The academic program at Clay Academy Middle School ensures students develop abilities and foster interests that will lead to a lifetime of learning.  The goal of the Middle School is to create a caring environment where all students are encouraged to become active learners and caring people.  Using an experiential, learner-centered approach, the Middle Scholl teachers seek to develop talent, shape character, and prepare students for the academic demands of high school. During these years in Middle School, students transition from having a single classroom teacher to having several teachers teaching their academic subject areas.  Academic subjects are taught with the unique voice of each Middle School teacher, but the curriculum continues to reinforce and build upon the skills taught during the Lower School and Early Childhood years.  Teachers generally employ a Socratic, question-and answer style of teaching, rather than adopting a "lecture hall" approach.  As such, students are encouraged to develop an analytical and deductive process of learning.  The focus of their instruction, therefore, goes beyond what or when and makes them consider the how and why of the instruction they receive.