The Gow Experience

Middle School

Grades 5 to 8: the years when students relearn how school works, and start to believe they can do it.

Many of our middle schoolers arrive tired of school. They have worked hard for years and still fallen behind. At Gow they get a fresh start in a place built for the way they learn.

Middle School covers grades 5 through 8. Students move up to the Upper School in 9th grade, with the same teachers and routines around them.

Our Approach

The Middle School is multi-sensory, student-centered, and highly structured. Each student's program is built around their own skills, starting from careful assessment on arrival. The Gow Method is part of every day, and its methods carry into every subject.

Daily life is shaped by our Four Pillars: Kindness, Respect, Honesty, and Hard Work. Younger students learn them early, and older students model them.

5 to 8

Middle school grades

4:1

Students to faculty

3 to 7

Students in a class

Inside the Classroom

Middle schoolers take the same core subjects as older students: The Gow Method, English, math, science, and history, plus art, applied technology, and health. Classes are small enough that every student reads aloud, asks questions, and gets feedback every day.

Evening study hall for grades 5 to 8 runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., with teachers on hand for each main subject.

See the Full Curriculum

Outside the Classroom

Academic Experiences

On Saturday mornings in the fall and spring, Academic Experiences take learning out of the classroom, on campus and in the surrounding community. Faculty design each one to match what students are studying in class, so students put their skills to work in the real world, think critically, and grow socially and emotionally along the way. Gow's location, close to key industries, the Great Lakes, and major cities, makes room for field trips, research projects, and community-based work.

Athletics

Gow has no gym class. Every student plays a sport each afternoon, and modified teams in soccer and basketball give younger students a place to compete. Teams and coaches.

Leadership

Each grade elects a class representative to Student Council, and middle schoolers can take on roles as their confidence grows. Student leadership.

Weekends and Special Events

Saturday afternoon trips, Winter Carnival, Spirit Week, and the Crimson vs. Navy color war fill the calendar. Weekends and traditions.

Evenings in the Dorm

Middle school boys live in Warner Dorm, and middle school girls live in Rogers-Ivie Dorm. Lights out for middle schoolers is 10:00 p.m., and electronics are collected at night. More on boarding.

Upper School

Grades 9 to 12 and a post-graduate year: a college-preparatory program where every graduate is accepted to college.

It is never too late to come to Gow. More than half of our graduates joined us in grades 10, 11, or 12, and they leave ready for college.

The Upper School serves grades 9 through 12 and the post-graduate year.

100%

College acceptance

Over half

Of graduates joined in grades 10 to 12

4:1

Students to faculty

Inside the Classroom

The core program is The Gow Method, English, history, and science, taken alongside math. Students round out their schedule with electives in art and applied technology. Classes stay small, and The Gow Method continues every year, so students keep building skills while they take on college-level work.

Upper schoolers attend evening study hall from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Students who earn the Honor Scroll may study in their dorm.

See the Full Curriculum

Outside the Classroom

College Advising

Planning starts in 9th grade and becomes a weekly class for juniors and seniors. Every senior is accepted to college. How college advising works.

Weekends and Special Events

Saturday trips, Parents Weekend, the Charity Ball, spring break school trips abroad, and in April the Cresting Ceremony, where seniors receive their crested blazers. Weekends and traditions.

Leadership

Upper schoolers lead Student Council, serve as Resident Assistants (grades 11 and 12) and Headwaiters (grades 10 to 12), and give tours as members of the Crimson Key Club. Students 16 and older can join the Junior Firefighter Program with the South Wales Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company. Student leadership.

Athletics

Every student plays a sport, with teams in basketball, soccer, squash, ski racing, wrestling, and more. Teams and coaches.

Community Service

Every upper school student gives back through community service: 6 hours in 9th grade, 9 in 10th, 12 in 11th, and 15 in 12th. Students serve at nursing homes, soup kitchens, food and clothing drives, and adopt-a-highway cleanups, and many help neighbors, local youth programs, and religious and civic groups in their home communities over the summer.

National Honor Society

Gow has a chapter of the National Honor Society. New members are recognized each May at Honors Convocation.

Commencement

At graduation, every senior gives a three to five minute speech. For many, it is the moment they realize how far they have come.

Post-Graduate Year

A gap year for college-bound students with language-based differences: real college credit, real work experience, and the support to make both count.

