Philosophy of Education: Our philosophy is congruent with the Experimentalist philosophy which views change as an ever-present process in a student's learning experience. Experimentalism insists that curriculum is the subject matter of social experience and instruction is a problem solving, project-oriented process. The role of the teacher is to assist and advise the student, actively participating and contributing to their learning in order to expand and discover the society they live in and share experiences together. We believe that a child's education at Ariel Community Academy should be based on current and up-to-date research that is supported by the best teaching and learning methods. Therefore, students should be aware of their own multiple intelligences and utilize a wide variety of abilities to demonstrate what they have learned. Curriculum: The Ariel Community Academy Integrated Thematic Curriculum is a working document that gives you a framework for what a students should know and what you should teach. The design of the curriculum is purposefully broad in order to provide the teacher with many options for planning and implementing individualized, small group, and whole group instruction. The scope and sequence is a grade level guide for necessary skills. The universal themes provide a way for teachers to integrate multiple intelligence instruction across content and program areas. The curriculum provides teachers with the autonomy to create authentic or criterion referenced assessments for individual, small group or whole group instructional plans. Ariel Community Academy represents a student-family-school-community partnership that educates children to their fullest potential: cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically. The staff is committed to being nurturing and responsive to individual student needs and supportive of families and community. Together our partnership will assist students in becoming literate participants and contributors in a global society. The three imperatives that drive teaching and learning at Ariel Community Academy are:
Writing - Ariel students will be cross-categorical writers, able to use the symbols, language and strategies of all discipline to record their communications.
Presentation Skills - Ariel students will be able to present their ideas and the ideas of others
Decision Making and Problem Solving - Ariel students will demonstrate a critical use of knowledge to solve personal and collective problems.