Address
2101 Livingston St.
Oakland, CA 94606

Admissions
510.437.2311

	Mission Statement
	Developmentally-Responsive Approach to Education
	Emphasis on Visual & Performaning Arts
	Diversity as an Integral Part of the Learning Experience
	Student Population
	Year Round / Extended Year Schooling
	Successful Approach

Developmentally Responsive Approach to Education
Children grow and learn on individual timetables, yet there are hallmarks and benchmarks common to each age and stage which can help the teacher identify the most realistic expectations for children's school success. Children develop in a mostly orderly sequence, much like a spiral, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those already securely learned. These indexed principles of growth and development are reliable enough to tell us, based upon averages, when we should expect a child to be ready for the introduction of a new cognitive, social, physical or emotional skill.

When these principles are used to make decisions about what to teach, to whom, and when, the program is said to be developmentally responsive. A child's development can be positively influenced by providing wisely chosen opportunities to practice new skills until mastery is achieved, as well as step-wise challenges, just beyond their present level of mastery. At Beacon, applying the principles of child development and an understanding of how learning takes place helps teachers make wise curriculum choices…those that lead children to school success.