C.S. #1 Elementary

CS1 has surpassed our expectations! We love the arts-infused curriculum. The teachers are dedicated, passionate and caring individuals who are committed to educating the whole child. The students are taught to take responsibility for themselves, each other and the community. The numerous field trips are opportunities for hands-on learning. The students are encouraged to nurture and express their creativity. The one-room school house environment allows students to learn from each other as well as develop leadership skills. We feel so fortunate to have found this gem of a school. If you are looking for a kind and compassionate educational environment with high academic standards, this is the elementary school for you.

UPDATE: We now have 2 kiddos at this school and are more impressed in it than ever! They are excelling academically, but more importantly we feel like the school is a partner in raising conscientious, kind, responsible, cultured, and fun children. Big fans!

ORIGINAL POST: We have absolutely love this school! It's focus on experiential learning and the arts is a perfect fit for our daughter, who has attended for one year. It is an unbelievable learning environment for kids, due to its one-room schoolhouse format, amazing field trips, and top-notch teaching staff. It is helping to build the personality traits in our child that we believe will take her far - accountability, confidence, and a sense of community. And it didn't have a waiting list and is reasonably priced for a private, non-profit education! It has been a blessing for us and so many others in it's 40 plus year history. Thanks, CS#1!

I never before saw a school like CS#1, where young children learn responsibility for their own education and emotional intelligence as members of a community. Tons of field trips (> 1/wk!) and an arts-rich curriculum did not come at the cost of core subjects. Looking back now that my son is in high school, I could never have imagined a more successful elementary experience for the development of the whole child. CS#1 provided my son with crucial life skills that helped him succeed at schools both at home and in foreign countries.

I have so many positive things to say about CS#1. I have one child who graduated 7th grade from CS#1 and 1 who is still attending...Daily, teachers engage students in critical thinking. This is often lacking in today's education due to curriculum/time demands and class size. At CS#1 students think and make choices collectively and individually. Because of small class size and time allowed to deviate from the curriculum, decisions good or bad can play out out and then students can see the consequence of a decision. Students take great pride and ownership in their school. This is fostered in a variety of ways: daily problem solving with morning meetings, choosing their yearly school play, making their own stage sets, creating lists and shopping for costumes, making preparations for their pancake breakfast, and many other examples. Learning responsibility and independence are also important pieces of the day. Students are responsible for daily classroom cleaning jobs including caring for classroom pets. Students learn by correcting their mistakes, not just getting a grade and moving on. They also gain great speaking confidence. Weekly, the younger students give show and tell presentations on something educational. Older students give a weekly rotation of presentations including poetry readings, current events, and book chats. Another huge part of the curriculum is going on field studies in the community. Every other week students go to a community farm to learn many aspects of science, along with volunteering their time to help support local community farming. They go to many exhibits around town throughout the year, concerts, gardens, theater, museums. These field studies don't just involve the actual event, but they might learn about the architecture of the building, history of the location. So much learning goes on that comes up organically just from things they see and do on these field trips. Each student is paired with a heart friend, one older and one younger. This has been another great growing and learning experience for my kids. The younger gets guidance from the older and experience in asking for help and asserting needs. The older gets to guide and show responsibility. This is all done with careful and watchful guidance from teachers. It is really a beautiful model of how to handle relationships and playing different roles in relationships. A child who might be the youngest in their family has a chance to be the oldest at school. An older child or one without siblings might get a sense of what it is like to have an older helping them. Lastly, and most importantly in my opinion is the unique setting of nurturing friendships with ZERO bullying. This is a place kids can be who they are without worrying what others will think. It is a place where learning, curiosity, creativity, and kindness are nurtured.
It is an exemplary model for schools.