Academic Life

The beauty of learning at Kingsbury is that our curriculum is an individualized academic program where children focus on learning concepts and skills at their own pace.

Class placement is not based strictly on age, but reflects the learning styles as well as general academic and social development skills of each individual student. Our teachers, assistant teachers, and other specialists continuously interact so that each child’s program can be modified to meet his or her specific needs.

We utilize a variety of instructional techniques and methods, believing that no one system is ideal for every child. Study and organizational skills are embedded in the curriculum to promote self-reliance and future academic success.

Themes and topics are integrated across different curricular areas--overlapping from one area to the next as well as connecting different subjects. Reading comprehension and acquisition of math concepts and operations are also fundamental elements of our curriculum.

Kingsbury focus is on how each child can most productively learn, rather than on having the group “cover” a specific quantity of material. If you walk into a Kingsbury classroom, you’ll see teachers encouraging students to challenge themselves and find students rising to that challenge!

To ensure that we provide appropriate challenges to all of our students, Kingsbury is proud to inaugurate a Gifted and Talented Learning Disabilities (GTLD) program beginning in the Fall of 2008. This new initiative will address the needs of students who are both gifted and learning disabled. A GTLD classroom in the Lower School will utilize best practices involving curriculum, instructional practices and materials for gifted students and provide remediation for students’ learning difficulties. The new initiative will also provide opportunities for a range of Kingsbury students and will serve as a source of enrichment throughout the school through staff training and staff development. To provide the best student instruction, Kingsbury is dedicated to creating a learning community for students, families, and staff.

Sincerely,

Marlene Gustafson

Marlene Gustafson
Associate Head of School