The Junior High program is a vibrant community where students are active participants in the learning process and are committed to each other's success and well-being. The adolescent at TMA develops and internalizes self-direction and critical thinking abilities. Emphasis on study habits and organizational skills prepares each student to enter high school with confidence.

The two-year Junior High curriculum is a cycle of seven-week units focused on a theme:
•  The first year cycle covers Beginnings, Explorations, Identity, Relationships and Independence.
•  The second year cycle includes Structure, Forces, Changes, Power and Balance.
Each theme integrates Science, Health, Personal Knowledge, Social Studies, Literature, Writing and Mathematics.

Students gain a broad understanding of the world and an opportunity to contribute by serving and interacting with others. The seventh grade performs community service by helping in the Elementary and Early Childhood classrooms in our school. The eighth grade travels to South Bend's Center for the Homeless for two hours each week, assisting in the Montessori classroom, helping in the kitchen or sorting donations. They also have an opportunity to spend this time with the residents of Tanglewood Retirement Center, building cross-generational relationships.

The Junior High Class travels twice during the two-year cycle. These journeys give students the chance to develop knowledge about the world around them. A trip to the Great Smokey Mountain Institute in Tremont, Tennessee, is a chance for students to discover their connections with one another, as well as with the natural world. A trip to Washington, D.C. the following school year again gives students a chance to bond, as well as to bring to life their study of their government and the nation in which they live.

Class hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.