At the heart of the Tremont School is a multi-disciplinary project-based model we call The Living Curriculum. The Living Curriculum takes a highly personalized approach to education that focuses on our students' strengths, interests, and individual learning styles. The primary goal of the curriculum is to promote the intrinsic understanding of the material through a guided discovery process that is interdisciplinary in nature and hands-on in approach. Collaborative exercises are woven into the daily schedule for each student, encouraging exploration, engaged participation, and problem solving.
Tremont teachers design integrated thematic units of study built on compelling essential questions and the Tremont Learning Objectives, derived from the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and Common Core as starting points. We believe that integrated curriculum is essential to building necessary academic skills situated in a real life context. The units vary in length--from six to ten weeks--and are concluded with a Celebration of Learning where students have an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned to parents, peers, and the extended community.
The daily schedule is organized into interdisciplinary learning contract blocks. These blocks provide extended time for learning using a flexible schedule that allows for depth of study and differentiated instruction, and opportunities to incorporate student's natural strengths, motivations, and needs for support. The contract blocks are the periods of time in which students are working on assignments related to humanities, math, science, technology, and specialized Unit work. Woven throughout the week are opportunities for individual and group project work and explorations. Student projects connect their academic, social and emotional learning to the world outside of school. As students get older, their vision and knowledge of the world expands. Tremont responds to this by expanding the scope of educational possibilities. Rather than just sitting in a classroom learning about plant biology, we send our students to a farm to learn first hand.
Additional programs include P.E. and an expansive arts program we call Expressions. We offer many expeditionary learning opportunities throughout the year such as analyzing soil samples from a local farm, designing and building a tool shed for a non-profit organization, or following in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau with observation journals in the Walden Woods. Our Visiting Scholars program brings in experts on a variety of subjects for an in-depth discussion of local and national issues built around the current unit's theme.
Because we feel strongly that in order for kids to be active learners they need to be active, we have scheduled two recess blocks each day. Overall, the school day is paced to provide ample opportunity for students to move, explore, and conduct experiments in an exciting and engaging environment.