Educational Approach & Philosophy
At The River School, we believe children learn best—and discover their voice—when they feel safe, valued and content. This principle guides our program design, faculty and staff hiring and our commitment to meeting the needs of every child we serve.
With an emphasis on language, literacy, cognition, social studies, mathematics, scientific thinking, and social development, children at The River School thrive in an environment of experiential and collaborative learning through the use of themes, which empowers them as they learn. Mouth Time and Sound Spot, two River-created programs, have been proven to strengthen early reading skills. The curriculum also includes science, drama, visual arts, music, library sciences, mindfulness and motor development (physical education and creative movement). World languages are introduced in Grade 3.
The following elements help optimize each child’s development during their time at River:
- Co-teaching model that includes a full-time speech-language pathologist (SLP) and a master’s-level educator in every class
- Play-based, developmentally appropriate approach, with a progression toward more sophisticated project-based, immersive, inquiry-driven learning experiences in our Upper Elementary Program (Grades 4 and 5)
- Child-centered classrooms with a focus on social-emotional development
- Use of themes to promote language, vocabulary and academic skills across the curriculum
- Intentionally small, intimate class sizes
- Language and literacy programs beginning at 18 months
- Commitment to research, professional development and graduate student training
