In an interconnected global economy, it is no longer 'what you know' but 'what you do with what you know.' In order to prepare our kids for 21st century living and working, we need to focus as much on the qualities of innovation as we do on the achievement of academic excellence. 

 

In a traditional classroom, students  sit in rows of desks memorizing and regurgitating information for the sole purpose of passing their year-end assessments. Not only does this type of learning become limiting to students throughout their educational journey and teach to only one type of learner, but it doesn't focus on the skills our kids need to excel in an emerging technological world. Our kids need to go beyond answering questions correctly merely to "get the answer right" – they need to problem-solve, to think outside of the box, and to analyze and organize information. They need to figure out the questions that no one is asking yet. To do that they need to discover and create.

 

So, how do we do this? How do we ensure that our kids learn beyond the basics of the common core standards and at the same time maintain a standard of academics? 

 

Our focus at City Kids is to provide every student with the skills and tools to become innovative learners. We are strong believers in the concept of Multiple Intelligences developed at Harvard University which states that there are eight modalities of intelligences in which a person learns and can excel. Most adults and many students today are learning in classrooms that are geared to only two types of learners: linguistic and logical-mathematic. 

 

Research confirms time and again that we need to provide multiple strategies for learning to all students. When all the regions of the brain are activated, knowledge is acquired through deeper understanding, thereby leading to high cognitive functioning. 

 

At City Kids, through multi-faceted assessments and behavior analysis, we create an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) for each student. The ILP empowers families to make the choices for their child's education that emphasize the strongest mix of these eight different and complementary modalities. When the student understands how they best learn and truly connect to their individual learning style, they can approach any subject matter with confidence. Additionally, when students are successful in their learning, they find joy in their work. This is key to our philosophy at City Kids.

 

We know that the relationship your child develops with learning today will define their relationship with education in the future. That is why we hold our values, mission, and philosophy to such high standards-- for your child to succeed at every stage of their education and to instill within them the tools to fulfill a lifetime of curiosity.