Alturas promotes a love for learning and marked academic growth among its students. In an effort to create a more educated and civic-minded culture, Alturas is an authorized member of International Baccalaureate Programmes*. Students are taught Spanish through instruction and social interaction.

Students are in full-day Kindergarten, followed by multi-age/multi-grade classrooms. This structure is proven to grow students from their academic level, and not just their grade level. Students have the opportunity to model and learn from their peers as they collaborate to solve real-life problems. Relationships are formed through mentoring. Following this model, classrooms become a community that supports, encourages, and discovers together. They are engaged in learning and continually challenged.

Students learn in small groups at their instructional levels regardless of age or designated grade. Teachers practice diversification in the classroom by utilizing a variety of methods and tools to ensure that each student has measurable academic growth each year.

The Academy seeks to support, educate, and inspire every student to think critically and collaboratively, value learning, and recognize their common humanity and shared stewardship of the planet. As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, our students are inspired to be lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and global citizens. We have a profound understanding that humans are natural inquirers, they want to learn and explore in an environment that is safe and engaging. We are developing growth mindsets in our students where they embrace the struggle and understand that the struggle is part of the journey. Teaching is student centered and curriculum is focused on imparting knowledge as well as teaching students to be caring, principled, reflective, balanced, open minded, inquirers, risk takers and thinkers.

Key Elements:

● Children deserve to be taught at their instructional levels to achieve an education that is rigorous and engaging. When students are taught at instructional levels, they can reach their highest potential of learning as well as being leaders and strong mentors. In every Alturas classroom, instruction is provided in small groups, at instructional. We believe that categorizing students by grade levels limits their ability to reach their academic potential. Students constantly collaborate and communicate with partners and group members. They are taught the importance of taking ownership of their own education and supporting their classmates. Through small group learning the students foster analytical and critical thinking skills and explore real life world problems where every member of the group contributes. They collaborate, question, and discover the world around them.

● The multi-age classroom is a unique style of teaching that provides student support through peer mentoring and peer collaboration. Another positive aspect to multi-aged classrooms is that students will remain with the same teacher for up to three years. This allows teachers to learn students’ strengths and needs quickly, and to meet students’ needs across an extended period. Our model is based on best practices in education.

● In classrooms, the teacher primarily acts as a facilitator/trainer to help students become independent, collaborative learners. Our educators teach with our students not at them. They never sit down throughout the day as they are constantly engaged with their students. They go from one instructional group to another giving lessons as students independently take responsibility and guide their learning. Emphasis is placed on the classroom as a collaborative, safe, and supportive community.

● Individuals who believe their talents can be developed through challenging work, good strategies, and input from others have a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset is essential in this model and understanding that making mistakes, respecting, and analyzing others’ opinion is part of the learning process. Teaching excellence is gained through engagement and collaboration and developing the 21st Century skills of communication, collaboration, critical and creative thinking. Our program inspires to make learning relevant, develop higher- level thinking skills, promote teamwork as a process, and incorporate technology as a learning tool. In the end, our commitment to our vision is unwavering. Our mission statement strongly reflects our goals and achievements. Alturas promotes academic distinction, while empowering students to be principled and intellectual leaders as they explore, create, investigate, and analyze in a safe, engaged, collaborative.