The AVS Approach to Learning
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Alta Vista prepares students to thrive as creative thinkers, innovators, and catalysts for positive change in the world.
These education goals guide students to discover the world and themselves, imagine new possibilities, and act as drivers of change. To this end, curiosity, creativity, and communication are the foundation of our academic program. This is achieved through inquiry-based, hands-on, and experiential curricula that inspire love of learning. Within each subject area, students explore and pursue their unique interest, talent, and voice to further their self-awareness and self-knowledge.
An interdisciplinary and collaborative approach is emphasized starting in the Lower School within the core subjects of science, mathematics, literacy, and social studies such that a particular topic is considered through multiple lenses and across disciplines to reflect real-world experiences and challenges. This robust STEAM-based educational approach promotes thinking critically, taking multiple perspectives, and solving problems creatively. The core program is enriched with classes in Spanish, garden and sustainability, visual arts, tinkering, drama, music, and physical education.
The curriculum draws on grade-level and grade-next standards that balance planned content and flexibility for creative expression based on students’ interests. Lessons and units are framed by guiding and essential questions. Specific examples of curricula and learning standards are provided to families weekly through Week Ahead newsletters that are emailed to parents and posted on the school’s website, ongoing teacher communications and conferences, and year-round opportunities to visit the classroom during learning celebrations and exhibitions. Informal and formal assessments are ongoing, research-based, and designed to motivate students’ growth and learning rather than act solely as evaluative tools.
Learning also extends well beyond the four walls of the school, as the neighborhoods of San Francisco are embraced as an extension of the campus to provide meaningful, relevant, and immersive experiences. To develop students to serve as future thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers, AVS also prioritizes public speaking and presentations, collaboration, community service, and social and emotional learning, which are deeply integrated into rigorous academic practice.
Foundations and pillars
From our division heads
Dear families,
To inspire lifelong love of learning and innovation, curiosity and creativity are the foundational pillars of education at the Lower School. This is achieved through inquiry-driven, hands-on, learner-centric, and experiential curricula.
Rather than tell students what to do and how to do it, learners are guided through provocative questions, provided materials and parameters, and given agency to discover the solutions for themselves. This approach generates original and transformative learning pathways as well as instills self-efficacy.
A hallmark of this pedagogy is the bi-monthly engineering challenges, which are proposed and presented during school-wide assemblies.
AVS's unique STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) program drives critical and creative thinking as well as necessitates the integration of different subject areas. This interdisciplinary and collaborative approach of considering topics through multiple lenses is an exemplary way to educate 21st-century learners and future thought leaders so they can confidently undertake real-world challenges.
In partnership,
Katie Gibbons
Head of Lower School
Dear families,
Middle school is a time of remarkable growth, academically, socially, and personally. At Alta Vista, we see these years as a launchpad for curiosity, independence, and deeper self-understanding. Our program challenges students intellectually while honoring their need for choice, voice, and real-world connection. Through hands-on projects, inquiry-based learning, and rich discussions, students learn to think critically, collaborate thoughtfully, and communicate with confidence.
When I think about what we strive to create here, I am reminded of my own sixth-grade experience with my teacher, Mr. Rittenhouse. Every day, we walked into a classroom that sparked our curiosity in a new way. One morning, desks had transformed into desert displays with pyramids. Another day, a stage was set for a play featuring Edgar Allen Poe. On yet another, pop-up books with rainforest waited for us at every seat (pre-internet days). It was a place where learning felt alive and full of possibility, and I never knew what wonder the day would bring. That sense of wondery and anticipation is what we work to cultivate for our students each day.
We invite you to explore how our middle school bridges seemingly opposing concepts: challenge with care, rigor with joy, and independence with community. Here, students are not just preparing for the next step. They are discovering who they are, what they care about, and how they can make a difference.
Warm regards,
Laura Bridges-Pereira
Head of Middle School