Middle School Education
Grades 5-8

Tulsa Adventist Academy focuses on educating the whole student. This holistic approach to education features curriculum structured to provide a well-balanced physical, mental, spiritual, and social education in harmony with the Seventh-day Adventist denominational standards and ideals. These standards have led Adventist Education, the second largest private school system in the world, to continually produce testing results showing students within the system testing at least one grade level above the level at which they currently study—even in countries that lead the world in academic programs, such as South Korea.

Program Elements

• Crucial middle school development issues such as self-confidence and self-awareness are developed through programs built into the curriculum, such as the Student Association, ropes course leadership training, mission trip involvement and planning, chapel involvement and planning, and music skill development.

• Teachers reserve class time for discussing real-life questions and problems that affect students’ lives, such as involvement in social media, bullying, fashion, and relationships, all within the parameters of a wholesome and spiritual environment.

• Teachers prepare engaging, hands-on, life-applicable lessons, providing an atmosphere where students are eager to learn.

• We give mastery learning priority over teaching to a standardized test, which allows class time to be used for learning, not for figuring out how to pass standardized tests. Our focus on mastery learning results in our students testing a full grade and a half above national average on standardized tests.

• High academic expectations are set through programs such as the National Junior Honor Society, Honor Roll, and Principal’s Honor Roll.

• Faculty members focus on teaching students academic resilience, one of the biggest indicators of academic success, wherein teachers encourage students’ desires to persevere at tasks even when they are frustrated.

• Special time is taken out each day to focus on prayer. Students take down requests and keep track of answered prayers throughout the year.

• Students are encouraged to develop their walk with God by discussing real-life spiritual questions, providing spiritual outlets for each other, and participating in service-focused opportunities.

• Personal responsibility is expected, developed, and monitored in homework, classroom conduct, and appropriate social media usage.

• Students are taught self-management, not parent or teacher micromanagement of their studies, conduct, and talent development.

• Teaching staff focuses on building a natural desire to achieve expectations.

• The classroom is a safe and inviting environment, allowing close relationships with teachers and open communication between student, parent, and teacher.