Hive & OSP

Upper Elementary and Middle School education at Touchstone Community School looks different from what most adults experienced in middle school and different from what many middle schoolers experience today. Because of this, parents often ask the question, “Is my child going to be prepared for high school?” Along with this worry comes the question, “Are the curriculum and instruction methods rigorous enough?”  Where are the assessments? Where is the stress? What do you do all day?  As a parent, it is normal to worry, but do you need to worry? The evidence says, “No.” 

Students leave Touchstone with the skills to make sense of their world, decide, problem solve, and think for themselves. What this looks like in the classroom is open-ended assignments, group discussions, challenges, Socratic seminars, debates, group decision making, collaboration, wading through unknowns and uncertainties, play, processing conflict, and developing relationships. 

Learning isn’t a packet of facts and concepts to memorize; it is a blend of knowing and doing that utilizes good thinking and develops the psychological stamina, neural connections, and relationships that yield optimal performance. 

We believe that using a whole child approach, prepares  youth for a world that values collaboration, initiative, perseverance, flexibility, empathy, and creativity. It is a heart-brain endeavor, focused on more then just executive functioning skills. 

 What current brain science tells us is that too much emphasis on standards invites mediocrity and uniformity, not excellence. For real success, students need teachers who have the ability to act as a co-learner and establish close-knit intellectual partnerships and classroom communities. Touchstone teachers act as coaches; guiding, advising, listening to, and always trying to better understand individual students' needs and growth edges.

When many of us adults were children, more retention and precise skill reproduction was considered better, in this current moment, with the challenges our children will face; curiosity, empathy, collaboration and perseverance will serve them best. Our approach acknowledges and embraces the deep, magical relationship between purpose, curiosity, and intelligence—the mix that creates ‘openness’ to learning and makes intellectual engagement natural. 

Stewardship of the land and water and of our school community is an important part of our wellness as humans. Students participate in gardening, carpentry, animal husbandry and grounds preservation to take care of their place and community while deepening their capacity for life skills that lead towards stewardship and sustainability. In cultivating a sense of reciprocity through their intentional and purposeful care of our community's place and all it encompasses, they find purpose in themselves as members of our community while also recognizing purpose in our community as part of a progressive whole.

We also seek to build leadership, life skills and ecological literacy skills in our middle school students through participation in ecological education on campus, at the island, and through multiple expeditions away from campus throughout the school year. These expeditions have academic, social and emotional components that build throughout the school year. 

The middle school years are a critical time for developing social/emotional skills like flexible thinking, perspective taking, positive conflict engagement, and emotional regulation. In the OSP,  we use Collaborative Problem Solving and Transformative Justice approaches to working through social challenges and developing these skills. Teachers go to great efforts to create a cohesive and inclusive classroom culture that values each member’s contribution to the group. 

Themeatic studies is a long block designed for deep learning.  Students move between teachers who specialize in science and social studies who collaborate to create an interdisciplinary experience for the students. Some examples of thematic studies include studies of the Blackstone River Valley Watershed, Indigenous history and worldview, Holocaust and World War II. Thematic studies are guided by an essential question like, “What does it mean to be human?” and “What is a system?”

Touchstone is committed to providing a Wellness Program that meets the needs of middle schoolers and also takes into consideration the different interests, strengths, and areas for growth of each group. We’re also committed to respecting the spectrum of experiences and understandings that students bring to school from their home environments.

Touchstone's curriculum is based on Our Whole Lives Values: Self Worth: Sexual Health: Responsibility: Justice and Inclusivity:

“Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.”

Our Whole Lives offers a comprehensive sexual health and wellbeing curriculum that includes:

• Up-to-date information and honest, age-appropriate answers to all participants' questions
•  Activities to help participants clarify values and improve decision-making skills
•  Effective group-building to create a safe and supportive peer group
• Education about sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment
• Opportunities to critique media messages about gender and sexuality
•  Acceptance of diversity
• Encouragement to act for justice
•  Affirmation of parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children”

A partial list of high schools and colleges that Touchstone Aumni have chosen: 

High Schools

Independent: 

Bancroft School

Bard Academy

Cambridge School of Weston

Chapel Hill, Chauncy Hall

Concord Academy

Landmark School

Marianapolis Preparatory School

New England Academy of Torah

Walnut Hill School for the Arts

Wheeler School

White Mountain School 

Worcester Academy

Parochial:

Holy Name High School

Marian High School

Notre Dame Academy

St. John’s High School

St. Peter Marian

Vocational Technical:

Assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School

Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School

Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School

Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School

Norfolk County Agricultural High School

Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School

Worcester Technical High School

Public:

Algonquin Regional High School

Auburn Senior High School

Concord Carlisle Regional High School

Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School

Grafton High School

Holliston High School

Hopkinton High School

Hudson High School

Nauset High School

Nipmuc Regional High School

Shepherd Hill Regional High School

Shrewsbury High School

Uxbridge High School

Westborough High School

Colleges 

Anna Maria College

Assumption College

Appalachian State University

Becker College

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Carleton College

Carroll College

Champlain College

Clark University

Colby College

Colorado College

Connecticut College

Cornell University

Curry College

Eckerd College

Goucher College

Guilford College

Hampshire College

Haverford College

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Hollins College

Johns Hopkins University

Lasell College

Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Muhlenberg College 

Northeastern University

Oberlin College

Oral Roberts University

Plymouth State University

Quinnipiac University

Quinsigamond Community College

Rhode Island School of Design, RISDI

Rochester Institute of Technology

Savannah College of Art and Design

Simmons College

Smith College

Syracuse University

Trinity College

University of Colorado, Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of New Hampshire

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

University of Massachusetts, Boston

University of Rochester

University of Vermont

Vassar College

Willamette University

As a busy parent, you want to ensure that your child is safe, happy, and well-cared for, even when you can't be there - that's why our before and after school care programs are designed with your family's needs in mind.

Our Extended Early Morning Care Program is available from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. on regular school days. 

Our Extended After Care Program is available from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on regular school days, Curriculum Days, and most Parent-Teacher Conference Days.

Learn more about our extended day program here.