Elementary School

~Junior Kindergarten - Grade 6~

NOW ENROLLING FOR 2023/2024 SCHOOL YEAR!
 ​Our elementary school includes a Junior Kindergarten program and kindergarten through grade 6. Our school day runs from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday with options for early drop-off and extended pick-up.  Healthy lunch options are included in your tuition. The Junior Kindergarten program welcomes students who are 4 years old by August 1st. Kindergarten welcomes students who are 5 years old by August 1st. The upper elementary program offers mixed-age classes. Our maximum student/teacher ratio of 9:1 promotes small class sizes, allowing more individual attention to each learner. Each class has a lead teacher, as well as an assistant teacher.
Our school emphasizes a strong sense of community, the flexibility of an emergent curriculum, and respect for children as capable beings with an innate desire to learn. By paying attention to the students' questions, our teachers are able to craft an exciting curriculum that responds to their interests, leading to a dynamic holistic educational program. At The Atelier School, we seamlessly blend a strong academic background with the arts, allowing students to express their knowledge creatively and uniquely in a warm and supportive community. Before a child can feel strong and confident in their academic pursuits, they must first feel secure and supported, developing and strengthening their emotional intelligence. We work together with parents and students to support the needs of each student, socially, emotionally, and academically.
At The Atelier School, we utilize both state and national standards, as guidelines for grade level expectations and markers of your child's academic progress, covering all subjects including English language arts, foreign language (Spanish), natural sciences, mathematics, music, and visual arts. What makes our program unique is how we meet those benchmarks. When hands-on activities are integrated with the students' interests, stronger connections are made and students excel academically. Your child's progress will be shared with you through documentation, daily observations, and monthly reflections, and discussed at parent/teacher conferences. By the end of the school year, each student will have created a portfolio of work to accompany qualitative and quantitative assessments from their teachers.
The learning environment is a central part of the guiding philosophy of The Atelier School. Our elementary classrooms are bright, open, with minimal distractions or clutter, giving teachers space to select interesting provocations which lead to meaningful and authentic learning experiences. Instead of sitting in rows of desks, students' work together in pods in our STEM/STEAM based room, at workbenches in our makerspace, or exploring our outdoor classroom. Small class sizes allow our teachers to give individual attention to each learner, to account for different learning styles and multiple intelligences. Our teacher-researchers are continually working to improve their pedagogy, supported through professional development activities and educational conferences and workshops.
 We enjoy regular field trips within our local community. Connecting with the greater community provides students opportunities to visit local businesses, public spaces, galleries, museums, and take part in service projects nurturing involved and responsible citizens.

Daily Focus Areas in Elementary School

During daily work time students focus on core subject areas as they investigate a big idea. In doing so, each day they build knowledge and skills in focus areas including math, science, and reading.  Music and Art are a constant in our curriculum, and our program also boasts a music, art, science, math, Spanish  and yoga integration specialists. A time for mindfulness (a yoga practice, journal writing, or reading) provides for daily reflection, which is vital to meaningful learning. Time outside in our natural playground brings opportunities to work in nature, to run and play, to imagine, to garden, and laugh with friends.  In the afternoon, children have personal choice work time. Each grade adapts this time to fit the developmental needs of their students, allowing time to work with materials and think through ideas that are important to them and thus relevant to their growth. Teachers work one-on-one or in ​small groups based on ability.
7:30 am: Early Drop-Off
8:30 am: School Day Begins
8:30-10:00am: Work Time (morning investigation, discussion)
10:00-10:45 am: Outside
10:45 am-12:00 pm: Work Time (focus areas, foreign language)
12:00-12:30 pm: Lunch
12:30-1:30 pm: Mindfulness (yoga practice, journal writing, reading)
1:30-2:30 pm: Personal Choice Work Time
2:30-3:15 pm: Outside
3:15-3:30: End of School Day
3:30-5:30: Extended Pick-Up

Academics in an Emergent Curriculum

One afternoon at recess, students playing in our wooded natural playground noticed that acorn caps look like little hats on top of the acorn "heads" and began collecting them in small containers. Their teacher encouraged them to collect as many acorns as they could find, and the children excitedly rush around at their task, getting exercise, strengthening gross and fine motor skills, and improving hand-eye coordination in the process.

The next morning, the teacher introduced a scientific investigation of the acorns for morning work time. The teacher asked a few questions, and then invited other questions from the students, making a list of them on the chalkboard. Questions like: "How many acorns did you find?" "What kinds of acorns?" "What did they look like?" "Are they all the same size?" etc. This leads into a process of acorn data collection (counting, categorizing, measuring length, weight). The students then count the acorns in groups, and add the groups together to find a sum. They qualitatively describe the acorns, and group them by appearance. The teachers provide research materials to the students which help them identify the different acorn species. Each student then writes a summary of their research, including both English and Spanish describing words, and creates a bar graph to show what they have learned about the acorns in their playground. Over the next couple of weeks, the students remain actively engaged in the acorn project, creating a game called "Guess how many acorns are in the jar" for their friends, parents, and other teachers in the school, and creating acorn sculptures of tiny fairies wearing acorn hats.

This is one example showing how the children's interest in the natural world can be encouraged and expanded upon by a qualified teacher to create an emergent curriculum that meets all of the benchmarks set by the Missouri Learning Standards, covering lessons in science, mathematics, English language arts, foreign language (Spanish), visual arts, biology, problem solving, reading, writing, researching, all while getting some exercise outdoors. The teachers evaluate each student individually, offering guidance, and documenting their progress along the way. 

​Take a peek inside one of our classrooms...

Our elementary students learned about rocky planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, ice giants ​like Uranus and Neptune, and dwarf planets like Pluto! We investigated properties of rocks, gases and ice through scientific observation, collection and graphing of data. Our students navigated the scientific process as they hypothesized, experimented, observed, collected data, created a graph, and reflected on their learning. In this way we seamlessly integrate science, math, art, literacy, and even music and movement. Big fun and big learning!

 
Elementary School Tuition and Enrollment

2022/2023 School Year

Our elementary program includes a junior kindergarten class (age 4 by August 1st), a kindergarten class (age 5 by August 1st), and  mixed-age upper elementary class. This full-day program is from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday - Friday.
before (7:30 a.m.), and after care (5:30 p.m.) options are also available.
​Lunch is provided by the school and included with tuition.

Fees & Deposit

Application Fee: A one-time $75 non-refundable fee to apply to the program

Yearly material fee: Annual $90 non-refundable fee assessed at the start of each school year, or upon joining the program mid-semester
​
Tuition Deposit: A deposit equal to one month's tuition is due upon acceptance into our program.  This tuition deposit is applied to your last month within the program upon graduation or withdrawal from the school.
Interested in our program?  Contact us about scheduling a tour!
Tuition assistance available on a financial need basis through our
Creative Kids Scholarship Fund.
Copyright 2023 The Atelier School of Creative Learning
The Atelier Primary School                        The Atelier Elementary School
2130 Forum Blvd                                          9 Dorado Dr,
Columbia MO 65203                                  Columbia MO 65201