PreK-8 Advantage

Parents seeking the right educational setting for their child are often faced with many questions. Sorting through the benefits and drawbacks of each school may be challenging; however, research has shown that selecting a Pre-K through Grade 8 school provides many advantages to students.

Research-based advantages to a Pre-K- 8 setting include:

• The sense of family and community that exists.
• A close relationship that is fostered between teacher and student.
• Teachers know every student in the building, their strengths, learning styles, and family dynamics.
• A greater emphasis on discipline and academic accomplishment.
• A secure environment for young adolescents as they undergo social, physical, and psychological changes.
• More parent involvement than found in other school settings.
• The opportunity provided for older students to take on the role of protector, tutor, and role model.
• Higher self-esteem, less victimization by other students, and greater levels of participation in extracurricular activities are demonstrated by the end of Eighth grade.
• Students that consistently outperform junior high school in almost every category assessed including:
  • One study showed Eighth-grade reading scores that surpassed their junior high school counterparts.
  • A Philadelphia study showed that SAT-9 scores in Reading, Math, and Science were significantly stronger in K-8 schools than in middle schools. On the school Performance Index used during the Children Achieving era, the edge that K-8 schools had over middle schools grew larger over two years, particularly in math.
  • The Philadelphia study also showed that students from the K-8 schools also demonstrate a higher-grade point average in ninth grade by approximately one-tenth of a letter grade.

Source: The Great K-8 Debate by Keith Look

At ABVM School, younger and older students have the opportunity to connect through our Prayer Partners Program. Younger children are paired with older students to attend Mass together, do special projects together, and spend time together. Older students provide a role model to younger children. Younger students see how reverent older students are at Mass and this encourages younger students to model that behavior. In addition, older students feel empowered about the value they are bringing to the younger children at school.

Students in our middle school have the opportunity to be leaders in the school. Students in younger grades watch as older students participate in Student Council, Band, CYO sports, and other activities with anticipation that they can do the same as they move forward.

It is not uncommon to see older students teaching or reading to younger children. For example, both the Fifth Grade and Pre-K were learning about the Solar System. The Fifth-grade class invited the Pre-K students to their classroom as they shared a PowerPoint presentation on the planets. This experience gave the Fifth grade practice their oral presentation skills, reinforced their learning of the concept, and gave them a sense of confidence while Pre-K students looked up to the older students as role models.

There are many clear advantages to the PreK-8 setting and we at ABVM School appreciate the opportunity to provide this educational experience to our students.