Curriculum

Academics

Our child-focused educational philosophy is founded on these principles:

• A developmentally appropriate approach that matches materials and teaching style to each child’s stage of development.
• An integrated context that supports learning through relevant projects that blend academic disciplines and encourage children to think, solve problems, and share ideas in action, pictures, and in writing.
• An emergent curriculum in which children become active partners in learning and lessons are infused with students’ emerging interests.
• An antibias curriculum in which students learn to interact empathetically with others and to think critically about bias, and to challenge bias when they encounter it.

Scope and Sequence

Our scope and sequence is a working document created by our teachers as guidelines for curriculum planning and to share with families the "what and when" of education at Giddens. We have also completed a Science Scope and Sequence to describe science education at Giddens.

Student Evaluations

Teachers at Giddens are trained to assess students’ progress without undue reliance on tests or letter grades. Parent-teacher conferences are held in the fall and spring (see calendar for dates). In addition to a narrative evaluation, teachers provide a continuum: a graphic representation of the stages of learning development in particular areas. Specific descriptors provide a framework for assessing each student’s growth. The continua support our philosophy that children think and understand in diverse ways and emphasize the skills and strategies of each student. Descriptors that exemplify learning behaviors are marked on the continua with the date the particular behavior has been consistently observed.

The descriptors, “with guidance/begins to/explores” indicate that a child is beginning to explore a new skill or strategy, but needs adult support and encouragement.

“Independently/consistently” indicate that a child exhibits the skill or strategy at least 80% of the time.

In addition to scheduled conference days, parents can make appointments with their child's teacher to discuss his or her progress at any time. Or, on a more informal basis, teachers are there every morning and afternoon, at drop-off and pick-up, for a quick chat or to touch base on an ongoing conversation.