A Road Map To A Dream
One of the most important decisions you will make for your child is the school they will attend.
What is the dream you have for your child?
Academic success?
The ability to work cooperatively towards a goal?
Developing and using innate talents?
Discovering God inspired purpose for the present and the future?
Let us partner with you as you navigate this “Road to a Dream.”
Begin here: Relationship and trust with creative opportunities and enough time to discover how you learn, who you are, feel safe expressing your individuality, and allowing others to be who they are, and giving back to your community. Achieving each milestone toward a life well lived is paved with many opportunities.
Kindergarten-5th grades: We travel a new meandering exciting road where we begin with wonder and a surprise at every turn.
Rich play develops executive function, which enables children to plan, solve problems, control impulses and work toward a goal. This directly relates to academic and artistic achievement in the progression towards the dream.
Rich activities such as music creation, movement, dramatic play, gardening, painting, storytelling, observing, measuring, and evaluating are the paths that lead to higher order thinking and mature communication of knowledge. Learning to think mathematically, reading, and understanding great literature mark these early years.
6th-8th grades: Having traveled safely and knowing the terrain and how things work, we are now ready for a higher speed road. There is much fear on a new road. Adolescence is a time to revisit who you are and where you belong.
“Given the fact that a year in a middle school student’s life is a much larger percentage of his or her overall life than it is for an adult; and given all the growth taking place—the mistakes, conflicts, insights, joy, tension, wisdom, and risk taking; and given that students lack the perspective that comes from life experience, it’s no wonder that students experience their first year of middle school as intense and tumultuous. Every day is the end, or beginning, of all life as they know it.” Rick Wormeli (Educational Leadership April 2011)
The emphasis is to assure that the student feels like they belong, are heard, can make mistakes, and still feel safe to learn. When students feel safe to take risks they can achieve high standards. They continue to develop respectful ways to disagree and argue using evidence from their learned ability to research good cites. The continued emphasis on cooperation and team building encourages critical thinking and creative problem solving. Understanding how to question, analyze, and evaluate in mathematics, science, history, literature, the arts and sports is essential for the road that lies ahead. We use assessment so that the student can see the progress and the areas that need to be revisited. Common standards assure that they are ready when they need to get on the high speed freeway we call high school. They are now confident and organized, prepared for the challenge ahead.
High School 9th-12th grades: You begin with the end in mind.
The Foundation Academy has specific expectations for graduation. Along the road there are many construction zones, detours, lane changes, hazards, exits, and entrances.
Because we are on the road to the dream that supports a life that is meaningful, taking responsibility and ownership for traveling becomes essential. Independence and a productive future require confidence, kindness, discrimination, and analyzing perspective.
It is also the time to assure that the student can consistently work in a team environment, can reach set goals, and produce inspiring, rigorous, and meaningful products in all the academics.
Independent research, project productions, portfolios, and presentations are the sole responsibility of the student. When on the freeway there can only be one driver and one decision maker. The rest stops along the way allow the teachers to support and teach and reteach what is needed for the trip to continue.
Do you exit at the stop called college, or career, or military? That exit is up to your child.
The road map to a dream has been designed to bring you to a place where you are prepared to make the choice for your meaningful life.
