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Our Approach to Teaching, Learning, and Supporting Schools

We believe that how we teach matters as much as what we teach. Our programs and carefully selected trade books help children appreciate the ideas and opinions of others, learn to agree and disagree respectfully, think critically about big ideas, and become responsible citizens of the world.

Our Core Beliefs

  • Relationships are fundamental. A child’s sense of community is essential to healthy development and academic growth.
  • Students come to school intrinsically motivated to learn. Motivation is essential for engagement.
  • Literacy and a sense of connectedness are two foundational elements upon which all other learning builds.
  • The quality of teaching matters.

Our Pedagogy

  • We build on the fact that children are naturally curious, and need ample opportunities to be active, collaborative, and reflective in their learning process.
  • The social and emotional and academic curricula are equivalent, essential, and interdependent.
  • We use an approach that starts with the student experience and is focused on letting students do the thinking.
  • The teacher is a facilitator.

Our Professional Learning

Our professional learning honors all teachers and empowers them to create conditions for learning that will be academically rigorous and that will nurture the needs of the whole child. Each district partnership receives a tailored professional learning plan to support ongoing teacher learning. We strive to use job-embedded, in-classroom support for teachers, literacy coaches, and principals.

Learn more about Collaborative Classroom here.