Responsive Classroom (k-5) and Developmental Designs (6-8) approaches fit the Beacon Academy culture very well. Practical strategies help build social and emotional competencies day in and day out. A natural outpouring of these strategies is opportunity to build community, establish order, and engage and transform young students. One of the hallmarks of Responsive Classroom is the list of social skills students need: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control (CARES).

Guiding Principles of Character Education at Beacon Academy

• The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
• How students learn is just as important as what they learn.
• Greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
• Knowing our students —individually, culturally, and developmentally—is as important as knowing the content we teach.
• Knowing our families and working with them as partners is essential to children’s education.

For more information on our Character Education Curriculum, contact Beacon Academy or check out the following resources.

In Our School: Building Community in Elementary Schools by Karen L. Casto and Jennifer R. Audley

Guidelines for Developmental Designs: For Middle School by Scott Tyink and Linda Crawford
www.responsiveclassroom.org