Greene Hill School is a small school, started in 2009, with a class of 4 and 5 year old students. In 2012, Greene Hill School will have 6 classes for children ages 3 through 10. Each year the school will grow up the grade levels to eventually complete an elementary and middle school.
Greene Hill School’s vision for a progressive education encompasses:
- Deep and consistent inquiries into topics that help children make sense of their world. During their early years at school, students begin with what is concrete and close to home, such as studies of family and neighborhood. As they develop, the curriculum involves more complex systems and concepts, like trends in immigration, or systems of government.
- Children’s involvement in authentic work and exploration of open-ended questions. Where does our food come from? Why have people moved to Brooklyn from all over the world? How is the energy we use at home and school produced? How can I design a bench that will function well in my classroom? Children make discoveries for themselves with adult guidance.
- A balance between student-initiated and teacher-initiated study. Classrooms are organized around a strong social studies-based curriculum, called “Community Work”, and receive direct instruction across all academic areas. Meanwhile, children also have opportunities to engage in self-directed and open-ended work with a variety of materials and topics during daily “Open Work” time. In addition, children participate in classes in the visual and performing arts and sciences, and in multi-age “Labs” to study interests like bones, electricity, printmaking and newspaper.