Where it All Begins!
“It is paramount to us at Beacon for learning to be real, relatable and relevant.”
At Beacon, we take our youngest Scholars’ developmental needs very seriously. Through years of experience, our skilled teachers understand the gradual and radical shifts that children are experiencing physically, emotionally and socially, so we make sure that first and foremost our school is a nurturing place. As a result, we have created an environment where young Scholars can feel constructive, happy, safe, and recognized respectively.
In the Lower School, classrooms are prepared with materials that are appropriate for a child’s developmental age, interests and abilities. The materials enable learning to progress naturally from concrete to abstract. The curriculum is vertically aligned to connect the dots and prevent learning gaps. Our methodologies and strategies take advantage of Scholars sensitive periods in order to maximize learning. Our scholars learn by doing, rather than being told. Control of error is embedded in the majority of the materials allowing Scholars to be the architects of their own knowledge. More importantly, Scholars have the freedom of time – Ample time to learn, practice, repeat and master.
Our Lower School program is a warm and supportive community with exuberant learners. We promote student-centered learning with the mission to purposefully enable Scholars to pursue their own natural curiosity, cultivate tenacity and learn about themselves and others in deep and meaningful ways. During their time in the lower school, students develop the skills of order, coordination, concentration, independence, collaboration, play, mindfulness, and resilience which serve as valuable building blocks for future learning.
Teaching and learning in the Lower School provide Scholars with a dynamic experience that will remain with them throughout their lives.
Our Teaching Methods:
- Inclusive because it is designed to reflect our textured student body.
- Personalized because a comprehensive scaffolded curriculum allows Scholars to forge their own pathways.
- Student-centered because when Scholars have process-ownership and progress-ownership they are active, engaged and responsible for their own learning outcomes. As a result, they establish positive attitudes and dispositions instead of relying on extrinsic praise.
- Experiential because concrete experience bridges the gap between theory and practice. In the moment, Scholars learn organically by making mistakes and self-correcting. They have the opportunity to create, adjust, explore topics in depth, make connections, and ask clarifying questions. Thus, they methodically and seamlessly move beyond the easy answer, beyond the expected and beyond what seemed possible into the realm of abstract thinking and infinite possibilities.
- Collaborative because while working together Scholars build interpersonal relationships by shaping each other's understanding, clarifying ideas, evaluating viewpoints, and drawing reasonable conclusions that reflect the merit of everyone in the group.
- Multidisciplinary because the world’s problems are far too complex and they cannot be solved using a singular approach. Therefore, Scholars are challenged to cut across subject-matter lines, establish meaningful association and explore different avenues towards composite solutions.
- Rigorous because it implies a productive struggle where open-ended tasks compel Scholars to conceptualize and to procure their own creative solution by tapping into their repertoire of strategies.
- Reflexive because the teachers are highly skilled, they are cognizant that students are co-creators of their own knowledge and that learning supersedes pacing. Therefore, they are constantly assessing and adjusting accordingly in order to maximize student learning outcome.
