Freqently Asked Questions

What is the school's philosophy and methodology?

We use innovative education practices to create an environment in which children's strengths and unique learning styles are supported. We teach children to take charge of their learning - to be thinkers, challengers and wonderers. We don't teach to the test. We teach to learn. We want the children to be able to understand the concepts behind the facts. How the children got to the answer can be just as important as the answer itself. We also incorporate movement all throughout the day because we believe that exercise boosts brain power. We don't confine children to rows of desks; we allow them to create their own workspace and spread out as is comfortable for them because when children are comfortable they are more apt to be involved in the learning process. We don't know what new things children will have to learn in the future, but we do know that they will need to be competent problem solvers. We believe that the world's challenges can be solved with openness, inspiration, innovation, invention and entrepreneurialism.

What is the difference between Foundations Elementary program and a public school or other private school in the area?

There are several aspects of the Foundations Elementary program that make it different than a traditional public school or other private schools in the  area.  The first is that we have lower teacher to child ratios than most other area schools.  We work in ability level groups that are typically one teacher to 10 children, which enables us to have more individual interaction with the children and tailor the lessons to the group's specific level of learning and learning style. The second reason we are different than area schools is that we present standards and objectives in a way that is based on the interests of the children to fully engage them in the learning process.  Traditional education presents the children will pre-planned lessons that are not related from subject to subject and don't take the children's interest into account. We start our planning by asking the children what topics interest then and then build in the standards and objectives into those topics.
 

Why don't other schools do what Foundations does?

Other schools don't use the same approach as Foundations because it requires a high level of flexibility and innovation from the teachers.  An  institutional setting needs controls and stringent guidelines so that they can measure and compare on a repetitive basis.  Our school approach requires much more teacher time per child, hence our 1-10 ratio where other schools are twice that or more.  Low ratios are not all it takes though, brain science points which back up this method have been known for years, but currently the standard school systems, both public and private do not have a method for switching over to integrated teaching.  It is a totally opposite method to what they have chosen which is totally segregated by subject type so that one teacher can have a specialty and replicate his curriculum for all students. Integrated teachers must be able to apply the educational objectives to real life subjects of interest and interweave the teaching.
 

What results do you typically see in the children who attend Foundations?

By the end of their first year at Foundations, children typically learn to be out-of-the-box thinkers and problem solvers with a passion for learning and a true understanding of concepts learned - not memorization of test answers. Typically our children are happy and well adjusted with positive self confidence and leadership skills.  Of course these are all things that you can observe when interacting with the children, but they also perform exceptionally well on standardized testing.  On average, our children have been performing at one grade level above their age level with many performing several grade levels above in some subjects.