In a guest opinion essay for the New York Times entitled “What Most American Schools Do Wrong.” Dr. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, writes, “Most parents see the benefit of keeping their kids with the same coaches in sports and music for more than a year. Yet the American education system fails to do this with teachers, the most important coaches of all.”

Though the American education system is failing to reap the benefits of “looping” — allowing teachers of core subjects to work with the same student for two or more years —  Oak Knoll is ahead of the curve. Looping is a crucial element in all aspects of our Lower School schedule from grades one to six.

Summertime is here and children have been trading in their class time for pool time as schools around the country are on hiatus until late August/early September. 

Families have started to enjoy day trips, limited schedules, vacations, quality time together, and plenty of outdoor fresh air. However, although children would probably much prefer to shelve their books and ignore practicing those basic math facts – they shouldn’t, especially after this unusual pandemic school year. 

Each fall, teachers wrestle with the inevitable “summer slide” – or summer learning loss where studies show there is significant knowledge loss in reading and math over summer break if children don’t practice these skills each day. 

Thanks to COVID, learning declines throughout last year were very real for many children. However, it’s not all bad news!  Kelly Ross, Oak Knoll's Academic Support Counselor, offers several ways families can help children combat the COVID slide – the gaps of academic growth and lowered expectations due to the learning disruptions from the 2020-21 school year.

With the rising pressure to succeed felt amongst students today, it’s no wonder that receiving a lower grade than expected may leave many students feeling anxious and defeated.  

It’s not the end of the world, however, when the grade on top of your quiz or test isn’t what you had hoped for. There are several different strategies and steps to follow that may help you navigate the process after earning an undesirable grade.

Many children are reluctant readers. They're uninspired by the content, struggle with vocabulary or are simply more interested in other things. It's possible your child has trouble putting down a book, but so many parents pull their hair out trying to figure out how to motivate their child to read. 

So, how do you ensure your child soars in reading without making it seem like another mundane to-do-task? By getting your child to fall in love with reading.

If you’re an educator or have been near an educational institution over the last few years, you’ve most likely heard the phrase ‘Growth Mindset.’ It seems to be the new buzz word as of late. But what exactly does it mean? And why is it so important? And if you don’t have one, how do you get one?

It's no secret — boys and girls learn and develop differently. They have different behaviors and respond to different learning styles. But that doesn't mean they should learn separately in their most impressionable years.

When I was in school, a well-planned, one-size-fits-all lesson was the way we learned. We sat at our tables quietly, listened to our teacher and raised our hand when we had a question. You could usually hear a pin drop, as noise was frowned upon. The teacher was the star of the show, and the students were the audience members. Today, the classroom is made up of an ensemble cast, featuring both the teacher and the students.