Early childhood includes PreK-3 and PreK-4.  These grades represent students’ first experiences with ‘school’ and provide the foundations for future success. The emphasis in each of these classrooms is to empower students with the foundational knowledge and skills that will serve them well as they move into the more formal curriculum.  The structure of the classrooms is learning through centers and play, allowing students to meet the curriculum in a personalized manner.

Much of our formal elementary curriculum (Logic of English, Dimensions) begins in PreK-4, with an emphasis on robust and meaningful academic foundations, with specific emphasis on literacy and mathematics. Teachers team teach in each grade level, providing expertly guided learning, while also enhanced engagement through cross-disciplinary projects and applications in the social sciences.  Personalized student development is prioritized in instruction, with a goal to help each learner reach their fullest potential.

St. Andrew’s Lower School embraces a phonics-based approach to teaching reading. This includes direct phonics instruction in grades PreK- Grade 2; individual and shared reading of literature; and guided instruction in writing, grammar, and spelling.

In Mathematics, grades PreK-4- Grade 4 use Dimensions Mathematics, an evidence-based Singapore Math curriculum focused on creating a deep understanding of numeracy and mathematical functions through an emphasis on fluency and problem solving.

Science and social studies are taught within the classroom using a projects-based or applied approach, often integrated with the application of skills from both language arts and mathematics.

We use the IB Learner Profile and The Positivity Project to teach about character development. Each grade level also has a community service partner each year, helping our students understand the importance of community in the classroom and beyond.

Each grade level participates in Passport to Knowledge, a learning exhibition for family and friends that is the culmination of a multi-week, interdisciplinary study of each grade’s theme in which students produce, show, and share multiple artifacts of learning and exploration.

The  Lower School used the Responsive Classroom model to create a culture of community and belonging for each of our students. With an emphasis on student agency and shared expectations, the Responsive Classroom framework promotes a consistent and positive learning environment in all grade levels.

Every St. Andrew’s Lower School Student has an opportunity to explore their passions and interests through our enrichment classes, including but not limited Spanish, visual arts, music, band/strings (grades 3 and 4), PE, STEM/science lab, and library/learning commons.

We have exciting afterschool programming, which includes the potential for aftercare, a musical production (grades 1-4), sports instruction, intramurals, and specialty classes offered on a semester rotation.

All students in Lower School have a designated iPad for use in class. For Lower School students, technology is employed as a tool to extend the curriculum or utilize unique applications, but does not replace the important use of physical materials in the classroom. St. Andrew’s has a dedicated Lower School Counselor, who works with students weekly in their classes on the developmentally important self-knowledge to be confident learners and young people.