The fifth graders at Roland Park Country School, an all-girls K-12 independent school in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, can be described in many ways: ambitious, athletic, academic, focused, artistic, and passionate. Something else that defines them? They are ready to move to Middle School!
Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, RPCS will welcome the fifth grade into the Middle School. This change allows the school to enhance the academic and extracurricular experiences of an increasingly dynamic and exceptional group of young women at RPCS who demonstrate maturity, intellectual curiosity, and academic and social-emotional intelligence. Everyone – from students and parents to faculty – are excited for this change!
Parent of a current fourth grader, the first class to make this transition, and a current sixth grader, Stacey Verstandig, said, “The transition to Middle School shares exciting similarities with both of my daughters—the change in uniform and the offering of lemonade at lunch. The highlights my current sixth grader shares with her sister include mixers, advisory and more independence and ownership of learning. That being said, my incoming Middle Schooler cannot wait to change her foreign language study and looks forward to choosing her clubs.”
The fifth grade is considered a developmentally appropriate steppingstone to the Middle School. The girls will be introduced to advisories instead of homerooms and have the opportunity to join clubs and other Middle School events, such as the musical. Moving fifth grade to Middle School also offers an incredible opportunity to continue widening and deepening the academic experience.
5 Reasons RPCS is Transitioning Fifth Grade to Middle School:
- Peer mentorship
- Fifth grade will have multiple opportunities to work with the sixth grade in a mentorship framework. This helps ease the transition for the fifth grade into Middle School and allows the sixth graders to take on leadership roles.
- New leadership opportunities
- Fifth graders will be able to join clubs and organizations, including roles as Student Government Association representatives for their grade.
- Expanded athletics
- Athletics for fifth grade will follow an intramural mode where students will learn and practice with coaches after school, but there will be no interscholastic competition.
- Access to new range of courses
- In addition to the co-curricular classes offered in Lower School, Middle School will introduce students to expanded world language options, The Gore Leadership Institute, and more visual and performing art classes.
- Enhanced focus on design thinking
- Applying skills learned in their STEM classes, the girls will create thoughtful projects that address issues that are dear to their hearts that affect communities locally and globally.
The girls are also incredibly excited for large lockers, lemonade at lunch, wearing skirts instead of jumpers, and expressing their individuality by wearing nail polish. These seemingly minor perks represent more independence for these students.
“In the Middle School, we want the girls to learn how to take their seat at the table, using their voice to help others and advocate for themselves”, said Margaret Lofgren, Middle School Head. “The addition of fifth grade provides more opportunities for the students to learn to tap into who they are as learners, develop a sense of independence, and feel a sense of belonging in our community where mistakes are embraced. Through academic discovery, these future leaders, changemakers, and innovators will build strong foundations that equip them for the rigorous academics and challenges ahead.”
To learn more about Roland Park Country School’s fifth grade transition to the Middle School, visit www.rpcs.org/academics/5th-grade-transition or reach out to the Admissions team at admissions@rpcs.org.
