A sixth-grade microschool · Montgomery, AL
Most schools teach the curriculum.
We teach sixth grade.
One grade. Fifteen years spent inside it. Every part of our academic program is designed around how sixth graders actually learn — because they are the only students we serve.
Replace with: a student actively engaged in learning — hands on, focused, real moment
The cracks usually appear in sixth grade, but start much earlier.
By sixth grade, learning gaps become impossible to hide. Most of sixth grade is review of skills that were supposed to land in third, fourth, fifth — so a kid with a quiet hole in their foundation can coast right through it.
The student in the middle — the one who’s almost there, not failing loud enough for intervention, not behind enough to qualify for pull-out — quietly stays where they are. The report card says “fine.” Then the work gets harder, and the cracks show.
This is not the school’s fault. I worked inside intervention and administration for fifteen years. If you only have time and resources to move twenty students forward, you move the twenty closest to the goal. I would have made the same call. That’s how the system was designed to work.
“Every year the data told the same story. Students were carrying gaps that nobody had time to go back and rebuild. I knew exactly which domains kids were missing. Nobody had time to go back. Not because anyone didn’t care — because there was no time, no staffing, no space in the day for it.”
— Jennifer Humphrey, Founder
Replace with: a student working 1-on-1 with a teacher — the diagnostic moment, real attention
EduPrep is built on the opposite premise. We don’t assume the foundation is there. We check. And we rebuild whatever needs rebuilding — even if that means going back several grade levels to find solid ground.
iReady diagnostics tell us exactly where each child is — in reading and in math — on Day One. Not their grade level. Their actual level. Then we build from there.
A sixth grader is not a small teenager.
Most middle schools drop sixth graders into an environment designed for older teens — seven classes, passing periods, long lectures, projects due in three weeks. Then they wonder why an eleven-year-old loses track, melts down, or shuts off.
Sixth graders are in one of the biggest periods of growth they will experience before adulthood. The brain can think abstractly, but under stress it drops straight back to needing something concrete and real. Its planning system is still under construction. Its fear of looking dumb in front of peers is at an all-time high.
None of that is a flaw to manage. It’s the design spec. Everything below is built around it.
Replace with: a student mid-discovery — curious, engaged, not performing for anyone
Replace with: a wide classroom or learning space shot — warm, intimate, small group energy
Four choices. Every one built around how sixth graders learn.
i.Concrete before abstract.
Teach abstract equations on a whiteboard, leaving kids asking, “when will I ever use this?”
Kids build scaled models, graph real weather, and measure real structures. They touch the math before they abstract it.
Why it matters in sixth grade — the sixth-grade brain still needs a bridge from the concrete to the abstract. When they’ve built it with their hands, the concept stays.
Replace with: a student building or measuring something physical — hands on materials
Replace with: students reading and discussing together — humanities integration in action
ii.Subjects that connect.
Disconnected periods — math, then English, then science — forcing constant mental gear-changes with no thread between them.
Integrated blocks. Humanities fuses English + History; STEM fuses Math + Science. Read a historical novel while studying that era; graph the data from your own experiment.
Why it matters in sixth grade — a sixth grader finds meaning through connection. When reading and writing become the tools to solve a real question, the work finally has a reason to exist.
iii.Deadlines they can actually meet.
Assign a project due in three weeks — then penalize the student when underdeveloped planning leads to twenty days of nothing and one night of panic.
Every project is scaffolded into daily, bite-sized checklists. “Today, two sources. Tomorrow, one paragraph.” We sit with them and map it out.
Why it matters in sixth grade — executive function — planning, organizing, managing time — is still being wired. We don’t punish the gap. We coach it.
Replace with: a student writing in a planner or working through a checklist — organized, focused
Replace with: a student raising their hand, or presenting — visible confidence in a small, safe space
iv.A room where it’s safe to be wrong.
High-stakes grades where one mistake dents the GPA — so an already-anxious kid freezes and stops trying altogether.
First drafts are experiments. A Redo Policy lets students act on real feedback and resubmit for a higher grade. The focus is mastery, not the first attempt.
