WHOLE CHILD FRAMEWORK

The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. The ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations, with a wellgrounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset.” (SEL Competencies, www.casel.org)

Skills include:

• Identifying emotions
• Self-identity
• Self-esteem
• Self-efficacy

The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations — effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals. (SEL Competencies, www.casel.org)

Skills include:

• Impulse control
• Mindfulness
• Self-discipline
• Self-motivation

The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports. (SEL Competencies, www.casel.org)

Skills include:

• Perspective-taking
• Empathy
• Appreciation for diversity
• Ethical responsibility

The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. The ability to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressure, negotiate conflict constructively, and seek and offer help when needed. (SEL Competencies, www.casel.org)

Skills include:

• Sense of belonging
• Communication
• Social engagement
• Relationship building
• Spirit of collaboration

(problem solving, curiosity, etc., taking risks, using all the sense to collect data), design thinking

Skills include:

• Attends to the enviornment
• Develops questions
• Communicates learning
• Reflects on learning (metacognition)

Remembers, connects experiences (applying past knowledge to new situations), classifies experiences, applies prior knowledge to new situations- analysis and reasoning, systems thinking

Skills include:

• Recognizes and recalls
• Gathers relevant data using all senses
• Classifies data
• Analyzes and looks for patterns in data

The ability to translate goals into prototype experiences for each new stage or transition, especially the transition from high schooler to independent, contributing adult. Addressing this competency includes helping students to: translate goals into action plans for each new stage or transition; iterate and refine the plans through action — starting with “junior versions” or “prototypes” of work, learn, or civic activities; and move to the next loop of the plan, adapting it based on feedback and lessons learned from the first loop (NextGen, MyWays)

Skills include:

• Seeks possibilities
• Makes connections
• Creates
• Thinks divergently

The child feels a sense of belonging to the community and to the world as a whole. The child feels love and compassion for others. The child believes that he or she is responsible for contributing to making the community and the world a better place.

Skills include:

• Feels connected to the world
• Feels responsible for making the world a better place

The self-awareness, focus, and strategic thinking needed to cultivate individual strengths, identify and pilot opportunities, and set personal goals for learning, work, and life. Addressing this competency includes helping students to: develop self-knowledge, through self-directed,
authentic learning activities, as well as to access tools to diagnose strengths, interests, and personality traits; identify learning, work, and life opportunities likely to match these abilities by focusing on the intersection of assets, aspirations, and market realities; and create goals that point in a longer-term direction, but include interim steps. (NextGen, MyWays)

Skills include:

• Identifies values, beliefs, and strengths
• Sets meaningful personal goals

The ability to identify, locate, and secure the time, money, materials, organizations, mentors, and partners needed to support their plans. Addressing this competency includes helping students to: identify what resources they need; develop the help-seeking mindset and skills to successfully secure them; build the social capital needed to support all steps in the Wayfinding process, including mentors, role models, weak tie contacts, and strong family and friend supports; and deploy these relationships into a professional network that enables them to tap insights, find better opportunities, and make better career decisions.

Skills include:

• Identifies people and resources needed to achieve a goal
• Appropriately communicates needs
• Secures resources needed to achieve a goal

The ability to implement plans in the worlds of education, work, and life, making mid-course adjustments
as required based on new experience. Addressing this competency includes helping students to: grow personal traits related to adaptability and flexibility; develop and practice more specific skills related to pivoting, reframing, and changing direction; strengthen their ability to accurately appraise and take on risk as they pursue professional opportunities; and develop the skills necessary to navigate systems while dealing with discrimination or other challenges.

Skills include:

• Develops plans
• Implements plans
• Reflects on plans
• Responsible decision making

Our interdisciplinary Quest units promote a profound understanding of subjects, connecting knowledge across various domains. 

The goal of Quest is to help learners explore diverse stories of history using a critical lens. Quest also allows learners to dive into the workings of the world and examine their world closely. Quests are multi-week, interdisciplinary projects that culminate in a learner-run exhibition. We approach our quest design using an inquiry approach, asking questions and posing problems. The guide begins with broad topics that are aligned to Arizona’s state standards and develops an initial set of learning experiences. This approach allows for Quests to be more “emergent,” growing with learners’ wonderings and interests.. As children engage with these experiences, the guide steps into the role of researcher, investigator, and facilitator.

Quest topics are determined from Arizona Science and Social Studies Standards. Quests align to the following big ideas:
Civics and Economics
Local Community
Global History and Geography
Physical Science
Earth and Space Science
Life Science

Standards from English Language Arts Reading and Writing are woven into the quests as learners conduct research and create written presentations to publicly display their learnings.

The goal for Math Workshop is for learners to understand the language of numbers and represent their world through mathematics. Learners interact with math content in a variety of formats. In general, all Studios have learners engage in small or whole-group mini-lessons using math talks and CGI (cognitively guided instruction) strategies. This is followed by independent individual work using a digital learning platform. All Studios have a Math Center with games, hands on-materials, and manipulatives.

Our digital math curriculum includes:
Dreambox
Zearn
IXL
Our printed math curriculum includes:
San Fran Unified School District Math (SFUSD)
Zearn
Mindset Mathematics

The goal of Literacy Workshop is for learners to develop as readers and writers who can share stories and information with the world. During Literacy Workshop, learners learn reading/writing standards through a mini-lesson where they study genre-specific mentor texts followed by independent time for reading and/or writing. Guides facilitate read-alouds throughout the day with various books and texts at or above “grade-level.” Elementary learners receive targeted systematic instruction through Lexia and during Guided Reading small groups.

Whenever possible, Quest topics are used as an anchor for applying English Language Arts Reading and Writing skills as learners conduct research and create written presentations to publicly display their learnings. This not only deepens their understanding of the Quest topic but also cultivates their proficiency in essential literacy skills.

Our digital literacy curriculum includes:
Lexia Core5
Epic Books

Our printed curriculum includes:
Open Up Resources Bookworms
Lucy Calkins Units of Study