The Upper School program at Buckley reflects a global mindset and a student-centered philosophy. It blends a dynamic curriculum with an innovative block schedule that allows time to reflect and to delve deeply into the course material.  

In their lesson designs, Upper School teachers strike a balance between skills and content, using projects and technology to nurture the proficiencies that provide a springboard for young people to soar in the years ahead. These skills include analytical reasoning, critical writing, language fluency, and creative self-expression. The daily experience enjoys a cross-curricular marriage between the Humanities, the sciences, the global languages, and the arts.  

Equally as important as the curriculum is the close-knit, encouraging environment created in grades five through eight. The warm tone and abiding values are important aspects of student-teacher interactions. Even as Buckley’s educators craft individual pathways to reach each student, they understand the overarching goals of enrichment and empowerment. Teachers take time to offer multi-modal assessments, to outline rich but clear expectations, and to employ contemporary techniques of collaboration and differentiation.  

In this vein, teaching and learning is a partnership. In the Upper School, this connection stems from a mutual trust and a shared curiosity. The benefits of Buckley’s flexible classrooms and 1:1 Chromebooks help motivate learners to explore and to wonder. Insight leads to ownership, which inspires an authentic sense of optimism about the journey the students and the teachers are about to take together.

Dr. Dean Schlanger

Head of Upper School

dschlanger@buckleycountryday.com