They learn about science through an interactive classroom garden and learn to read different types of media such as articles and poems. Students will have a variety of learning centers to experience and will be exposed to a phonics program to help establish the alphabet in their minds as a foundation for reading. They must have a reputation for producing students who are well prepared to take the next steps in their education. There are also two playgrounds, an athletic field, and nature trails through a wooded area. Because students care about their world, they raise money for the humane society and to raise awareness about pollution and trash in the ocean and how it affects the ecosystem. Students do not develop a work ethic by receiving grades, but by learning responsibility for their work. A before-school program is available for all grade levels, but for Breakwater students only. Students go on curriculum-related field trips. Keyboarding skills are taught every year in the elementary grades. With approximately 600 students, there are 85 teachers, some of whom are part-time, and 45 support and administrative staff in 10 buildings on a six-acre campus. Second-graders go the Chicago Field Museum and participate in a scavenger hunt. These dyads are flexible, however, and the grouping of students changes throughout the day depending on what is being learned and the needs of the students. Is the Coronavirus Crisis Increasing America's Drug Overdoses? It is hoped that children will develop the desire to make a difference in the world through community involvement, personal and social awareness, and respect for diversity. Teachers use technology, projects in art and drama, guest speakers, and field trips to enhance the classroom experience. In Stage 3 Art, students are taught respect of the work of other artists as they explore different themes and more techniques. By fifth grade, students in math will be adding and subtracting fractions, graphing, identifying patterns, and learning beginning geometry, basic algebraic equations, and how to use money with the Saxon Math program. Keck Observatory, and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, to name a few. The lessons cross the curriculum and use multi-sensory activities to help students learn through different media. Every student is required to take classes in visual and the performing arts, and every student must take classes on twenty-first century essential skills. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site. In the summer, the school offers a variety of camps for all ages that explore topics from mummies to cooking around the world, and from international folk art to wilderness survival. A reasonable tuition may be the crucial consideration for some parents (annual tuitions on this list range from $5,000 to $50,000 annually). Standardized tests are used in the upper grades to help determine how well students are acquiring knowledge and skills. Community service is a part of the educational program and students participate through a school-wide composting program and support of the Bayview Mission, an institution that provides services and food to people living in the Hunters Point and Bayview neighborhoods. There are three programs at Summit Schools: the preschool program, the beginning program (which encompasses first and second grade), and the intermediate program (which encompasses the third, fourth and fifth grades). Every two years the students put on a play or musical. Serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students, Capitol Hill Day School is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools. Spanish is offered in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Founded in 1968, the school has an enrollment of approximately 225 students, with a student-teacher ratio of seven-to-one. All teachers have teaching degrees in either elementary education or early childhood education. Thales is a kindergarten through ninth-grade school with over 530 students. There are multiple outdoor activities and chores for parents, teachers, students, and administrators that help to build bonds between all groups. Students in grades K--7 are tested using the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and consistently out-perform other students in the state and nationally. At least once a month students share their artwork or poetry with the rest of the school.