Academics
Gantry View School’s philosophy and approach are predicated on the idea that students learn best when they are actively engaged and advancing along their learning paths at their own best pace. Our exceptionally low student-teacher ratio, experienced and forward-thinking staff, and ongoing pursuit of the most effective resources and activities are critical to making this happen. GVS’s Learning Managers are aware of each student’s stage of progress at any given time. They are skilled in supporting learning processes and strive to seize the learning opportunity inherent in any expression of interest.
Our academic standards exceed what is found in most schools because we integrate thinking and inquiry skills into all subject areas. At the core of Gantry View’s curriculum is the well-established fact that, in order to be retained and applied, all knowledge and skill must be integrated conceptually and fluently accessible.
English/Language Arts
Gantry View School’s English/Language Arts program strengthens oral and written skills and forges an understanding of the world and our place within it. By reading literature, we learn how others experience the world, while reflecting on how we experience it ourselves. We are introduced to communities, places, lives, and beliefs that differ from our own, yet we also discern the commonalities that unite all of us. Through informational texts, we learn about how the world operates, the points-of-view of others, and new skills and knowledge. Through writing, we learn to share our stories, knowledge, thoughts with others in effective ways.
To meet our goal of preparing students for high school and beyond, Gantry View exposes its students to and engages them in literacy experiences that extend beyond the standard school-type assignments. All of this starts from the moment a student starts at GVS, regardless of age.
Math
Gantry View uses Singapore Math, one of the most comprehensive and proven curricula available, as a primary resource, and supplements it with manipulatives, math-based games, online programs, economic transactions, and accounting scenarios. Our total math program helps students develop an early and firm fluency in basic computational and problem-solving skills. Students learn to apply geometric concepts in spatial reasoning; concepts of probability in areas like decision making, prediction, sampling, uncertainty, interpretation of data, and statistical reasoning; and problem-solving strategies that require logical and algebraic reasoning skills, algorithms.
Our approach to mathematics education gives our students the practical tools they need to enhance their thinking and problem-solving skills, and to make sense of their world.
Science
An impactful K-8 science curriculum must cover the subject matter of the life sciences, the physical sciences, and earth/space science, along with practical applications of this knowledge in engineering and human affairs, throughout history. A distinct aspect of Gantry View’s curriculum is its focus on the methods of science as the primary means to find things out, put questions to nature, and make sense of the answers received.
Students apply critical thinking and analysis to address scientific questions and to create strategies for answering them. They learn these skills through discussion, research, hands-on experiments, and demonstrations, and they practice them in projects they originate on topics that interest them.
Social Studies
Gantry View School’s Social Studies program is designed to promote engagement with what is around us, big and small, and the analytical and inquiry skills necessary to make sense of it. Through a comprehensive survey of human civilization, our students learn to make comparisons and perceive connections among past and present events and among the complex happenings in economics, politics, science, cultures, and the arts. Every year adds another layer to our students’ understanding and questioning, starting with our youngest and continuing with increasing complexity to our oldest.
Through its content and a combination of activities, the program simultaneously emphasizes the development of research, writing, and presentation skills
Other Subjects
Gantry View School’s daily schedule includes classes in subjects that round out our students’ education and impart joy. These classes, though non-core subject areas, are constructed and implemented with the same degree of thought and detail found in the major components of our program. They are opportunities for students to learn new and enriching content and to apply their growing body of skills from other areas.