K-6 Advantage
Laurence's K-6 Advantage helps our students develop into confident, engaged, and successful students, who are ready to take on the challenges of middle school and beyond.
Below are additional examples of the many ways that your child will benefit from attending our Kindergarten through 6th Grade only school:
- Childhood is important. Students often remain younger a bit longer and are less influenced by the social pressures common in middle school and high school. Importantly, our students receive the nurturing and age-appropriate support they need for seamless and successful transitions to secondary school.
- Our Buddy Program is tailored for elementary school-aged children. Carefully designed Buddy activities involving different grade levels, such as community service and art projects, have positive effects on both younger and older students. Younger students are provided with positive role models, while empathy is encouraged in the older students. The children also develop personal connections with each other, deepening their sense of community.
- Your 6th Grade child will be a school-wide leader. The oldest students on any campus assume the mantle of leadership and act as role models for the entire student body – at Laurence, our 6th Grade students are those leaders. Your child will have many leadership and activity opportunities. Our upper elementary school students rise to the challenge and serve as a Student Ambassador, have starring roles in the school musicals, play on Laurence's highest-level athletic teams, are big buddies and role models to kindergarten and 1st Grade students, thrive in the acclaimed Kids' Court Mock Trial program, and are student ambassadors who welcome new families. Their positive achievements are recognized as culminating events and traditions at Laurence. Enjoying these privileges better prepares students for similar opportunities in middle school and beyond.
- Your child will grow and evolve between Kindergarten and 6th Grade. By the 6th Grade, you know your child better as a learner and a person because his or her academic and social-emotional strengths, interests, learning styles, and gifts become better defined in the elementary-school years. These individual characteristics become readily apparent. There are excellent middle school choices – each with its own strengths and areas of focus. By the time your child is in the 6th Grade, the best middle school “match” is much easier to determine.
- Your child has important input about where to attend middle school. As a 6th Grader, he or she is involved in choosing the secondary school that is right for him or her. During the early childhood years, you, as parents, make the school decisions. A family choice, involving your 6th Grader along with the support of the school, is a satisfying and personalized way to choose a middle school.
Choosing a secondary school is a team effort. The Head of School and the Administrative Team work in partnership with you and your child to find a “match” that honors your child’s unique gifts and achievements. Laurence's placement team knows the secondary schools and your student. Laurence students are sought after at a wide variety of independent secondary schools because they are well-prepared academically and socially and well-rounded citizens of high character. - The “Laurence Legacy" lasts a lifetime. Students who attend Laurence throughout their elementary school years develop timeless values, friendships, a strong academic foundation, and a zeal and curiosity for learning that will define and benefit them throughout their lives.