We are a small, close-knit community of learners. Students are well known here by many adults who are a part of their daily lives. There are many opportunities for older and younger students to interact and learn from each other. Bellwether is well known for our emergent curriculum, our social curriculum, our commitment to educating the whole child, and our understanding that there are many ways to be a learner.

Multiage classrooms provide an environment where the talents and needs of individual students are emphasized and a more authentic sense of community is created in the classroom. Age alone does not determine the skill level of a child. Multiage groupings provide a flexible setting that recognizes children’s varied developmental levels and learning styles as well as honors the diversity in the group. They are also designed to maximize the potential benefit of interactions and cooperation among children who vary in experience, maturity, and ability. There are frequent opportunities for the development of student leadership as children are encouraged to offer and request support from each other in all aspects of classroom activities. Since students are in a classroom for more than one year, teachers further develop student/teacher/family relations and gain a better understanding of their students’ long-term development.

In our small school setting, students are known extremely well by their teachers and their peers. There is a high level of individual attention on a daily basis. Younger children know older children and there is a strong emphasis on respect for others. Teachers are more able to deal directly with social, emotional and academic challenges as they arise, providing scaffolding for children to work through situations and encouraging them to reflect on their outcomes.

Progressive educators honor the true root of meaning of the word "educate", meaning to "draw forth", by allowing children to construct knowledge and learn in ways that are meaningful to them. Young people are vitally interested in knowing how the world works; they learn most deeply and thoroughly when learning arises from their own questions, concerns and investigation. We encourage them to explore their surroundings, to manipulate and experiment with tools and materials, to ask questions, and to follow their imagination and urge for self-expression through art and dramatic play. This approach to education optimizes their natural learning abilities. Teachers respond sensitively to children's styles and rhythms of learning, and prepare the classroom environment in accordance with their careful observations of children's activities, interests and needs. Traditional education models focus on transmitting or passing knowledge on to children, which does not recognize how children really learn, and often does not result in children retaining information that was 'covered'. We focus as much on the learning process itself as we do on the content, providing children with the skills and abilities to learn in any environment.

To ensure our students have a firm grounding in academic skills such as reading, writing, spelling, math, and science, teachers artfully balance exploration and inquiry with teacher-facilitated workshops, interdisciplinary projects, and additional learning activities that they create based on what they are observing in the classroom. By connecting real and meaningful knowledge with the development of academic skills, teachers enable students to take the fullest advantage of the emergent curriculum. We find that inspired students often surge ahead of common academic standards; we do not follow a list of "what every first (or second...) grader must know"- an arbitrarily selected body of information and disconnected facts. At Bellwether, knowledge and ideas are active and alive for children.

The admissions process at Bellwether mainly involves gathering information about applicants from parents and, in some cases, from past or current teachers. Requirements for admission include a student application form and a $50 application fee. There is no application deadline. Read more about the Admissions Process.

We believe that a student progresses at his or her own rate in ways that their talents, challenges, and interests dictate. Because we see learning as such an individualized activity, both learning and assessment are individualized at Bellwether. We do not use assessment techniques that compare one student’s progress with other students’ progress. Rather the purpose of assessment is to give each learner and his/her teachers and family a holistic and authentic picture of the child’s present level of understanding and growth, so that learning strategies can be devised and modified as needed.

Working together, the student, family and teachers identify learning goals and evaluate the student’s success in reaching those goals. Each student’s development is assessed by means of regular observation, documentation, reflection, dialogue, and conferences. The use of portfolios consisting of written narratives, work samplings from projects and class work, and an assessment rubric are used to document student learning throughout the year. Students, teachers and families use the portfolio to reflect on growth that has taken place as well as to identify areas that require more work.

Yes! We invite you to learn more about Bellwether by attending a tour and/or a parent open house. Read more.

We firmly believe that children best acquire skills when they are developmentally ready to do so. Therefore, instruction at Bellwether is constructed to suit the needs and strengths of individual learners. Bellwether classrooms are generally staffed with a 10:1 ratio of teachers (although it is often lower than that) which gives our teachers the opportunity to plan, differentiate, and deliver engaging and developmentally appropriate instruction for all students.

Our school day programs ends at 2:30 at which time children either depart for the day or stay for our Afternoon Program. Afternoon Program has two different components: Core or Enrichment. All children in our Afternoon Program share a snack together after school is dismissed. Children in Core engage in outdoor play and creative indoor activities with our talented team of Afternoon Teachers. Children enrolled for Enrichment participate in special programs with expert teachers around a specific area of interest such as Art, Science or Math. Registration information for Afternoon Program is mailed to families over the summer.

Because we recognize the benefits of bringing together diverse groups of learners, there is no profile of the "ideal Bellwether student." We do not use any form of testing in our admissions process. Most students who apply to Bellwether are offered enrollment. However, as a small school, we do recognize certain limitations when considering students for enrollment as well as for re-enrollment. Bellwether does not employ specialists to support students with exceptional educational needs. While the training and dedication of our teachers allows us to teach a variety of students, some with significant learning differences, we reserve the right to determine that a child would be better served in a setting where specialized interventions are offered as part of the school program.

We are thrilled to be able to provide our Holistic Education approach throughout the calendar year at Bellwether Summer! and at Winter and Spring Break Camps. Emphasis is placed on promoting children’s creativity and social skills while satisfying their natural curiosity through interesting activities in a stimulating environment. Sessions such as Nature & Nurture, For the Fun of Fit, Bellwether Junior Bakers, and Sensory Overload have been full of Bellwether fun and adventure. Registration materials for our Break Camps will be available in December 2011; information for our Summer Program will be available in January 2012.

Bellwether appeals to parents who want their kids to be excited about school and learning. Our families have a high regard for education; many parent themselves are educators. Parents who choose Bellwether are oftentimes self-starters, good thinkers, and involved community members. Bellwether parents have to develop confidence in a system that’s different from how they were taught. We don’t give grades here. We don’t give tests and we deliberately de-emphasize assessments that compare one student’s progress with that of another. In an era of high-stakes standardized tests and education defined in terms of outcome rather than process, Bellwether stands apart.