The jump from eighth to ninth grade at Chadwick comes with an array of new freedoms. There’s no more math lab, PE, or sitting in a concrete courtyard. There’s a wider selection of classes, co-curriculars, and sports teams to choose from.
With the vastness of the Upper School, it’s sometimes hard for a Chadwick ninth grader to understand the opportunities and privileges afforded to them at Chadwick.
In order to help eighth graders better imagine life in the Upper School, a team of Upper School faculty, Middle School faculty, and admissions, the Step-Up Program was born.
“The Step Up Program had its roots in seeking to give the current eighth graders a connection experience,” said Upper School Assistant Director Patrick Wallace. Wallace played a major role in planning and facilitating the events in the Step Up Program.
“The hope was that through a series of experiences, the eighth graders would get a glimpse into the people, the relationships, and the community in the Upper School.”
One piece of the Step-Up Program involved a pizza night including eighth graders and their parents listening to Wallace give a run down of the basics of the Upper School. Another part of the program was when eighth graders spent an afternoon with athletic captains of Upper School sports, learning about the differences in Middle and Upper School sports while bonding with their future teammates.
But the culmination and the majority of the Step Up Program came in a week of activities called Preview Week. From Nov. 17 to 21, eighth graders participated in an assortment of activities, like demo lessons from Upper School teachers and conversations with co-curricular leaders.
“I got to go to this MUN class with all the seniors, and I thought that was pretty fun,” eighth grader Joshua Wetzel said of the week. “This one class with Mr. Wallace about finance was great too. We got to spend a [fake] hundred dollars on certain stocks.”
The first year of Step Up was touted as a success by both faculty and students. On a scale from one to five, 85% of middle school participants rated the program a four or higher.
While the Step Up experience itself took place over the course of a week, planning for the program began in the summer, with the initial idea sprouting even longer ago.
Director of Admissions Kimberly Tatman was another contributor to the Step Up Program’s planning. In her role in the admissions office, Tatman saw how prospective students could fully preview the Upper School through guided tours and visits, yet Chadwick middle schoolers had no real way to preview the Upper School.
“Last year was the first time that we thought we should parallel that with a student activity, and it was just one day of student panels and a big pizza lunch,” Tatman said. “Then the thought was: ‘This was good, but let’s do something more cohesive and involving multiple things.’”
While the experience evolved, the desire to improve remained. Ideas to improve the Step Up Program are already flowing.
One of the major flaws of Preview Week was the timing. Neither the sophomores nor juniors were on campus at any point during Preview Week, with the sophomores out for Outdoor-Ed, and the juniors out on their retreat. While the campus was much quieter and less intimidating, missing half of the Upper School took away from the experience.
“Seniors are amazing leaders, but they’re not going to be here [next year] when the eighth graders start [in the Upper School],” Tatman said. “If one of the goals in the Step Up Program is to start connections and relationships, we would need sophomores and juniors here to do so.”
Next year, students can expect the Step Up Program to return as a more robust and complete program. But for now, Wallace is proud of how the event ran in its inaugural year.
“There’s a good chance to think about how we could do better. We should always be doing that with anything we do,” Wallace said. “But for a brand new initiative and a brand new program, there were a lot of positive feelings and appreciation.”
