Academics
Elementary School Program
Kindergarten through 3rd Grade
The beginning years of a child's elementary school experience are full of wonder, growth, change, and excitement.
Beginning in Kindergarten, students take part in many of the special traditions of our elementary school, from morning assemblies and the annual Olympics, to acting as community service representatives and members of multi-age "Families". Two lead teachers in every classroom conduct a combination of whole-class and small-group instruction to meet the needs of our diverse learners. The social-emotional makeup of each student is considered; ever-mindful of the developmental spectrum along which our students grow, our teachers observe, assess, and communicate the needs of the whole child to parents and to one another.
Teachers give students choice in what they read alongside carefully structured teaching of decoding and comprehension strategies. Children learn to creatively express themselves in writing while practicing conventions of grammar and spelling. Math classes are characterized by real-world applicability and focus on problem-solving. In Social Studies/Social Justice, our students broaden and deepen their definition of community, from their families and our school to our city and the global village. Students encounter CEE’s four core values - caring, responsibility, honesty, and inclusion - and have opportunities to live out the Core Values in service learning projects.
Students attend specialists in Art, Science, Music, Innovation & Design, Library, and PE throughout the week. Elementary classes experience Explorations for a term every year, with students choosing from a variety of elective courses across disciplines.
4th through 6th Grade
Throughout the elementary years, students are challenged to think analytically and creatively as the curriculum deepens and connections are made across the disciplines.
Children learn how to independently manage their time for both short-term and long-term assignments as they develop study skills and organizational skills. Achievement and effort grades are given in the four core subjects of Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies/Social Justice. Fifth and sixth grade students are part of student-led parent conferences each year so they can join in on the discussion to support their own learning.
Students explore how to clearly and fully express themselves in written, oral, and artistic forms. In science and math they learn to observe, collect, apply, and evaluate data to solve problems. Students collaborate with others through social studies projects, developing a historical perspective and exploring how the decisions they make can affect others. The curriculum inspires dramatic presentations that deepen understanding of the subject at hand, with a strong emphasis on public speaking. Students are responsible for generating ideas, writing content, and executing the final presentation. The technology program enables students to reach beyond the classroom and evaluate for themselves the tremendous amount of information accessible to them. CEE students learn to navigate digital resources in safe, effective, and ethical ways.
Specialist classes enrich and extend our students’ daily experience, including regular visits to the Library, Innovation Center, Art and Music, and Physical Education. At the conclusion of sixth grade, CEE students are well-prepared and ready to continue their self-exploration as learners, thriving in their new secondary school environments.
After School Programs
The After School program supplements the regular school day curriculum with courses in academics, arts, sports, and hobbies.
After school programs at CEE provide a chance for students to explore areas outside the regular school day curriculum, from music to visual arts, to technology, cooking, design and more!
The Center also offers Extended Daycare before and after school, starting at 7:30 AM and continuing until 6:00 PM. At Daycare, teachers lead group activities, outdoor games, and quiet corners for those who want to draw, read, or do homework.
The Center for Early Education, a socio-economically and culturally diverse independent school for children, toddlers through grade six, strives to graduate students who are joyful, resilient, lifelong learners. The Center embraces a philosophy of education that combines a nurturing, inclusive learning environment with an increasingly challenging academic program that addresses the developmental needs of each child.