The 7HS Approach to High School Prep

A boy’s educational experience is a journey that can range from a smooth ride on freshly-paved roads to a bit bumpier on rough roads with potholes, speed bumps, and sometimes even roadblocks. Our school is designed to even out and remove some of those barriers by meeting our boys wherever they are developmentally—social-emotionally, academically, and intellectually. Everyday, we focus on this; however, we also know that they cannot stay with us forever. All of our students will eventually leave. 

Like everything at Seven Hills, we are very intentional in how we work with the boys in preparing them for their transition from middle school to high school. During the Fall Semester, all 8th Grade students take a seminar-based class called High School Prep. This seminar focuses on three areas; the high school application process (82% of our graduates currently attend application-based high schools), standardized test strategies (since we do not do any standardized testing while they are here), and work with their advisors. We encourage the continued evolution of the boys’ executive functioning skills including organization and time management. This helps make the transition to more traditional high school programs easier.

Richmond is fortunate to have a myriad of high school options ranging from public and private high schools to highly-selective Governor’s schools and public specialty centers. Our students also come from all over the Richmond-metro area. We are not a “feeder school” for any particular high school or type of school. Currently, our graduates attend 39 different high schools or specialty center programs, so we understand that each boy must be prepared to go into whatever environment is right for him.  

One of our overall goals is that our boys transition from being passive learners to engaged students who are able to self-advocate and self-identify their strengths and areas of growth. We also hope they have discovered some interests and possible passions during their time with us that can influence the next stop on their educational journey. Using this confidence and self-awareness and with some practical guidance from us, we try to put them in the “driver’s seat” on the next phase of their educational journey—high school.