As a student is developing an understanding of subject material, he should not only strive to understand the factual content but he should also be developing ways to learn more effectively. The role of the teacher in the middle school years is that of a guide as the student develops learning habits and academic skills. Long after a student has had to review the facts he learned in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, he will likely still retain the lasting habits that helped him learn and will no doubt utilize these habits in more advanced subject material later in life. The habits that a student develops, including a love for learning, will ultimately have the greatest impact on his academic life as he matures.

Historically, all curriculums that claim to take a classical approach to education
have their roots in the liberal arts. The liberal arts are not meant to be merely
factual or pragmatic like many modern school curriculums; rather, the emphasis is
on both training the mind for later use and learning disciplines because they, in
themselves, are worthy of learning. This distinction must be recognized in order to
fully appreciate the meaning behind an education that emphasizes the liberal arts.

An emphasis on the liberal arts is found in the Middle School and throughout the
Upper School at The Heights. The curricula and subject matter from the Middle
School into the Upper School is designed to be vertically aligned. This vertical
integration takes place in most subjects. Course content intentionally builds upon
itself and teachers rely on a base of knowledge they understand to have been
constructed by classes students have already taken. The Upper School builds on
the strong habits of mind fostered in the Middle School. Students in the Upper
School continue to develop their habits while at the same time focusing on
integrating, accumulating, and expressing the knowledge they absorb during their
studies. The overall curricula at The Heights is based upon the belief that some
things are worth knowing for their own sake and that learning these things will
improve the self and, secondarily, will also prepare a student for his future
professional life and work.