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Overview of the Sharon
Alternative Elementary School
Since its
founding in
1972, the Sharon Alternative School has provided its students with a
unique curriculum based on child-centered education. The Alternative
School occupies a self-contained area of East Elementary School where
approximately 130 K-5 children from throughout the community
participate in a program based on cooperation, process-learning and
whole-brained approaches to education. All participating families must
provide 2 1/2 hours of weekly service, either as classroom aides or
home workers. The requirement for parental involvement, the integration
of subject matter within a creative, enriched environment and the
strong emphasis on "hands-on" manipulative education make the
Alternative School an exciting aspect of Sharon's excellent educational
community.
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Vision Statement
The Sharon Alternative
Elementary School is dedicated to creating a school community where
individuality, diversity, equity, creativity, cooperation, honesty,
integrity and mutual respect form the foundation on which all learning
and interacting take place. We believe that these attributes will
foster an atmosphere where a passion for learning and a striving for
individual achievement will be evident in all that we do. The
responsibility for creating this environment lies with all members of
the school community -- families, teachers and students.
To create this
environment, we must have:
- Honest and open
communication among all members of the
community -- opinions freely expressed, without fear of being judged,
and differences of opinion respected and valued.
- Teachers, students and
families excited about and enjoying
teaching and learning -- forming a vital, energetic partnership that
respects and appreciates each others' efforts.
- Students taking
responsibility for their learning by making
choices and by becoming active, curious learners in all aspects of
their lives.
- Families actively
supporting the school with theis time, abilities and resources.
- Each community member
striving for his or her personal best, while supporting and
appreciating the abilities and success of others.
- Direct, hands on learning
experiences that encourage students
to take risks, make connections and learn from their mistakes.
- Teaching and learning in
a variety of ways and through a
variety of experiences -- integrating art, music, drama, dance,
physical activity and outdoor education as fundamental parts of the
curriculum.
- Students learning to take
responsibility for themselves,
their community and the world around them.
- The opportunity and means
for students, teachers and families
to experience quiet, calm and peaceful reflection.
- A nurturing and
emotionally supportive community that fosters
caring relationships.
- An awareness of the
wholeness and interdependence of our
community, understanding that the success of the community is
indivisible from the success of each and every member.
Our Success will
be
judged by the extent to which our students leave the school community
as independent, confident and self-motivated learners with the academic
and social skills to enable them to read well, write and speak
effectively, problem solve, and think critically and creatively with
the desire to use these abilities to better the world around them.
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Sharon
Alternative School Core Commitments
The Alternative
School is a community of learners comprised of students, families and
educators. It is the responsibility of each member of the Alternative
School to actively cultivate learning as a continual, family and
community-based process that fuses cognitive, social and emotional
development, creating a solid foundation for academic success and
life-long learning.
- As Alternative School students, families and
educators, we:
- Embrace
the opportunity to work collaboratively, empower each other, plan
together, and lead the school as a team.
- Recognize
that learning begins with the instinctive desire to find things out and
becomes a shared quest, building on prior knowledge and hands-on
experiences. The educator’s role is to be a listener, co-learner, and
facilitator, and to routinely provide opportunities for multi-age and
cross-disciplinary inquiry.
- Explore
learning inside, outside and beyond school through the inquiry cycle of:
- collection
of prior knowledge, questions and resources,
- observing,
theorizing, researching and experimenting, and
- recording
results, sharing with others, making connections, and reflecting.
- *Challenge
one another to take risks and practice leadership serving, giving, and
achieving together as a means of discovering, developing and
celebrating each person’s own voice.
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