College Credit in 8th Grade
Students who are ready begin earning ASU college credit in 8th grade through ASU Accelerate, before they set foot in high school. It transfers.
Middle School for Grades 6–8Finally, a middle school that fits!
12 students per class. A dog on campus every day. Social skills taught like a real subject. And for 8th graders who are ready, actual college credit.
The Gateway Difference
The numbers behind the fit.
- $0
- Tuition with Arizona ESA
- 12
- Students per class
- 8th
- Grade college credit begins
- 48
- Unique field trips each semester
The program
What a Gateway middle school day looks like.
Rigorous Core Curriculum
A full college-prep core — English, math, science, history — taught by subject expert teachers who know the content and know the students.
Learning How to Learn
Planning, organization, time management, and self-advocacy taught directly every week, not assumed.
Minecraft Education
Students build, code, and solve real problems — STEM and creative thinking in a format that clicks.
Field Trips Nearly Every Week
Planetariums, nature preserves, cultural institutions, working professionals. Learning that lives outside four walls.
UCLA PEERS, Social Skills
Social skills, actually taught.
Most schools talk about social skills. Gateway teaches them, as a real class, with real practice, using UCLA PEERS — a curriculum developed at the UCLA Semel Institute for neurodivergent adolescents. Alongside it, every student gets pragmatic language support, individual counseling, and sensory strategies woven through the day.
- Making friendsHow friendships actually form, and how to start one.
- Reading the roomPicking up on cues, tone, and timing in real conversations.
- Handling conflictWhat to do when something goes wrong, and how to repair it.
- Keeping friendsTurning a new connection into one that lasts.
Meet Apollo & Athena
A dog to lean on, every single day!
Apollo and Athena aren’t an occasional visit. They’re on campus every day, part of the rhythm of school. When a student needs a moment to reset, a quiet walk, or just something warm to sit beside, they’re right there — and for a middle schooler navigating a hard day, that kind of steady, judgment-free presence can be the difference between melting down and bouncing back.
My son used to dread every school morning. Now he asks if it's a school day so he can see his friends. That shift happened in the first semester at Gateway.
Common questions
Come see it for yourself.
Rolling admissions, grades 6–8. Tours available any weekday.