Kindergarten

St. Louis Kindergarten Charter School

CLASSROOM STRUCTURE:

Every classroom has 2 certified teachers and a maximum of 22 students. We are so proud to say that we have such a diverse community of students!  We have over 30 different  countries represented at our school.  

Each teacher has the autonomy to create a classroom environment that is specific to the students they have in their class each year.  In some classrooms you might see flexible seating while in others you may not.  In some classrooms we may have some of our ELL students clustered so that they can receive ELL co-teaching services.  Our teachers create an environment that is unique to their students.  One thing that is the same in each classroom is the importance of play!  We value the fact that in these early years children learn best through play and this is incorporated into every classroom in the Early Childhood building.

CLASSROOM CURRICULUM:

Each classroom follows the Missouri learning standards as the basis for our curriculum.  We implement Project Based Learning as the vehicle to teach these standards. Project Based Learning gives students an opportunity to learn content standards by posing a meaningful question to explore and engage in a real world problem to solve, or a challenge to design or create something.  Students do this by inquiring about the topic by asking questions and developing their own answers. Students then create high-quality products and present their work to other people. Students often learn success skills through PBL such as critical thinking, problem solving, and working collaboratively with their peers.

We believe that we have the most important job of building the foundation of literacy.  Our teachers each create a literacy rich environment that includes opportunity for shared reading, shared writing, independent and guided reading and writing.  All of these combined leave children with a passion for reading and writing.

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING:

At PCS we know that we have a responsibility to teach to the whole child and this includes attending to each child's social and emotional needs. We do this by using a strengths-based approach in that we look at the strengths of every child to build these resiliency skills.  We work with students to understand and identify their feelings, help them to make peer and adult connections and relationships, and also help to understand conflict resolution skills.

ADDITIONALLY:

Each classroom has 45 minutes a day of  “specials”.  These classes include physical education, music, art, and library.  Through these classes each student has the opportunity to explore the arts in a more focused way.  Our students also have 3 opportunities a day for outdoor recess.  Children need play and gross motor movement in their day, especially in these early years!