Lower School

LS At-A-Glance

Whether C/A lower schoolers are learning about angles and line segments as they construct gigantic cubes to be decorated for Halloween, or presenting to an audience of school friends and enthralled parents their first PowerPoint research project about animals they studied in science, researched on the Internet and met at the National Zoo, 3rd–5th graders are constantly busy building skills, competency, and confidence—and having fun doing it.

With one teacher for every five students, C/A’s Lower School program affords a great deal of flexibility in providing individual and small group support so that children can be successful. And feeling successful translates into approaching learning with joy and enthusiasm. Lower school days are packed with fun and new ways of looking at things:

• Morning Meeting affords students a chance to greet teachers and friends, share important news, and build social skills and community.
• Daily art class, taught by a professional artist and puppet-maker, taps their creativity and supports writing projects and social studies.
• Daily P.E. and 45-minute recess provide time for directed movement, exercise, and social time.
• Frequent field trips bring real-world understanding to classroom lessons.
• During daily Visual Thinking and Strategy Lab, using puzzles, games, computer programs, and other engaging tools, students build the strong foundation for logical and analytical thinking that is critical to success in mathematics.

At the heart of our program are special-education trained teachers who use in-class remediation of reading, writing, and math in small groups, reflective of individual assessment. They use a variety of strategies and technology to increase students’ abilities to decode, comprehend, and read fluently, and to develop math automaticity and procedural understanding. They also assist students in mastering grade-level content in social studies and science. As with C/A’s award-winning Middle School and High School programs, teachers use technology, accommodations, and experiential learning to maximize subject mastery and success. Students learn to type, create PowerPoints, and use Excel. Subject-specialized teachers for P.E. and art round out a caring, nurturing, and highly-skilled faculty.

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