Early Childhood
The ACS Athens Elementary School team of educators consists of dedicated professionals who bring unique experiences and expertise to the field of education. Most of them hold Masters Degrees in one or more fields of education and continue their professional development every year.
The ACS Athens Elementary program relies heavily on the synergy that comes from good teamwork. Classroom teachers work in tandem with their grade level colleagues and specials teachers. Your child receives the benefit of teachers using their individual and collective strengths to help the student learn quickly and feel successful. Teacher assistants work with the teachers to help prepare and organize needed materials and give additional one-on-one and small group time to students.
The American Community School's Early Childhood Program serves children between the ages of three to eight years old. We believe in educating the “whole child” by focusing on intellectual, social, emotional, physical and creative growth while valuing the rich diversity of culture children bring to the classroom.
The arrangement of the classroom encourages play and exploration. Learning centers are designed to develop language and literacy skills at a developmentally appropriate pace. Play and hands-on activities are an integral part of the learning opportunities. Children are free to experience, react, think, grow and change in their own unique ways. Most importantly, we want to make the experience of school a positive one by ensuring a smooth transition from home to school, building social skills and good work habits. A balance between child directed and teacher directed activities is maintained. Most teacher directed activities are open ended, allowing students to work at their own pace and, for the more advanced students, to extend their thinking and achieve more.
Junior Kindergarten for ages 3 and 4
The Junior Kindergarten Program is a two year program with enrollment starting with children who turn three by December 31 st of the current school year. The school day begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 1:00 p.m. A Day Care program from 1:00 p.m. until 3:45 p.m. is offered to parents who wish to extend their child's schedule. A hot lunch is provided during Day Care.
English is the language of instruction and each classroom has a teacher and an aide.
The primary goal of Junior Kindergarten is to recognize and meet the developmental needs of each child and to assist him/her in developing to his/her full potential. Teachers work with all levels of English proficiency from non-speakers to native speakers. Progress is made on a timetable that is unique to each child. At any given time, children in this class are at a variety of developmental levels. The classroom teacher and the classroom aide collaborate to create developmentally appropriate activities via flexible grouping. Teachers serve as facilitators while they create a learning environment that enables children to make choices which enhance their learning process.
The classroom is designed to encourage play and exploration. Classrooms are structured with centers for Reading, Math, Writing, Art, Music, Cooking, Dramatic Play, and Building Blocks. Each center is stocked with stimulating hands-on materials. Center Work is a big part of the school day. Students circulate from center to center and perform a variety of tasks that increase in level of difficulty or challenge throughout the school year. Some centers are for free exploration only and the student directs the activity. Teachers direct, facilitate and take notes while observing students in their centers. Children are free to experience, react, think and thus grow and change in their own unique ways. Children visit the Library once a week to check out a book. Greek is also taught as a foreign language once a week. Most importantly, we want to make the experience of school a positive one by ensuring a smooth transition from home to school, building social skills and good work habits.
Kindergarten Program for ages 5 to 6
Kindergarten is a full day (9:00 to 3:45) program serving children who turn five by December 31st of the current year. The program offers Language Arts(pre-reading and writing), Math, Science, Social Studies, Greek or Arabic, Music, Art, Technology, Library, and PE. Class sizes are small, usually with a maximum of 20 students per class with an assistant. Activities vary throughout the day and include listening to and reading unit related stories and information books, discussions, writing stories, cooking, performing science experiments, making graphs, creating artwork, exploring many different media, dramatization, singing, music and movement.
In Kindergarten two letters of the alphabet are introduced each week. Throughout the year students develop reading and writing skills and learn math in a conceptually and constructive way. Math concepts include numeration, sorting, patterning and measurement, math vocabulary, graphing, addition and subtraction.