Boarding Middle School in North Carolina

Arthur Morgan School:
Located in Burnsville, North Carolina, The Arthur Morgan School (AMS) is a private, alternative, day and boarding school for middle school students in Grades 7, 8 and 9.

Day & Boarding School Programs for Middle School Students in Grades 7-9:
At AMS we encourage a climate of intellectual curiosity inside and out of the classroom. Much of the success of the academic program lies in our experiential, integrated learning approach.

Students are encouraged to see the connection between their education and the world around them. Hands-on academic classes allow students to explore how the material they are learning relates to the world.

Our curriculum standards meet the North Carolina Guidelines for Independent Schools. All students attend math and language arts classes. Students also engage in in-depth, integrated studies where they gain knowledge that more traditional schools offer in social studies, history and science classes.

Our experience over the years has been that AMS students graduate fully prepared to enter a traditional high school. Moreover, as numerous alumni have confirmed, they continue to be self-motivated learners after leaving AMS.

Language Arts:
The language arts program treats reading and writing as skills that students will use for the rest of their lives. One goal is to create in each student a love and habit of both reading and writing, with an emphasis on the students' own ideas and interests.

Math:
The mathematics program at the Arthur Morgan School is based upon the belief that students develop their own understanding from their experiences with mathematics. In order to give students this kind of experience, we employ curriculum that is organized so that students continually solve problems that contain important mathematical concepts and skills and that apply to situations relevant to their life here at AMS and in the greater world.

In-Depth Study:
Each academic unit students take math, language arts and two electives, as well as one in-depth course of their choice. Students are offered a selection of classes to choose from, and while the specific material of the courses is different each unit, the larger concepts usually fall within the categories of science, social studies, art and internships.

Personal Growth:
This class is equivalent to health and sex education. Developed by the Unitarian Universalist church, the aim of the curriculum is to help children become more knowledgeable about themselves. Female and male instructors work with the entire student body. When appropriate, the students may be divided into smaller groups.

Science:
One of the main objectives of the Science program is to encourage students to look at the world around them and try to imagine the mechanisms by which it operates. Using the physical world as a jumping off point for hands-on exploration, students gain the fundamentals of physics, biology and chemistry.

Social Studies:
The Social Studies program begins with students examining their own lives in the context of history and of today’s world. Students develop their writing and research skills through journal and letter writing, interviews, and written research projects.

Art:
The Arts Program at AMS is diverse and provides outlets for a variety of skills and talents. Classes are taught as part of our Core Curriculum (4 days a week) or as Electives (once a week).

Electives Offered:
- Weaving
- Soccer
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Painting
- Pottery
- Jewelry making
- Creative writing
- Tree house construction
- Paper making
- Remaking clothes
- Vegan cooking
- French, German, and Spanish
- Drama
- Photography
- Film and movie making
- Dance
- Guitar
- Philosophy
- Exploring Celo
- Bushwhacking
- Jogging