Learning Environments
We are proud to provide two placement settings as one way to meet the variety of needs of our students. These settings include single grade and multiage classrooms. To help you better understand these class placements, a short description of each is provided below.
Single Grade – A single grade classroom is made up of children of a single age level. Children are assigned to their classroom teacher for one year, during which instruction is centered around a single year’s curriculum. Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies and groupings within their classrooms to meet the range of student needs, abilities, and interests. Some team teaching among single grade teachers at the same grade level may occur. At the end of the school year, students graduate to the next grade level and are assigned to a new teacher.
Multiage – In a multiage classroom, children of multiple grade and age levels become members of one classroom. Students are assigned to a classroom for multiple school years. The broader range of student age allows teachers a varied flexibility in grouping students according to need, ability, and interest. Pacing of the curriculum is stretched to multiple years. The multiple year placement in a multiage classroom provides a longer term relationship among teachers, students, and parents, and it allows individual progress to be tracked over a greater length of time. For many students, the multiple year placement allows for a quicker transition at the beginning of the year. In a multiage setting, students have some additional opportunities and responsibilities to nurture and teach one another.
