Programs Overview
	Each of our programs are designed to be developmentally appropriate and share key features of our overall philosophy and curriculum characteristics.   Long Ridge's SMALL CLASS SIZE enables our faculty to address each child's style and rate of learning, making it personally meaningful and appropriate for each student. Individualized instruction also permits greater opportunity to replace any misconceptions or apprehension with excitement and genuine understanding. Our dedicated teachers develop close relationships with every student, understanding each child's strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. This rapport becomes the basis for designing the most appropriate educational strategies for each student. Small classes also promote collaboration among peers and give ample space for the development of each student’s unique voice and thought process, encouraging a natural flow of conversation, questioning, listening, reflection and understanding. This collaboration boosts a child’s self-esteem and natural curiosity. MULTI-AGE GROUPINGS accommodate the range of abilities and development typical in young children. Nursery through Grade 5 classes are organized in two-year age groupings with each student spending two years with the same teachers. This provides a continuity and familiarity that enables intellectual risk-taking—exploring new ideas and sharing thoughts and discoveries with teachers and with others. Multi-age classes also inspire students to learn from each other. Older children consolidate their own knowledge by sharing what they know with younger students who learn naturally from their older classmates. The THEME-DRIVEN INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM champions natural curiosity, analytical thinking, and free expression The Long Ridge academic program allows students to learn a topic from every conceivable angle. Whether the nursery school is diving into sea life, or the third grade is living in Medieval times, our theme-driven interdisciplinary approach means students will study and explore the topic in each academic area—reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music—thereby giving children a complete experience that suggests that math, for example, exists in everything we do or think about; or that science can be a drama, and a masterpiece. As children combine information that is fields apart, creativity becomes habitual and problems are tackled with novel approaches—a necessity for success and responsible citizenship in our world. As Long Ridge students seek and apply knowledge across disciplines, they hone their critical thinking skills of comparison, contrast, evaluation, and synthesis. An interdisciplinary curriculum also helps children learn to express themselves through a variety of media. As our students’ imaginations and curiosity are emphasized, and their methods of analysis and articulation are challenged, they grow as leaders in their own education, and gain advanced academic responsibility. HANDS-ON sensory and experiential learning engages the whole child.As the research of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Howard Gardner reveals, young children think in concrete rather than abstract terms. Thus, they achieve a better understanding of their lessons by experiencing them with all their senses. From the beginning, students are encouraged to feel, hear, see, smell and touch, as well as read and write about their studies. A rich abundance of materials in a variety of media gives children many ways to apply their knowledge. Beyond the classroom, children explore the fourteen-acre campus and the local community as resources for further discovery and experience. LEARNING METHODS IN BALANCE promote competence and advancement .While rote memorization without understanding serves little purpose, fluent competency in many skills is a necessary part of a child's education. Long Ridge integrates exercises that ensure competency in such important skills as multiplication, spelling, handwriting, and grammar in a timely and meaningful manner. Once children demonstrate understanding of a concept, memorization and repetition help them achieve high levels of mastery.