In the middle and junior high school environment, students are transitioning from the insular single classroom model of elementary schools to the high school setting which requires personal responsibility and independence. Middle and junior high school students need a setting that allows them to maintain close relationships with teachers as well as gain self-reliance and the skills to work well with others. Aspects of our middle school designs that foster this kind of development include breaking the school down into identifiable clusters, providing collaborative activity space for teachers and students, transparency between spaces to create a communal feel as well as secure and inviting gathering spaces for social development.