Middle School
Independence, bilingual confidence, and global citizenship for Grades 6 to 8.
Introduction
Middle School is a time of transition, when students seek greater independence and begin to understand themselves and their place in the world. At Pine Street School, teachers create a challenging, supportive community where students are seen, heard, and known.
Middle School has its own home at 156 William Street, close to our elementary campus at 25 Pine Street. The dedicated setting gives students greater independence while keeping them connected to the wider Pine Street School community.
Language Immersion Program
Students continue in Spanish or Mandarin, with advanced German also available, with 80 minutes of daily target-language instruction. Aligned with ACTFL standards and the MYP Language Acquisition framework, the program develops greater proficiency and fluency across listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with students using the language for increasingly complex communication, inquiry, and academic learning.
The IB Programme
The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (MYP) builds on the Primary Years Programme (PYP), with inquiry remaining central. Students make deeper connections between their studies and the world beyond school, developing their own questions and learning to support their ideas with evidence. As an MYP Candidate School, our curriculum connects subjects through transdisciplinary Units of Inquiry, helping students see relationships across areas of learning rather than experiencing each subject only in isolation.
Academic Areas
Target Language: Mandarin, Spanish, or Advanced German
English Language and Literature
Individuals and Societies
Sciences
Mathematics
Design
Visual and Performing Arts
Physical and Health Education
For example, a Grade 7 inquiry into trade and resources might examine how resources are distributed in Individuals and Societies, use Mathematics to analyze cost, volume, and profit, and apply those ideas in Design Lab to develop possible solutions.
The MYP’s Approaches to Learning develop thinking, research, communication, social, and self-management skills across disciplines. The program culminates in the Grade 8 Community Project, a sustained inquiry into service as action that students independently plan, carry out, reflect on, and present to the school community.
MYP Core and Teacher Advisory
Students begin each day with MYP Core, a dedicated hour for mentorship, connection, and support. Depending on student needs, the block may include advisory and life skills, flex time, grade-level or mixed-age meetings, service learning, health education, and community gatherings.
Every student is matched with a Teacher Advisor who serves as a consistent point of contact throughout the year. Advisors monitor academic progress, provide social-emotional check-ins, support goal-setting and reflection, and communicate with families.
International Travel
At Pine Street School, we believe in fostering a truly internationally-minded Middle School experience. Our International Travel Program enriches students’ education and cultivates a sense of global citizenship, encouraging them to make connections and reflect on their place in the world. In Grades 6 and 7, students travel to Costa Rica or German-speaking Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, with destinations alternating each year. Grade 8 concludes with a capstone trip to China that deepens students’ connection to Mandarin language and culture. Before traveling, students research their destination and complete related action-oriented projects.
Assessment
Assessment in Middle School is designed to give students a clear understanding of their progress while helping teachers individualize support and communicate meaningfully with families.
Middle School follows the IB Middle Years Programme’s criteria-based approach. Each subject is assessed against four specific criteria, with task-specific rubrics making expectations clear. Final grades reflect evidence gathered across the full set of criteria rather than the result of a single test or assignment.
Students also receive an Attitude and Application grade that considers responsibility, organization, participation, work habits, and how they respond to feedback.
MAP Growth, Avant STAMP, and the ERB Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) continue through Middle School. Teachers consider these results alongside MYP assessments, projects, writing, presentations, and daily classroom work to understand each student’s strengths, monitor growth, and determine next steps.
Beginning in Grade 7, assessment and preparation also support the high school admissions process. Students receive dedicated preparation for admissions exams, including the ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT, based on the schools they are considering. They also build the writing, public-speaking, and interview skills needed for high school applications, with targeted persuasive writing and interview preparation as they approach Grade 8.
Next Step: High School Placement
Nursery 1s and 2s
A joyful Montessori beginning builds independence, curiosity, and confidence through trilingual immersion in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.
Explore Nursery 1s and 2s
Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4
The IB PYP begins alongside dual-language immersion in English and either Spanish or Mandarin, building inquiry, communication, and independence.
Explore Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4
Elementary School
The IB PYP combines inquiry, hands-on learning, and real-world connections, with one-third of each day in Spanish or Mandarin immersion.
Explore Elementary School
Middle School
The IB Middle Years Programme deepens inquiry and interdisciplinary learning, with one-third of each day in Spanish, Mandarin, or advanced German.
Explore Middle School
High School Placement
Personalized high school counseling begins in Grade 7 with tutoring, interview preparation, and strategic guidance for students and families. In spring 2026, all students in our inaugural Grade 8 class were admitted to their first-choice high school.
Explore High School Placement
Pine Street School Middle School serves Grades 6 through 8 at 156 William Street in Lower Manhattan.
Middle School follows the IB Middle Years Programme framework. Pine Street School is an MYP Candidate School pursuing authorization.
Students study Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics, Design, Visual and Performing Arts, and Physical and Health Education.
The day begins with MYP Core and continues with academic subjects, electives, Design, language acquisition, Physical Education, lunch, recess, and, on designated days, team sports or a stewardship block. The published schedule ends with dismissal at 3:40 p.m.
MYP Core is a daily morning block centered on mentorship, connection, organization, social-emotional support, and community. It may include advisory and life skills, flex time, service learning, health education, grade-level meetings, mixed-age workshops, or school gatherings.
Yes. Each student is matched with a Teacher Advisor who monitors academic progress, provides social-emotional check-ins, supports goal-setting and reflection, and communicates with families.
Students continue Spanish or Mandarin, with advanced German available to students with prior German experience. Middle School students receive 80 minutes of daily target-language instruction focused on increasingly advanced communication, inquiry, and academic learning.
Middle School uses criteria-based assessment aligned with MYP subject criteria. Teachers consider projects, writing, presentations, daily classroom work, reflection, MAP Growth, Avant STAMP, the ERB Comprehensive Testing Program, and an Attitude and Application grade.
Yes. Grades 6 and 7 travel on alternating years to Costa Rica or German-speaking Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Grade 8 concludes with a capstone trip to China, and students prepare through related research and action-oriented projects.
The Community Project is a sustained inquiry into service as action. Students independently identify a need, investigate it, plan and carry out a response, reflect on the process, and present their work to the school community.
Students develop research, writing, public speaking, organization, time management, reflection, and independent learning throughout Middle School. Focused admissions preparation begins in Grade 7 and includes test preparation, application writing, interviews, and guidance for families.