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Dear Prospective Family,
We are so excited you are considering Midland for your high school experience! As your Deans of Academics and Experiential Learning it’s more our style to tell you how wonderful it is here over a homegrown meal, but we’re also delighted to connect with you digitally, for now. You might ask, what makes Midland’s curriculum so special? You may already know our campus is nestled into 2,860 acres with trails strewn about the chaparral for afternoon hikes and morning horseback rides; that we have a certified organic farm that delivers half the food we eat in our dining hall; and that as a 9th grader you’ll spend close to two weeks exploring our property and sleeping under the stars. What you may not know is that this is all part of our curriculum here at Midland.
With a clear vision of the skills we want our students to master by the time they graduate, our faculty focus on what matters most, surpassing rote memorization in favor of higher order thinking skills and hands-on learning. Some of these key skills include "using evidence to craft arguments," "engaging with the complexities of social justice," and "caring for place and its inhabitants.” Students develop crucial college (and life!) readiness skills while mastering challenging content from Spanish language to Linear Algebra. In small class sizes, students work and learn alongside driven peers and dedicated faculty honing fluency across disciplines and applying their learning to real world situations. Whether it’s a building project in Geometry, installing solar panels in Chemistry, or crafting letters to local Congresspeople on current issues in History, you truly are able to live and breathe your education here at Midland. Our highly skilled faculty strike a fine balance between rigorous, college preparatory academics with relevant and meaningful learning experiences that are connected to our place, community, and most importantly, to each one of our students.
Thanks for considering Midland, and we hope to meet you on your campus visit soon!
Cheers,
Ellie Moore & Dan Susman
Dean of Academics & Dean of Experiential Learning
Midland's experiential & place-based curriculum focuses on learning by doing. At Midland you'll explore the natural history of the world beneath our feet in field-based, UC-approved science and social science courses. You'll research, write and present your own senior thesis on an issue that's important to you. And, all the while, you'll be building a toolkit of college preparatory and life preparatory skills. Through it all, we hope you'll develop a love of learning that will last you a lifetime. Want to learn more? Click the link below for Midland's most recent Curriculum Guide.
CURRICULUM GUIDE
"We are doing what everybody else is learning about in the classroom." - Isaiah '19
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
According to MTa, Experiential Learning can best be defined as "developing personal understanding, knowledge, skills and attitudes through the analysis of, and reflection on, activity."
At Midland, this might look like learning math & physics while boiling water at altitude, making kombucha and sourdough bread in biology, or studying local marine wildlife ecosystems along the central California coast. There are endless opportunities to merge experience and education — we find that students who have access to experiential learning are more likely to develop their innate curiosity and invest in their own learning.
PLACE-BASED EDUCATION
Place-Based Education "immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum" (Promise of Place).
You can see Place-Based Education in Midland's curriculum from the foundation up: we teach Spanish because, as a school local to California, it's important to ground our students in local history and culture. Our Midland 101 course introduces students to the flora, fauna, ecosystems, geology, topography, anthropology, and history of the 2,860 acres we call home. And so much more!
College Preparatory Academics
At Midland, we take our job as a college preparatory institution seriously, which means we're focused on ensuring our students find college success, not just college admittance. So while we'll boast an incredible assortment of colleges and universities our students are admitted to and attend (since we know it's something that many of you care about, too), what we're most proud of is that they do truly spectacular things when they get there. And we're committed to ensuring that all of our students have a clear and as easy as possible college application process. Midland's college counseling office provides the tools, resources and support to enable students to navigate the college search process.
Individualized Instruction | A Note from the Math Dept.
"I can't imagine that any other high school could possibly provide the level of individualized instruction that Midland offers at every level of mathematics. In Algebra 1, we work one on one with students in every class, developing mastery and holding their work to a high standard. In Honors Calculus, my Midland students work not just at an AP level but at a level I would have expected when I was teaching calculus in a university setting.
"Our small classes also mean that students have the option — and are encouraged — to go as far as they want to in mathematics. Over the past three years I have taught Calculus 1, 2, and 3, as well as collaborating with students on semi-independent studies of Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (which are normally second year college courses).
"In my mathematics classes, I prepare students for college by giving them a strong mathematical foundation, by helping them to find pleasure and joy in learning and understanding mathematics,
Students in Matt Hagen's Math Class work closely with their teacher in Midland's Glass House classroom.
"and by helping them learn to help themselves. By the time they are seniors, my mathematics students know how to prepare themselves for a difficult exam, know how to help another student with a problem or collaborate on a difficult project, know how to ask for the help they need, and know how to find additional resources so they can help themselves learn."
- Charlotte Greenblatt, Math Faculty
For families interested in applying for financial aid for the 2021-22 academic year, School and Student Services (SSS) is hosting an informational webinar that takes a deeper dive into the financial aid application. These webinars have been found very helpful to our families. Details as follows.
Counting the Costs: An introduction to private & independent school financial aid for families.
October 15, 2020 at 8:00 PM EDT
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8258669740736293644
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