Educational Approach

We believe that:

Therefore, we:

Some examples are:

Every child has
unlimited potential,
and all students can
learn and grow

• Understand each individual child’s strengths

• Provide multiple entry points and support for learning

• Offer myriad ways to demonstrate understanding

• Set high standards and celebrate growth

• Offer math problems with varying complexity levels 
• For social studies, provide options for students to demonstrate learning through writing, oral presentation, or multimedia creation

Curiosity and a
culture of exploration
lead to authentic
lifelong learning

• Integrate real world issues into the classroom

• Implement project-based learning for deep understanding

• Create opportunities for student voice and choice 

• Ask open-ended questions and embrace mistakes

• Students research local environmental issues and propose solutions in science
• “Tell me more…”

Learning is a
partnership between
students and teachers

• Clarify and contextualize learning goals

• Use data to inform instruction and provide actionable feedback

• Facilitate self-assessment, reflection, and goal-setting

• Offer multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery

• Co-created rubrics so students understand and are clear on their goals
• Data Notebooks for students to track progress on key skills, set goals, and reflect on their learning

Strong relationships
and classroom culture
drive achievement

• Intentionally build strong relationships among students and teachers

• Create interactive learning experiences

• Address the whole child: academic, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual

• Use responsive and restorative strategies to promote positive behavior

• Morning Meetings
• Restorative Circles: When conflicts arise, use circle discussions to allow all parties to express themselves and collaboratively find solutions

Students learn best
in a safe, focused,
and inclusive environment

• Maintain organized, efficient classrooms

• Enforce fair and consistent accountability

• Provide opportunities for positive academic and social choices

• Reflect on our cultural lenses & value home cultures

• Develop a curriculum of "windows and mirrors" for representation and perspective-taking

• Classroom Contract
• Diverse Classroom Library
• Use visual schedule w/ clear routines to help students navigate the day
• Incorporate students' backgrounds cultural celebrations and traditions into the curriculum

Courageous
conversations create changemakers

• Encourage reflection on personal and others' cultural perspectives

• Examine bias and injustice in our community/ world

• Model respectful communication and advocacy

• Guest speakers from the community
• Debate Club to teach current events, respectful disagreement, and evidence-based arguments