Dear Incoming PHA Families,
Welcome to the Prospect Hill Academy!
My name is Christine Douglas and I am the Principal of PHA’s Middle and High School and Collegiate Institute. I have been at PHA my entire career, first as a Spanish teacher, then as an Assistant Principal and am in my 8
th
year as Principal. I have dedicated my career to this community because of our continued commitment to relationship building, rigorous academics, restorative practices and social emotional learning.
These values that have kept me at PHA live at the Middle and High School campuses in many ways.
At the Middle School, we focus on the values of Cooperation, Assertiveness, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-Control (CARES) to create a safe, welcoming, college-preparatory community. These values exist in everything we do: in our academic classes, our advisory program, our extracurricular activities, and our celebrations of students and their learning.
At the High School and Collegiate Institute, we intentionally model, teach, and ask students to reflect on their own social-emotional skill development because we know that these skills are equally as important to their success in college and in life as are the academic ones. We call these skills STAR skills (Self-Awareness, Tenacity, Attitude and Relationships) and they are part of the curriculum in every class as well as in our Advisory Program.
Our academic program at the Middle School focuses on engaging students in exciting work. From programming robots in Computer Science to reading complex, relevant books in English, to learning how to talk through complex thinking in Math and creating proposals for alternative energy sources in Science, our students complete meaningful, relevant, and rigorous tasks. Our dedicated and experienced faculty work tirelessly to provide the supports necessary for every student to be successful.
Upon transitioning into High School, our academic program is designed to strategically meet students where they are - whether they are new to PHA or haven been with us since K - and prepare them with the content, skills, and knowledge that they will need to be academically successful in college. This means that we employ a rigorous approach to curriculum and instruction that emphasizes students’ demonstrating their understanding in many ways and orally defending their thinking, while we support their individual needs as they work toward meeting our high expectations.
While we do not yet know exactly what our school structure will look like in the fall, m
y dedicated and experienced staff and I are preparing for an exciting, enriching, and challenging learning experience for our student. We are committed to keeping you abreast of plans for the upcoming school year as we receive additional guidelines from the Commissioner of Education.
I very much look forward to meeting you and getting to know your student.
Sincerely,
Christine Douglas
Middle and High School & Collegiate Institute Principal
