Private College Preparatory School in Boston MA

Milton Academy, Boston:
Milton Academy is a private, preparatory, co-educational K-12 boarding and day school, located in Milton in Norfolk County, just 8 miles south of Boston, MA. Milton’s goal is to help students embrace a world larger than the one they know, to broaden their grasp of that world, and to deepen their understanding of themselves. Milton Academy cultivates in its students a passion for learning and a respect for others. Embracing diversity and the pursuit of excellence, we create a community in which individuals develop competence, confidence and character.

K–8  Curriculum includes:
- Literacy
- Language and Literature
- Mathematics
- Social Studies and Science
- Art
- Library
- Music
- Physical Education
- Woodworking

Lower School:

Kindergarten Curriculum:
Kindergartners arrive in the fall ready to take on the world. “Real school” awaits them, and they eagerly seize the opportunity to learn everything and to make new friends with whom to share their experiences. Learning is at its best for kindergartners when it is both structured and exploratory - structured through a clear and predictable environment and schedule; exploratory through carefully constructed opportunities in which children can approach learning through varied intellectual avenues. It is the goal of the Kindergarten program to provide a safe, physical, and social environment that allows for experimentation, where children can express knowledge and ideas in ways that are familiar to them, and then take risks to pursue new avenues of learning.

Curriculum, Grade 1:
There are many things to learn as we get to know each other at the beginning of the year in September: new faces, spaces, and ideas. At the age of six, the importance of friends is a primary focus. Each day, for the first few weeks of first grade, the children are not only learning about academic concepts but continuing to learn about each other as individuals and as a group, living and working together. Six-year olds are eager for input; they love new places, new ideas, and new objects. Children this age love to learn. Curiosity and interacting with each other play a vital role in this process.

Curriculum, Grade 2:
Second-grade students are on the cusp of independence, both socially and academically. Over the course of the year they move from being self-contained and individualistic to energetic and gregarious. As this shift takes place, they often go from having a single “best” friend to trying out multiple friendships, often with varied success. Second grade is a time for boundary testing. In the fall, as a group of predominantly seven-year olds, most second-grade students want to please the adults in their lives and receive recognition for their actions. As the year progresses, their emphasis moves more toward peer recognition where the group’s opinion counts for more than the teacher’s opinion.

Curriculum, Grade 3:
The focus of the third grade year is responsibility for oneself and the group. Discussions center on the importance of the physical and emotional well being of all students. Throughout the day the children are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their actions in the social and academic realms.

Curriculum, Grade 4:
Fourth-grade students are emerging from early childhood and entering a new world of independence and responsibility. They are changing from students who are learning to read to students who are reading to learn and moving from being literal learners to conceptual thinkers. This is a time when students gain a sense of confidence and when new academic and intellectual possibilities are well within their reach. Fourth grade can be a particularly empowering year.

Curriculum, Grade 5:
As students enter the Fifth Grade, they are on the verge of becoming more independent learners and thinkers. One of the greatest transitions that students need to make is to become even more organized and responsible in keeping up with multiple nightly assignments. Fifth Graders also need to pace themselves as they meet short-term guidelines for long-term projects. Some students are immediately ready to accept this challenge while others need greater support and closer supervision. Fifth Graders are enthusiastic and inquisitive individuals who relish the opportunity to explore such topics as world geography, Greek mythology and culture, and endangered species.

Middle School:

Curriculum, Grade 6:
Milton Academy views Grade 6 as a transitional year; students are moving from childhood to adolescence, and their academic program and learning environment need to reflect sensitivity for that shift. The Grade 6 curriculum includes elements of the Lower School and the Middle School programs. It builds on sixth grade students’ increasing cognitive ability to grasp abstract ideas, to deal with many variables simultaneously, and to consider differing points of view while clarifying their thinking.

Sixth graders develop an understanding of their individual learning styles and grow in their ability to take responsibility for their academic work both at school and at home. We encourage students to hold themselves to high standards, to ask for help when they need it, and to view their classmates, as well as adults, as valuable resources.

Curriculum, Grade 7-8:
The teachers help each student develop a lifelong appreciation of reading, writing and effective communication. They are mindful of the demands in the Upper School for well-organized exposition, correct sentence structure and punctuation, a large working vocabulary, and analysis. Students learn practical skills in public speaking through demonstrations and practice. While building skills, we work to ensure those efforts don’t swamp the students’ developing pleasure in reading. The daily independent reading in Grade 7 and the regular in-class writing in Grade 8 emphasize student initiative and self-direction rather than teacher centered analysis.

Grade 9 - 12, Upper School:
At our Upper School, being smart and interested is easy, fun and normal; everyone around you is motivated, too. Your classrooms will have about 14 students in them; everyone is part of the action. Learning is discussion-based not lecture-based; intense conversation in the classroom makes the class exciting. You make connections and discoveries you never imagined. Your teachers look for analysis, critical thinking, expressing ideas; they help you achieve these skills.

You’ll develop your own point of view, and you’ll learn to respect others’ differing points of view. APs are not the only advanced coursework; you’ll be prepared to take AP tests, even if the course is not labeled AP. In fact, many upper level courses are more challenging and rewarding than AP curricula; take your talent, your interests and your passion as far as you can go.

Curriculum includes:
- Classics
- English
- History
- Social Sciences
- Mathematics
- Modern Languages
- Music
- Performing Arts
- Physical Education
- Science
- Visual Arts

Summer Programs for Students:
- Sports P.L.U.S.
- Milton Academy Summer Hockey Camp
- Kaleidoscope
- Centre Stage
- Creative Stages
- Dance Program
- Discovery Express
- Elite Sports Training Summer Program
- Weymouth Club Tennis Program
- Amonte Sports Elite Lacrosse Program
- Boston Cannons Lacrosse Program
- Camp Cannata Hockey
- Sewall Soccer Tech
- Chess/Video/Animation Program
- Ultimate Soccer
- Ainscough Soccer
- Pro-Ambitions Hockey
- Lamar Reddicks Basketball Academy
- Sarah Behn Basketball Camp

Study Abroad Program:
Milton Academy offers a number of foreign study opportunities for interested students. Exchange programs in France, Spain and China are offered, as well as the School Year Abroad program.

Community Service Program:
Milton’s Community Service Program seeks to instill a passion for service in the Academy’s students and faculty. Through providing a multitude of opportunities from tutoring in local schools, to donating blood, to assisting the elderly, the program strives to provide those in the Milton community with interesting and meaningful service opportunities. On average, 180 students perform weekly service at over 30 different organizations in the Greater Boston area.

More than 200 other students participate in multi-annual events such as the Greater Boston Foodbank, the Special Olympics, the Blood Drive, and mural painting with Sidewalk Sam. The entire Milton community participates in the annual Oxfam Banquet and the bi-annual Community Service Day.