Middle school. Stepping onto the campus at JLA has never felt more empowering. I loved meeting all my new teachers and many new classmates. JLA has created grades to be only 45 students. That makes a school we can all appreciate. The part that comes with that is that high-schoolers and middle-schoolers share the same campus. How do we, the middle schoolers, feel about that?
At first, it seems like we would be better off on our own! We like to stick to ourselves. Sharing a campus means sharing facilities. And sometimes, too many people can make you feel you don’t belong. I come from a school where the middle school campus was completely separated from the high school. It was already difficult to be a 6th grader there – imagine how it can feel exercising in the gym next to a senior!
But there is more to it than this first impression. If we didn’t share a campus we would probably not have access to the same resources. Our football field and gymnasium would probably be a tiny version of what we have. Electives like video production and journalism would probably not be available to us. This is clearly an opportunity for all of us to try new things and discover new passions. For those of us who are really advanced, it’s also an opportunity to join higher classes taught in high school. I have a friend who is very advanced in math and takes her classes in high school already! That’s a great way to support the students of this school and help them grow.
Another reason why sharing the campus with could be a good thing, is that it could be fun to get to know older kids and be inspired by them. They could become our new role models and inspire us. They could give us advice and tips because in the end we are all applying to colleges. They could share their application experience or their passion project, which can set us in the right direction.
In the end, there is a lot to gain in sharing a campus with high-schoolers. We have access to more and better resources, and we have the opportunity to follow role models. We can even enjoy a seamless transition to high school! We will know all the teachers and facilities by then. High-schoolers are really not that bad to be around… Now the real question is: what’s in it for them?
