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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

Photo of Katie Gibbons

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

Photo of Liz Davis

Dear families,

What do you remember from middle school?

If you are like me, you remember the emotions you felt, the friendships you had (or wish you had), and the teachers you liked or didn’t like. The middle school years are a crucial time in a child’s life. It is a time when students make decisions about themselves as learners and as people. It is also a time when children step further away from adults in an effort to assert their own personhood, while still needing the support of their parents and teachers to navigate peer social interactions and make good choices.

At Alta Vista School we consider responsibility, independence and choice as a key part of our program to support students during this time of their lives. We focus on an inquiry approach to learning, which fosters curiosity, allows students to take ownership of their learning, and encourages self-reflection. Our academic program is intellectually engaging for kids, with a STEAM focus that encourages asking questions and making connections. Students meet daily in small groups with an advisor to develop their social emotional skills and ensure that they have a point person they can go to should they need support.

Our goal is to prepare your children to face their future with confidence and the ability to navigate novel situations with a balance of confidence and curiosity. We do that in a small caring community of parents, kids and teachers that I am proud to be a part of.

Warm regards,

Liz Davis
Head of Middle School