Why it matters in sixth grade — fear of failing in front of peers can shut a kid down completely. Take the penalty out of learning and they start trying again — and trying is where growth lives.
Two engines. One day.
The day is built around how students learn best. Hard academic work goes in the morning, on the freshest brain. The afternoon is where that learning has to prove itself. The structure serves the learning — not administrative convenience.
Replace with: students actively working — morning energy vs afternoon exploration, two different vibes
Morning
The Academic Engine
- Math — the longest block, by design. Each kid at their real level.
- Humanities — English + History, read and written together.
- STEM — Math + Science, built and measured by hand.
- Structured, active, scaffolded. Foundations get rebuilt here.
Afternoon
The Exploration Engine
- Identity, voice & leadership — where academics become real.
- Real-world application — design, build, present.
- Daily reflection — what I learned, what I got stuck on.
- Where the morning’s learning proves it was real.
Every hour has a reason.
Here’s exactly how we use it.
The schedule is not arranged for administrative convenience. Every block is placed where it is because of how the sixth-grade brain actually works — when it’s sharpest, when it needs to move, and when it needs to reflect.
Welcome & Arrival
Every child greeted by name at the door. The day begins with being seen.
Morning Compass™
Students set goals, organize their day, and build the habits many are expected to have but are never explicitly taught.
Purpose: Learning to lead themselves before they're expected to lead others.
Mathematics
Personalized instruction and real-world application, with every learner challenged at their actual level.
Purpose: Learning to think logically and persevere through challenges.
Brain Break
Movement, stretching, breathing — cognitive performance drops sharply without it.
Literacy & Communication
Reading, writing, and speaking skills built through meaningful texts and authentic writing.
Purpose: Strong communication opens doors in every area of life.
Community Lunch
A daily chance to build friendships, practice respectful conversation, and strengthen belonging.
Purpose: Children learn best when they feel connected to the people around them.
Discovery Lab™
Science and social studies merge into one big question connecting history, geography, civics, and current events.
- Why do civilizations rise and fall?
- How do communities solve problems?
- What makes a healthy ecosystem?
- How does innovation change the world?
Purpose: The world's biggest questions rarely fit inside one subject.
Becoming Studio™
Where Education + Preparation™ comes to life — confidence, leadership, financial literacy, and self-awareness built through reflection and real experience.
Purpose: Character, confidence, and purpose determine what students do once doors are open.
Launch Lab™
Real-world projects, entrepreneurship, service, and technology — students create, solve, and contribute.
Purpose: Learning becomes unforgettable when it's used to make a difference.
Closing Circle
Celebrating successes, reflecting on challenges, and preparing for tomorrow.
Purpose: Growth happens when students reflect on both learning and who they're becoming.
We make the invisible visible.
Most schools tell you how your child is doing four times a year. We tell you every week — not with a number, but with something more useful: evidence of who your child is becoming.
Executive Function Scorecard
One page. Three metrics only — organization and planner completion, task follow-through, focus and engagement level. Not grades. Habits.
Parents can see growth before a report card ever arrives.
Narrative Progress Note
One paragraph about their specific child — something noticed, something that grew, something to watch. Personal, not templated.
This is the “we know your child” promise made concrete.
Academic Growth Report
iReady pre and post data showing measurable reading and math growth. Not a letter grade. Documented, measurable progress with receipts.
The answer to “but how do I know my child is actually learning?”
Identity Portfolio Presentation
Every student presents their year — growth, reflection journals, Curiosity Lab projects, Einstein Hour creations. Parents are invited.
Your child stands in front of the room and shows you who they became.
Every part of this is designed for one lead educator with fifteen years of math, intervention, and administration behind them. You already know how to do this. EduPrep is what happens when someone finally builds the structure around it.
— Jennifer Humphrey, Founder
Tell me where your child is right now.
I’ll tell you what I’d do about it.
No pitch. No pressure. I’ll walk you through how the diagnostic works, what I’d be looking for in your child’s specific situation, and whether EduPrep is the right place for them. If it isn’t, I’ll tell you that.
Begin the conversation → Jennifer responds personally within 24 hours.