• The HighScope Curriculum

    The HighScope Curriculum is uniquely designed to provide a rich academic foundation while promoting young children's independence, decision-making, cooperation, creativity, and problem-solving. How? The HighScope Curriculum includes; Learning objectives, Effective adult interaction strategies, and Assessment measures that help ensure a high-quality experience for all learners.

    Infants and Toddlers

    Several essential ideas guide the HighScope Infant and Toddler Curriculum: active learning for children; warm, supportive adult-child interaction; a welcoming, child-oriented learning environment; schedules and routines that flow with the children; daily child observations that guide caregivers' interactions with children, caregivers' teamwork, caregiver-parent partnerships, and program planning; and ongoing and valid assessment of children to ensure that program goals to support early learning and deliver high-quality services. 

    HighScope calls for an active learning environment with five key ingredients: abundant materials; manipulation; choice; child communication, language, and thought; and adult scaffolding. Teachers use the HighScope Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs) alongside the Georgia Early Learning Standards to support the active learning of infants and toddlers. 

    Preschool

    In our HighScope Preschool program, teachers ignite children's interest in learning by creating an environment that encourages them to explore learning materials and interact with adults and peers. We focus on supporting early learners as they make decisions, build academic skills, develop socially and emotionally, and become part of a classroom community. Active learning is at the center of the HighScope Preschool Curriculum. It's the foundation of young children gaining knowledge through natural play and interactions with the environment, events, and others.

    The HighScope Preschool Curriculum is based on more than 50 years of research on early childhood development and has been validated by direct evaluation of the curriculum. The HighScope framework for understanding and supporting children's learning from ages 3–5 years is based on 58 Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs), aligned with national and state early learning standards, Common Core State Standards, and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. 

    In the HighScope Preschool Curriculum, learning is focused on the following eight content areas which directly align with the Georgia Early Learning Standards (GELDS):

    • Approaches to Learning

    • Social and Emotional Development

    • Physical Development and Health

    • Language, Literacy, and Communication

    • Mathematics

    • Creative Arts

    • Science and Technology

    • Social Studies

    HighScope https://highscope.org/ 

    Tender Care and Early Learning by A. Epstein, M. Hohmann, J. Post (2011).

    HighScope Preschool Curriculum by A. Epstein, M. Hohmann (2012).

    Montessori Approach to Early Childhood Education

    At College Heights, young children learn best in a playful environment and through manipulating engaging materials. The Montessori approach to early childhood education is a method that introduces problem-solving, independence, and sensory perception through reality-oriented learning materials. This research-based approach encourages development through all domains as teachers use Montessori lessons to support the children's sense of discovery and encourage independent investigation of the learning environment.

    Inquiry and Play-Based Learning 

    The National Association for the Education of Young Children states that play is essential to children's development and is the vehicle for helping children make progress toward learning goals. In our play-based classrooms, teachers encourage students to ask questions about what they notice in their world and scaffold children in planning and carrying out investigations, proposing explanations and solutions, and communicating their understanding of concepts in various ways. In addition, children have opportunities to engage in playful activities and provocations that promote creative thinking and collaboration with their peers to construct knowledge and theories about their world.