Students who join the Upper School community are challenged and supported at the edge of their learning because the driving force at MKA is growth. Students can stretch as far as is appropriate for them as individuals and members of a diverse and cohesive community in a learning environment that values a combination of achievement, balance, and flexibility.
Grades 9-12
The Competitive Edge
The Upper School nurtures the intellectual talents and interests of all our students, inspires them to turn inquiry into insight, and empowers them to achieve their maximum potential. Here, students are challenged to think, supported to think, and eager to think—resulting in a deep and enjoyable education that lasts.
LEARNING AT THE GROWING EDGE
At the Upper School, students are challenged to think critically, act ethically, and engage deeply with complex ideas. Hallmark academic experiences prepare them to thrive in college and beyond, offering opportunities to lead, question, create, and contribute. With purpose and passion, students shape their own path within a supportive environment.
MKA juniors in U.S. History write a junior thesis, researching topics from the Chinese Exclusion Act to Tuskegee’s medical testing ethics. Featured in The Primary Source publication, this project builds critical thinking, deepens historical insight, and fosters lasting academic confidence.
Upper School students bring curiosity and creativity to STEM+ through robotics and real-world challenges. In Science Research Honors, they collaborate in lab settings like graduate research, designing experiments, refining methods, analyzing data, and learning to think like scientists and lead like changemakers.
Through a strong institutional curricular commitment to the Fine and Performing Arts, Upper School students are provided an increasing ability to specialize in an individual area of interest or passion. Whether performing in sold-out productions, composing original scores for Jazz Band, mounting gallery exhibitions, or choreographing for the spring dance concert, students are active creators. Across disciplines, students engage deeply with technique and creative expression, shaping an arts experience that’s as ambitious as it is transformative.
Through MKA’s Global Experience Program, Upper School students immerse themselves in cultures and communities around the world, deepening the development of global competency in meaningful ways by helping to build empathy, resilience, and a sense of shared humanity.
Reflecting to cultivate a keen, confident, and healthy sense of self and others. The Health, Wellness, and Physical Education curriculum, campus programming during community time, and the advisory program present a cohesive and integrated approach to social-emotional learning (SEL) and wellness.
Ethical leadership at MKA begins with knowing yourself and understanding others. In the Upper School, all students take part in foundational seminar courses like “Belonging and Community” and “Ethics and Leadership” that challenge them to explore their strengths, identities, and values. These experiences help students build the empathy, integrity, and confidence needed to lead with purpose and create meaningful change within their communities and beyond.
Upper School clubs add to the joy and balance that students achieve at MKA, enabling them to develop personal interests alongside leadership skills. In a supportive and collaborative environment, these opportunities generate school spirit, foster personal growth, and encourage responsibility for the greater community.
WHAT LEARNING LOOKS LIKE
Through close partnership with teachers, Upper School students engage in varied academic opportunities available in our classroom settings. On any given day, students explore labs, participate in deep and probing discussions, write critically and creatively, refine their thinking, and learn to solve cutting-edge problems in pursuit of durable truths and usable skills. Our graduates enter a rapidly changing world with the tools to learn continuously, lead bravely, and innovate humanely.
Thanks to small class sizes, Upper School teachers are able to provide the blend of challenge, guidance, and support that fosters students’ independence. Faculty members work with students outside of class during Common Work Period (CWP), during a mutual free period, before or after school, or in the Math Lab; they are able to meet students where they are and help them realize their unlimited academic potential.
Our research-based schedule features 75-minute classes that meet every other day, allowing for deeper learning and more balance. Each day includes four class periods, a Common Work Period (CWP), lunch, and community time. CWP gives students time to collaborate, meet with teachers, or recharge. Community time offers space for meetings, clubs, attending events with guest speakers, affinity groups, and house competitions.
A key component of each Upper School student’s experience is the advisor system. This approach supports their social and emotional learning. The pairing of advisor and advisee helps students achieve self-efficacy as members of the Upper School community and serves as a positive relationship as they navigate their four-year high school academic journey. Advisors are able to see students develop from early teens to independent young adults ready for college life. In grade nine, this is supplemented with the peer leader program, which partners ninth graders with upperclassmen for mentorship and guidance.
In keeping with our commitment to strengthen each student’s intellect, character, and confidence, MKA fosters self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-advocacy. We empower students to take ownership of their academic journey, to feel proud of their accomplishments, and to be well-prepared for life after MKA.
The Upper School is where academic excellence and ethical leadership meet, empowering our students to stretch their intellectual boundaries and develop moral clarity and integrity, all while contributing to our collective well-being, the future of innovation, and service to others.David C. Flocco, Ed.D.Head of Upper School
Facility Feature
Inquiry and Innovation Center
A hub for bold thinking and creative problem-solving—the 27,000-square-foot facility is designed to match the extraordinary potential of our students and faculty. It inspires collaboration and experimentation, housing cutting-edge labs, flexible classrooms, and dedicated spaces for robotics and student-driven work.
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