Some students finish high school ready for college on paper but not yet sure of themselves. A post-graduate year at Gow gives them one more year to strengthen their skills, earn college credit, and arrive on campus confident.

The program is designed for college-bound students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. It draws on nearly a century of work with these students at the oldest school of its kind in the country.

At a Glance

2

Courses at Gow

2 to 3

Courses at partner colleges, for credit

1

Dedicated PG advisor

• College courses for credit. Students take two courses at Gow and two or three courses at partner colleges in Western New York, earning college credits before they enroll.
• Work experience. Credentialed experiences with area businesses help students explore careers and build a resume.
• The Gow Method. Students keep taking it, so reading and writing skills keep growing alongside college work.
• A dedicated advisor. Post-graduate students have dedicated PG faculty and an advisor who keeps the year on track.
• Arts and athletics. PG students take part in fine arts, athletics, and fitness with the rest of the school.

Boarding or Day

The post-graduate year is open to both boarding and day students. Boarders live on campus with faculty who teach, coach, and serve as dorm parents. Day students from the Buffalo area follow the same schedule and often stay for athletics, dinner, and study hall.

Is a PG Year Right for Your Student?

We are glad to talk it through. Call Enrollment Management at 716.687.2001 or email [email protected], and we will help you decide whether a post-graduate year makes sense.

Technology and Robotics

Every student gets a laptop loaded with assistive software, every classroom has an interactive display, and our robotics team builds combat robots that compete with the best.

The right tools let a student show what they know, not just what they can spell. At Gow, technology is part of how every class is taught.

A Laptop for Every Student

Each student receives a laptop loaded with assistive software:

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking turns speech into text, so students can draft ideas as fast as they think them.
• Kurzweil reads text aloud, so reading assignments are accessible at any level.
• Inspiration helps students map out concepts and organize their writing visually.

Interactive Classrooms

Every classroom has a Dell 75" 4K interactive monitor, and teachers use tablets to teach from anywhere in the room. Some classes use a flipped approach: students watch a lesson ahead of time and spend class time practicing with the teacher.

Families stay connected too. Teachers use Microsoft Teams chats to keep in touch with parents.

The Alice R. Gow Science Center

The Alice R. Gow Science Center houses an engineering lab and seminar space, along with professional equipment:

• A CNC vertical milling machine
• A 10-ton press that bends titanium armor
• A professional lathe
• A 3D printer

Tech-Rich Courses

Students can take courses in graphic design, broadcast journalism, and videography, building creative and technical skills that carry into college and careers.

Honors Applied Robotics and BotsIQ

Honors Applied Robotics is an elective for seniors. Students design and build a 15-pound combat robot, then compete against 65 other teams at BotsIQ in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Matches are live-streamed on campus so the whole school can cheer them on, and both sections of the course fill.

BotsIQ is a workforce development program of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Foundation. It started in 2005 with six schools and now includes more than 70 teams.

Our Robotics History

• 2002: Gow's robotics program begins, competing in BattleBots IQ.
• 15+ years building robots in the 120-pound class.
• 2026: Grand Champions at the Penn West California BotsIQ Final, out of 68 robots in double elimination.

Fine Arts

Many students with dyslexia are gifted visual thinkers. At Gow they have studios, teachers, and time to develop that gift.

Art is often where a Gow student first feels truly capable. In some years, up to a third of our graduates go on to study art in college or build careers in the arts.

Visual Art

Students can study painting, drawing, three-dimensional art including sculpture, pottery, and art history. Through Applied Technology, they can also take computer graphics and photography.

Courses are offered at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels, so a beginner and a student preparing for art school each find the right challenge. Advanced students build portfolios for college applications, and student work is displayed during Commencement week.

The Reid Art Center

Our studios are in the Reid Art Center, the former Thompson Gym, which became the art center in 2005. It houses:

• A painting studio
• A pottery studio
• A digital lab
• A recording studio
• Simms Theater, home to daily assembly and school productions

Music

Music is a lively part of school life at Gow:

• Lessons. Private lessons in voice, instrumental studies, and music production and composition are available for an extra fee.
• Ensembles. Students can join the Gow Rock Band, Wind Band, or Chorus.
• Performances. Studio recitals during the year, one public recital (in the spring), and performances at daily assembly.