What Happens After Atrium?

At Atrium School, the Next Schools counseling process is deeply individualized, and aims to match each student with a secondary program well suited to their academic goals and array of interests. The Head of School works with every family to find the next “just right” school for their graduating eighth grader. The wide range of next schools our graduates attend is a testament to Atrium’s achievement in creating a school where many different kinds of minds can succeed. In recent years, our students have chosen to attend – and flourished at – the following independent schools:

Beaver Country Day School
Boston University Academy
Buckingham Brown & Nichols
The Cambridge School of Weston
Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School
Commonwealth School
Concord Academy
Gann Academy
The Governor’s Academy
Meridian Academy

Many of our graduates also thrive at public high schools after Atrium. Students go on to meaningful and exciting experiences at:

Arlington High School
Belmont High School
Boston Latin School
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
Needham High School

The secondary school process formally begins in the spring of a student’s seventh-grade year. Through the process, the Head of School meets with each family to discuss the admission process, how to learn about schools, and discerning a great fit. Close support is offered in a highly individualized manner until each student and family has made a secondary school choice.

Along the way, students have the chance to practice mock interviews, take an SSAT preparation course, and meet dozens of school representatives at our annual secondary schools fair hosted at Atrium. Behind the scenes, Atrium faculty and staff are visiting secondary schools, hosting their staff on our own campus, and cultivating relationships with the schools that Atrium students wish to attend.

What do we hear back from the secondary schools that our graduates attend? They tell us that we know our students exceptionally well. They tell us that Atrium students are confident, self-aware, and intellectually curious learners, who know how to advocate for themselves and others. We hear that our graduates are very well-prepared for the demands of high school academics in a variety of settings. We hear, most of all, that our graduates are kind, compassionate leaders who add measurably to the strength and positivity of their communities.