Kingston City School District - Students Are Our Most Valuable Asset

George Washington Elementary School

The George Washington School is a community of families and guides working together to create a positive environment that lays the foundation for those habits of mind that support happiness and success both in school and in life. The partnership of guides and parents encourages the exchange of information and ideas for successful child rearing and education, and offers support for the challenges of today's parents.

Mission Statement

The mission of the George Washington School is to:

Integrate a challenging Montessori education and a caring, responsible community to provide for the academic, social, physical and emotional growth of all students;

Offer children a holistic education in which teachers see the children as unique individuals, understand their multiple intelligences, respect their ideas, and encourage their enthusiasm for learning.

Create an environment that offers young people opportunities to reach their highest potentials:

academically, through appropriately high expectations, and a rich, self paced learning environment that provides the cognitive tools to achieve mastery and build confidence

creatively, through the integration of a variety of avenues for creative expression such as visual arts, creative writing, drama, music and public speaking

physically, through the integration of fine and gross motor movement within the curriculum, and through activities to encourage physical fitness, cooperation, nutritional awareness, mind/body discipline, and yoga

socially, through an environment where children may develop independence, personal meaning, and responsibility for themselves, others, and our world

Build a partnership of students, families, teachers and administrators who create an environment that lays the foundation for those habits of mind that support happiness and success both in school and in life.

Goal

Our goal for each and every child is that, beyond supporting the academic, physical and emotional development that is necessary for success, we hope to instill a joy of learning that will affect their experiences well beyond the preschool years. What we want most for our children is that they become passionate about their own learning, and that they have the tools and skills necessary for them to pursue educational experiences as they grow and develop.

Specifically to:

Establish in each child a mastery of fundamental skills utilizing concrete Montessori materials that help students gain a complete understanding of basic concepts;
Increase the ability of each child to think critically with reasoning and creative problem solving tasks given throughout the curriculum;
Develop the ability of each child to learn quickly and easily and to effectively apply that knowledge in other situations;
Allow a wide variety of avenues for creative expression for each child within the classroom and special activity classes in all areas of the arts;
Encourage physical development of each child through a wide variety of activities in class and playground, physical education classes, and team training;
Encourage every child to develop independence and a sense of personal meaning and responsibility for themselves, others and our world;
Develop in each child a deep love of learning and enthusiastic self-motivation; and
Build in each child a foundation of self-confidence, and inspire students to realize their highest potential.

Curriculum

Our Montessori classroom environments are based on a dynamic blend of freedom and structure. Children are encouraged to choose their activities from among a wide variety of prepared materials in a carefully planned and structured environment. The emphasis is on cultivating awareness, independence, and responsibility in a multi-age community.

The learning curriculum includes planned activity in every day living skills, sensorimotor development, language arts, mathematical thinking and cultural subjects. Children enjoy interacting with nature and engaging in music, movement and art.

Our teachers see themselves as guides and facilitators of children’s learning. Teachers prepare the learning environment, assist children in making choices, and observe and record progress in order to better follow the interests and needs of each individual.

We consider parents to be the primary educators of their children and see our job to be educational resources in that effort. Each year there is a carefully planned calendar of parent and family events. Included are an introductory course to familiarize parents with the Montessori approach, follow-up parent nights to explore specific topics of interest, seasonal workshops that bring the community together for projects in the environment, family fun events, and parent-teacher conferences.