For the 2023–2024 academic year, Morrow House is enriching the student learning environment with a full year of instruction from two learning specialists for fifth and sixth graders and implementing honors enrichment electives for seventh and eighth graders. All students can develop their voice and agency in student government, student-led clubs and activities, and Leadership Lab. Assembly and advisory build relationships between students and teachers, and help to create a community within Morrow House.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
LEARNING ENRICHMENT: Morrow House is committed to providing the resources and opportunities all students need. Learning Enrichment in fifth and sixth grade is a full-year course taught by two learning specialists. The aim of the course is to provide a highly differentiated learning environment with an unparalleled student-teacher ratio to ensure that all students can develop the independence and study skills they need to succeed in middle school and beyond.
HONORS ELECTIVES: To complement Learning Enrichment, Morrow House has also implemented honors enrichment electives in seventh and eighth for students who have demonstrated significant academic achievement and a willingness to be challenged at the highest levels possible. In this first year, enrichment electives have included a humanities course on international relations, an English course on grammar and syntax, and a math course surveying advanced topics in Algebra.
Student Voice and Agency
Morrow House embraces student voice and agency as a powerful way to build confidence in students.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Dropping into a student government meeting during lunch reveals a packed room with students from all grades working together to plan and execute their next initiative. The student leaders recently put together the first middle school dance in Morrow House’s recent history. It was an idea that originated with the students who then planned the event, marketed the event, and staffed it. Students recently met to reflect on the event — its strengths and areas for improvement — before planning another dance in the spring.
STUDENT-LED CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES
Morrow House has an increasingly impressive array of student-led clubs and activities. Students can come up with their own ideas, build some excitement among their fellow students, and then apply to be recognized as an official EMS club. So far this year, Morrow House has welcomed clubs dedicated to mock trial, Dungeons & Dragons, the history of hockey, and a club dedicated to decorating the school to celebrate holidays, among others.
Leadership Lab
Morrow House students in seventh and eighth grade have participated in a new two-year curricular sequence called Leadership Lab. Leadership Lab aims to promote the 21st-century skills of creativity, complex communication, collaboration, and critical thinking through a project-based learning approach. Students in LL7 are learning human-centered design as they work to craft original solutions to problems on a global-to-local scale. Their work will culminate with the first annual “EMS Shark Tank,” open to all members of the community. Students in LL8 are focused on exploring their background, passions, and, most importantly, their values. Their efforts will culminate in “This I Believe,” a series of intimate talks the students will deliver and open to all members of the EMS community.
BUILDING COMMUNITY
ADVISORY
To build community, Morrow House has continued to develop an Advisory program that builds relationships between students and teachers. Advisory meets more often this year and utilizes a curriculum that blends conversations and activities around a wide range of topics including decision-making, organizational skills, and the celebration of heritage months.
ASSEMBLY
Community building remains the focus of our assembly program in which the entire division meets together twice a week. We recognize birthdays, achievements, and cultural events, and work towards a cooperative school culture. We begin our assemblies with a minute of quiet reflection and now end them with student musical performances.
HANDSHAKE
The division has reinstated the handshake each morning so that every Morrow House student begins the day with a warm handshake and a personal greeting.
Secondary School
Morrow House’s secondary school placement program has continued to innovate this year. The division’s investment in high-quality test preparation services has provided eighth-grade students with more than 10 hours of targeted test prep which has spurred a remarkable increase of 30 points for each enrolled student. In addition, the program now offers three interview workshops for all eighth graders to ensure that they are presenting their best selves throughout the placement process.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR VISION AND GOALS FOR THE FUTURE OF EMS
Important 2023–2024 State of the School topics include updates from Chilton House and Little School, as well as Advancement, Auxiliary Programs, Communications and Marketing, Enrollment, Facilities and Operations, Finances, and Community Life, Equity, and Belonging.
