Download - Swan School - About Us

Swan School

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Swan School

Swan School is named after James Swan (1818-1900), an important chronicler of northwest native cultures and early pioneer society in Washington Territory.


IndependentEducation


Charting Our Own Course

Swan School has been providing an independent educational option to residents of east Jefferson County since 1983.


Our Mission

Swan School builds strong learners in an environment of academic excellence aligned with creativity and personal expression. We develop wise and compassionate leaders as an investment in everyone’s future.


Our Guiding Principles

Children are forefront at our school and prior to every decision we ask ourselves, “What is best for children?” This question guides us and, along with our Core Values, defines our school.


Community

Children and adults work and play together in a safe and supportive community.

Core Value


Academic Challenge

We create a learning environment that inspires reaching excellence in academics and in life.

Core Value


Creativity

We foster curiosity about the world through a rich environment that encourages innovative thought and personal expression.

Core Value


CompassionWe cultivate empathy for ourselves, empathy for our fellow beings and the environment, and respect our interconnectedness.

Core Value


Leadership

Our educational framework and daily practices are structured to develop leadership skills.

Core Value


Enjoyment

Our learning is dynamic and infused with laughter, joy, and playfulness.

Core Value


BalancedCalendar


Balancing the School Year

In 2012 Swan School adjusted its calendar to best meet the educational needs of children.


A Traditional School Year

A traditional school calendar was created to best meet the family needs in an agrarian society. It consisted of a few terms of irregular length separated by a long summer break.


Is the Traditional School Calendar Best for Children Today?

Research shows, and educators agree, that a traditional school calendar isn’t the best model for meeting children’s needs.


A Balanced School Year

A balanced calendar facilitates continuous learning, helping students retain more as they experience periods of learning and breaks more evenly distributed throughout the year.


Learning in All Seasons

A balanced school calendar also allows learning to take place during all seasons of the year. Swan School sees this as a natural fit with its emphasis on experiential learning and field trips integral to every part of the educational program.


MultiageStructure


Multiage: Best for Children

At Swan School we embrace a multiage classroom structure throughout our school. We do this because we know it is best for children and because it best supports our mission and core values.


Multiage: Embracing Diversity

A student in a multiage classroom comes to understand that diversity is not only a reality but it is something to be embraced, and that classrooms are simply families of learners.


Multiage: Nurturing

Atmosphere

Purposefully structuring a class that includes a span of ages and takes advantage of the resulting diversity, allows students to naturally become more accepting of one another’s differences. There is an atmosphere of nurturing rather than one of competition.


Multiage: Individual Support

In a multiage classroom the teacher finds himself or herself supporting each individual child as to their own complex set of needs rather than trying to lead a group of students to all complete an age-based step at the same time.


Small School

Small Classes


Small School Common Sense

Common sense tells us that smaller is better in the case of schools and education. With fewer students per teacher every child can receive the attention they deserve.


Small School Research

Research backs this up. Studies such as Small Schools: Great Strides by Wasley, Fine, Gladden, Holland, King, Mosak, & Powell (Bank

Street College of Ed., 2000), have found that “... student's attachment, persistence, and performance are all stronger in small schools.”


Small School Research

Additionally it has been found that small schools experience better attendance, lower dropout rates, higher grade point averages, stronger test scores, fewer class failures, and a lesser likelihood of repeating a grade.


Small School Student Perspective

“The classes are really small so the teacher can work with you and you don’t have to wait a long time for help. This works really well in math so we can do more individualized work.”

Rowan, age 9


Small School Student Perspective

“We have smaller classes that are not as crazy so you can focus.”

Trillium, age 10


BalancedAcademics


Finding Balance:Exploration

The elementary years of childhood are full of exploration and wonder. The world is new and fascinating. Children learn about self and how they can relate socially to one another.


Finding Balance: Foundation &

Variety

Swan School recognizes both the need for children to gain foundational knowledge and skills, and to explore a variety of avenues of learning.


Finding Balance: Traditional Subjects

Finding academic balance doesn’t mean that traditional core subjects are ignored or short changed. Math, reading, writing, science, history, geography, economics, are all included in a Swan School education.


Finding Balance Can Mean More

However, an education overly focused on the “three R’s” or on “STEM” (science, technology, engineering, and math) is not enough. Children need to explore more than what is covered on standardized tests.


Finding Balance: Fine Arts

The fine arts, including both vocal and instrumental music, allow students to connect with the world through their hearts. At Swan School children follow these creative pursuits each day of the week.


Finding Balance: Spanish

During the elementary years language acquisition comes naturally to children. At Swan School students learn and use Spanish at every grade level throughout the day and in focused sessions twice each week.


Finding Balance: Social Emotional

Learning

Social and emotional learning is an important part of growing up. We support this both through age appropriate instruction and by giving children the chance to practice their developing skills in a variety of settings.


Finding Balance

As John Keating (characterized by Robin Williams) exclaimed in the movie Dead Poets Society, “...medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”


Adam’s Graduation Speech

“When I first came to Swan School I felt pretty beaten down. It seemed as though there was no hope for me to learn and succeed in life, let alone in the classroom. Swan School teachers changed all that. Swan School showed me that I wasn’t stupid and that I could learn and succeed.

I think back to the people and times that have shaped me in the last 2 years. Every teacher deserves a thank you for helping me reach my goals. The love and support of my family has been greatly appreciated. But truly, the main ingredient of my Swan School experience has been my peers. We all faced hardships, but we were able to overcome them together.

To me the end of my time at Swan School is just the beginning of the next step. Today is just the first of many great accomplishments I hope to achieve in my life. I will succeed along with the support my teachers have given me to keep my motivations in sight. Today I will set out and find new grounds, but I will always remember my time at Swan School.”


Swan School


Download - Swan School - About Us

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