Academics

Red Cedar’s culture of authentic and rigorous learning engages the minds of students. High expectations and structure foster academic habits. Support for personal initiative and investment nurtures the growth of independence.

Critical Thinking and Communication

Essential skills of life-long learners, most importantly critical thinking and communication, are emphasized throughout the curriculum. Students are encouraged to care about ideas, ask important questions, gather information, and consider deliberatively. Students regularly engage in scientific investigation and in problem solving. Writing is an integral focus throughout a student’s years in the school, and reading literature is valued across the curriculum. Lively discussion is a hallmark of many classes. Students share and present their work orally, and publish their writing. Experiences in the visual arts, music, drama, design and building are interwoven throughout the curriculum. Students are introduced to Spanish at the elementary level and study it formally in middle school.

Experiential Learning

Hands-on projects and learning in the field motivate students by providing meaningful opportunities to integrate and apply skills of observation, research, critical thinking and communication. Examples of such projects include forming a farm-market business that grows and sells garlic; researching the relationship between humans and the landscape in the local community through interviews and site studies, and presenting findings at the Vermont Folklife Center; participating in the Cornell Feeder Watch program through banding and observing birds; developing and performing a play based on a piece of literature; and building a staircase while studying the Pythagorean theory.

Small and Personal Classes

Classes are small, with an average size of eight at the primary level, and twelve at the upper elementary and middle school levels. Teachers work closely with students to understand, engage and challenge each of them. Every student is given a significant amount of personal attention, and each student’s individual learning style is honored.

Multi-Age Groupings

Multi-age groupings with a span of about three years form the make-up of most classes. Students work together within these groups on shared themes and activities, with each individual working at a personally challenging level and pace. Classes such as math and Spanish are focused directly at a particular level. Each group within the school has a home base with a core teacher.