Lower School

Our approach is rooted in the science of reading, where students are explicitly taught key skills in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Our teachers foster a culture of readers, where students engage with text in a variety of ways that help them grow their understanding of the world around them. As students get older, they begin to deeply engage with both fiction and nonfiction texts. Through independent reading, book clubs, class novels, and read-alouds, reading is woven into the culture of Lower School.

Through a workshop approach, young writers develop fluency, mechanics, and craft by exploring narrative, informational, and opinion writing. During each session, students learn specific writing strategies, which they then apply independently at their own developmental level. While students work, teachers confer with them individually to help them integrate these strategies into their pieces. Lessons are tailored to meet students where they are, and as they grow older, they are held to increasingly high standards to reach their full potential.

We design our math classes to ensure deep conceptual understanding over rote procedures. Problem-solving activities challenge students to think logically and approach problems from multiple angles. By blending open exploration with guided practice, math games, learning centers, and interdisciplinary projects, we help students see that math is a vibrant part of their everyday world.

Our Lower School utilizes the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum to foster deep mathematical thinking and a lifelong love for problem solving. This comprehensive, inquiry-based program focuses on developing a rigorous understanding of mathematical concepts while building essential computation skills. Rather than relying on rote memorization, Bridges engages students through direct instruction, hands-on exploration, and structured visual models. A cornerstone of the program is the daily Number Corner routine, which uses the classroom calendar to introduce, preview, and reinforce critical skills in an interactive, collaborative setting. By encouraging students to talk about math, look for patterns, and tackle real-world problems, teachers use Bridges lessons to equip our students with the confidence and critical thinking skills they need to excel as flexible mathematical thinkers.

Our early social studies curriculum invites young learners to step beyond their familiar routines and explore the vibrant, diverse world around them. We are deeply committed to fostering empathy and cultural appreciation from the very beginning. As students discover different geographies, traditions, and ways of life, they begin to build a meaningful appreciation for the rich variety of human experience—celebrating both what makes us unique and what holds us together.

Through interactive projects, storytelling, and collaborative discussions, students examine both local and global communities, laying a strong foundation for respect, kindness, and civic responsibility. In upper elementary, students expand their horizons even further, learning to look beyond their own immediate experiences to comprehend an interconnected world. Driven by our commitment to cultivating thoughtful citizens, we empower students to explore multiple perspectives and value diverse cultural and historical narratives. By comparing communities across different eras and geography, students master core geographic, political, economic, and social concepts. This journey begins in 4th grade with North Carolina history and broadens in 5th grade with United States history—encouraging students to connect the past to their present and recognize their own power to shape an inclusive future.

In Lower School, classroom learning and dedicated science lab instruction work hand in hand to create an immersive, cohesive scientific experience. Students build foundational knowledge through guided lessons, targeted readings, thoughtful reflections, and classroom discussions that align with what they will experience in the lab. This classroom preparation ensures students step into the lab ready to engage meaningfully with hands-on experiments and discovery.