Middle School

My advisor was always checking in on me and was so supportive; she made me feel like a good human every day." –UPrep alum

UPrep's advisory program offers a school-oriented, one-on-one relationship between a staff or faculty member and each student for the purposes of communication, community-building and guidance. Advisors serve as advocates, representing each advisee’s interests in student-teacher, student-administrator, and student-student interactions. The advisor also serves as the primary link between the school and parents.

Advisors follow their advisees through their time in Middle School, allowing for a consistent advocate for grades 6–8. 

Each summer, the Middle School administrative team, along with members of the admission office, review our incoming new students and spend time carefully crafting advisory groups for them that reflect the diversity of UPrep. We consider student demographics, such as their elementary school, when forming advisory groups. As the year begins, and we become more familiar with the 6th grade class, changes may be made to advisory groups to better serve students. Advisory groups become solidified by the end of the third week of school and remain the same throughout Middle School.

UPrep taught me so much about who I am as a person. When I questioned my identity back in Middle School, I was never once worried. Instead, I was curious, and UPrep provided the spaces to feed that curiosity. During high school, I was co-leader of the Queer Student Union and I was extremely open about my identity, something that I could only have done with support from my teachers and friends.” –2023 UPrep Graduate

At UPrep, with more than 20 clubs offered at any given time, there are limitless opportunities for students to explore their passions outside the classroom and form connections with their peers.

UPrep's Middle School students have opportunities to participate in clubs during our daily, one-hour Community Time. Some clubs are student-generated, while others are formed by faculty or staff. There are several standing clubs that convene year after year under the guidance of a faculty member, including Debate Club and the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA). Other clubs, like Dungeons and Dragons or the Rubber Band Ball Club, are created through student interest. Students are able to present their club idea, arrange for a faculty/staff advisor, and promote their club at weekly announcements. Student-driven clubs have varied life spans and new clubs are created all year long!

Learn about UPrep's Mock Trial, Debate, and Model UN Programs

At UPrep, we see, support, and strengthen the leadership potential in each student. Leadership is not about a title. Our Pumas are offered a range of opportunities to find their voice, their passions, and their purpose during a shared journey of joyful self-discovery.

Middle School student leadership is about exploration. Whether it’s in the classroom, on the athletic field, on the stage, or in the Makerspace, our Middle School Pumas are asked to explore everything in order to learn one thing: they can achieve anything.

One of the opportunities for leadership growth is through our student government, the Associated Student Body. Each year, a new slate of elected officers is chosen by the students. Over the course of their tenure, they learn about the components of leadership by grappling with real issues. By partnering with the assistant head of Middle School, these students learn what living UPrep's mission, vision and values truly means.