The BASIS Curriculum

Early Years

Discovery and Foundation
Age 2 - Kindergarten

The Early Years curriculum encourages early learners' natural propensity to question, to create, and to discover. We create an enjoyable, intentional learning experience rooted in early literacy and numeracy. Coursework centers around giving students tools to understand the world around them. Our Discovery Blocks of Learning curriculum exposes students to everything from social studies to self-care skills, mathematics and Mandarin, to expressive arts. Teachers with expertise in early childhood education (or related fields) facilitate opportunities for children to thoughtfully and purposefully interact with materials, use their imagination and creativity to inspire questions, and use their own reasoning skills to learn from and connect to the world around them.

Kindergarten builds on the love for learning instilled in Pre-K to lay a strong foundation for success in the years to come. Success for us means not only the acquisition of foundational concepts and skills, but also the adoption of scholarly habits and immersion in a culture which values learning above all other endeavors.

Together, The Twos, Pre-K, TK, and Kindergarten form our Early Learning Program. Students in the program are taught in the same classroom throughout the day by two teachers, with specialists that join the class for specific content instruction.

Primary Years

Teaching to Learn
Grades 1 - 3

The Primary Years curriculum emphasizes the connection between students' seemingly discreet subjects of humanities, math & science, engineering, performing arts, music, Mandarin, fine art, and physical education. Students even have a dedicated weekly 85-minute period called "Connections," a scenario-based, hands-on learning experience designed to fuel creativity, ingenuity, and social skills like team work and patience.

Starting in Grade 1, students move from class to class and have two teachers present for nearly all subjects. A different Subject Expert Teacher (SET) specializing in a particular discipline leads instruction of content for each subject. The students' Learning Expert Teacher (LET) guides them to each class, focuses on effective pedagogy, and co-teaches with each SET. Because the LET remains with the same element of students throughout the school day, they are always there to aid in the scholastic and social development of students, and lead progress monitoring, parent communication, and delivery of enrichment or support.

LETs and SETs facilitate a rapid transition from a focus on foundational skills and knowledge to independent thinking, active learning, and application of knowledge by emphasizing connections between disciplines and reiteration of key concepts throughout the curriculum.

Bridge Years

From Concrete to Abstract Thinking
Grades 4 - 5

Students are taught exclusively by Subject Expert Teachers (SETs), many of whom hold advanced degrees. Student support takes on a variety of forms, from student hours and one-on-one support with Deans to the independence cultivated in the Primary Years that inspires in students a greater sense of responsibility for their education.

The Grade 4 curriculum differs from the Primary Program in the following: the spiraled curriculum features classes that are 50 minutes long, with humanities breaking into English and history, and math & science also taught separately. In Grade 5, Academic Enrichment is introduced, offering students time during the day to approach teachers with questions and work independently on homework. In addition to core disciplines, coursework includes classics, two science classes, and Latin.

Together, the Bridge Years transport students from their foundational years to an intermediate program focused on mastering basics necessary for an advanced curriculum. Students prepare for the cadence, rhythm, and challenge of the curriculum to come. Instruction focuses on attaching abstract thinking to concrete thinking: students transition from reading comprehension to interpretation, from data collection to data analysis, and from mathematical calculation to mathematical reasoning.

While there is still an LET in Grade 4, the LET is not present with the students in every class and is particularly focused on building independence and self-reliance as students prepare for Grades 5 and up.

Intermediate Years

Knowledge as a Tool
Grades 6 - 8

In the Intermediate Years, students complete a rigorous schedule in all core disciplines, including three separate, concurrent science classes (physics, chemistry, and biology), economics, foreign language, and a course in logic. Students can choose an elective beginning in Grade 6 and a foreign language option in Grades 7 and above. The spiral of the curriculum is essential and highly apparent in these grades, particularly regarding the revisiting of concepts in the sciences in greater depth with each passing year, as students prepare for entry into Honors or Advance Placement (AP) level coursework starting in Grade 9.

Subject Expert Teachers (SETs) partner with Deans and Directors of Student Affairs to ensure students are set up for success in coursework not typically seen at the middle school level. Students take advantage of student hours and witness the impact of being prepared and developing good study skills for their education. While self-advocacy and executive functioning skills are emphasized in all grades throughout the BASIS Curriculum, they are of particular focus in the Intermediate Years to prepare students for study in one of the most advanced high school programs in the country.

Upon seeing knowledge as a tool, students learn that amassing skills and facts is a step toward the more creative thinking required of the college-level coursework they will tackle in high school.