When teachers focus on the unique learning needs and personality development of each child in small classes, every child excels.
Modeled on the idea that "small is beautiful," The Giles School offers children the advantage of an intimate school and manageable class sizes. Student to staff ratios never exceed 16:1, and the student population is checked at 350. By maintaining a policy that caps class sizes at beneficially low levels (Pre-K: 10, JK: 12, SK: 14, Grades 1 and above: 16) The Giles School provides children with the advantage of a relaxed, nurturing environment with enriched instruction and constant, positive encouragement.
Because classes at The Giles School allow for knowledge of each student's integrated life and learning patterns, teachers can tailor lessons to the unique learning needs of every student. In addition to benefiting students' overall academic performance, small classes furnish a cooperative community atmosphere that improves student collaboration and teacher-student relationships.
Personalized Instruction
Because public school class sizes upwards of twenty or thirty students are not unusual, classroom management bites into teaching time, energy and focus. The Giles School represents a refreshing alternative because small classes allow teachers to act as a personal advocate for each child. Never overwhelmed by unwieldy student numbers, Giles School teachers can optimize enriched learning resources while providing personalized instruction and support.
Small Classes, Big Results
At The Giles School, tutorial-style teacher-student relationships offer children several advantages. Because small classes allow subjects to be studied in greater depth, students gain increased subject knowledge and superior analytic abilities. Additional support from teachers also improves students' reading, writing and communication skills, problem-solving abilities, independent reasoning and study habits.
With the advantage of a small, safe and supportive Giles School classroom community, all children display increased emotional maturity, mental agility and scholastic self-motivation as well as fluency in two or more languages by Grade 3 and enhanced academic achievement in all subjects including English. The learning proficiency gained in small classes at The Giles School will benefit students for a lifetime.
No Skipping, No Pushing
The social and psychological challenges of skipping grades are undisputed. So what do you do when your bright child is not being challenged by their classwork?
As a result of the flexibility offered by remarkably small class sizes, The Giles School has a no skipping policy. Accelerated children are taught higher level work in their assigned class without leaving their peer group. This exciting initiative allows emotional maturity to develop at a regular pace while catering to the special needs of fast learners.
Similarly, rather than being held back when not meeting scholastic requirements, or worse, simply being pushed through, The Giles School offers support to each student where and when they need it.
During school hours, teachers are able to take extra time with students in the areas they are struggling. With a "teach it until they get it" philosophy, no child goes unnoticed.
The Giles School also has "Break Out Rooms" located throughout the school. These revolutionary rooms allow small groups of students to be tutored in problem areas until they meet the level of their peers.
As a further method to give struggling children the time and focus they need, the 3rd language component introduced in Grade 1 is postponed until students achieve a solid foundation in French. All Mandarin and Japanese classes work at 3 levels of difficultly, so students may join at any time or any grade.