Curriculum

Heart-Centered Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Kids – and all humans! – learn best when they feel safe, known, and connected

What is SEL? Social Emotional Learning supports learners to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

SEL at Grove. We create the conditions for learning and thriving. The Science behind SEL teaches us that “to learn best, young people need to be surrounded by trusting relationships and environments where they feel motivated and engaged, emotionally and physically safe, and a sense of belonging among adults and peers.”*

At each grade level, meaningful, developmentally appropriate SEL lessons are woven into the Grove curriculum. Beyond classroom learning, social emotional awareness is modeled and experienced as a part of everyday life in the Grove community.

Personalized Learning. We nurture autonomy and agency for teachers and students alike. This allows us to tailor learning pathways and experiences to support learners’ unique needs and interests. Personalization doesn’t mean designing a unique plan for every student. Instead, it’s about optimizing choices which support an individual’s learning journey in order to deepen their education and knowledge of self every step of the way.

We create a personalized learning experience from day one. A Grove Learning Path, (essentially a collaboratively designed living “portfolio” ) evolves as your child grows. Families and teachers are  partners in this organic  process which allows for goals to be set, met, and challenged. 

“In the world of business, you see a premium on novelty, nuance, customization, experimentation.  In our schools, we see a premium on routines, right answers, and standardization.  That ought to alarm us very deeply.” 

— Daniel Pink

Hands On, Curiosity Led

Student-Centered, Experiential Learning

Curiosity Led. We believe inquiry drives learning, so we celebrate curiosity. To “workshop” to wonder why? how? what?, and to discover ideas that inspire the wanting-to-learn-more. Inquiry and hands exploration naturally deepens this learning. Workshopping both collaboratively and individually allows us to build on the knowledge we already have. Leaning into our natural curiosity helps us to identify something that brings joy and inspires one’s desire to learn about it. This encourages the learner to ask questions and dig deeper. Workshopping allows us to build on the knowledge we already have. An open mind allows us to keep learning.

The Workshop Model. The Workshop Model is a way to organize lessons and class time that maximizes student work and practice time — focusing on practice, growth, and reflection — while minimizing the amount of time the teacher spends in the front of the classroom. The Workshop Model’s focus on the student allows time for students to “get messy with learning,” reflect on their learning, and pursue self-driven inquiry. This model provides the support structure for our project based learning.

Project Based Learning (PBL): PBL goes hand-in-hand with the Workshop Model by allowing teachers to personalize the experience associated with a standard lesson. Project Design Elements include: challenging problem or question, sustained inquiry, authenticity, student voice and choice to show what you know, reflection , critique and revision.We build in time and space to ask the questions:

  • What do you see and notice; what are you curious about?

  • How does this fit with what you already know, and I wonder lies beneath the surface?

  • What’s really going on here and why is it puzzling?  

“It is essential to rethink our education system and move away from the drills and rote learning of facts that can be better retrieved by computers than human beings.  To really give our kids the best chance to flourish, we have to teach them how to think, lead, innovate, and contribute.  Beyond the prospect of good jobs, we owe these kids better lessons so that they may forge good lives – equipped to be engaged, stimulated, complete human beings.”

— Lynda Weinman

Academics Beyond Standards

Cultivating creativity, collaboration, critical thinking

Of course, as with any school, Grove will deliver on the Colorado State Standards for curriculum. But our “how” is where we differ. We present this curriculum with curiosity at the heart. Our teachers craft interdisciplinary learning experiences that meet the standards while engaging learners with a “driving question” initiated by the students themselves. Our project-based workshop approach cultivates key skills learners need in order to thrive — creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Teachers and learning specialists collaborate to deliver our curriculum consciously, deliberately, and intentionally.  

Competency Based Education We believe that student’s potential is truly beyond measure, which is why we’ve adopted a CBE plan that allows us to monitor, assess, and grow a student's understanding of a topic in a way that honors the individual and meets or exceeds grade-level standards..
A personalized learning approach to learning that provides a flexible and engaging learning environment in which progression is based on mastery of explicit learning objectives or competencies, as demonstrated through evidence of student learning, rather than the time spent in a course/topic.”

Monitoring Progress

A Community  of Learners Hiring teachers and support staff who honor the power of collaboration is a priority. These unique professionals truly embrace transformative learning and commit to designing intentional lesson plans with specialized training to recognize and support challenging behaviors.

We provide continuity from home to school to services and back by inviting therapists and specialists into the classroom, creating authentic learning experiences for both students and their supports.

21st Century Standards

Soft Skills

Problem Solving