximize instructional time and extend student learning, and the three-grade structure will improve the athletic program's ability to meet the needs of a growing student population. Advisory programming will address a more developmentally appropriate range of learners, while the new configuration will allow for a host of programming possibilities including integrated Grade 6-8 experiences during community time, and more focused extracurricular opportunities.
“By enhancing the Browning experience for Grade 5, we also will enhance the entire K-8 experience as our Lower and Middle School become the sole occupants of our 62nd Street schoolhouse. ”
At Browning, we certainly do not believe in change simply for the sake of change. Our traditions are important to us—but we must differentiate between tradition and convention. The former grounds us, motivates us, and guides us; the latter, in the words of Thomas Merton, is “a mere repetition of familiar routines…without trying to understand the meaning of it all.” As we plan the move of our Upper School to a new building next year, it has been to our benefit to imagine a different, better way of serving our boys, and we believe that this is one better way. By enhancing the Browning experience for Grade 5, we also will enhance the entire K-8 experience as our Lower and Middle School become the sole occupants of our 62nd Street schoolhouse.