Join Us for Preview Night: Tuesday, February 24th at 7pm
We invite you to come and see the wholly unique PCS Middle School Program through the eyes of the people who live it. Preview Night will feature presentations and conversations with our Middle School faculty, current students, and alumni — giving your family a full and honest picture of the scope, the values, and the outcomes of a middle school experience unlike any other.
Kindly RSVP to liz@peconiccommunityschool.org
About the PCS Middle School Program:
Middle school is one of the most dynamic and defining chapters of a young person's life — and at Peconic Community School, we treat it that way. We've built a program that doesn't just accommodate this pivotal stage of development; it's designed around it.
Because we are a PreK–8 school, our middle schoolers don't get lost in the crowd. They become the crowd. Our middle schoolers are the school's most visible leaders — in the classroom, in the community, and in the culture of our building. Younger students look up to them. Faculty partner with them. They arrive in sixth grade and leave in eighth having grown into something remarkable – true students and leaders.
Real Work in the Real World: The Internship Program
Our internship program is unlike anything you'll find in most middle schools. Each year, seventh and eighth grade students spend two eight-week sessions placed in local businesses and community organizations, stepping out of the classroom and into the world. They shadow, contribute, reflect, and return to school with a lived understanding of what it means to work alongside adults who take them seriously.
Two Years. One Big Idea: The Capstone Project
Every seventh and eighth grade student designs and carries out a two-year capstone project — entirely their own. The topic, the scope, the execution: all chosen by the student, developed in close collaboration with a faculty mentor. These projects reflect what students care about most deeply, and they serve as a testament to what young people are capable of when trusted with real ownership over their learning.
Leadership That Is Felt Across the Whole School
In most schools, leadership is something students read about. Here, it's something they practice — every week, in ways that matter. Our middle schoolers hold real roles of responsibility within the life of the school: guiding younger students, facilitating community gatherings, and stepping into spaces where their voice and presence shape the experience of those around them. This isn't symbolic. The school genuinely depends on them, and they rise to meet that trust. By the time our students complete eighth grade, leadership isn't a credential they've earned — it's a habit they've built.
A Community Built Around Who They Are: The Advisory Program
Our advisory program ensures that every middle schooler is genuinely known — by their advisor, by their peers, and by themselves. Social-emotional learning isn't a supplement to our academic program; it's woven into the fabric of every day. Students develop self-awareness, resilience, and the relational skills that will carry them far beyond eighth grade.