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Literacy begins long before a child reads their first book independently. Rhyming songs and games can be heard in the youngest classrooms as students develop phonological/phonemic awareness. Early literacy is woven into the fabric of the environment and day-to-day schedule of the students through read-alouds, time to explore books independently, and the careful attention of the teachers to when students are ready for more explicit instruction.

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​As children move into elementary school, literacy instruction becomes increasingly systematic. Students study phonics and word structure to develop accurate, fluent reading skills. At the same time, they are surrounded by meaningful reasons to read and write.

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Reading and writing workshops give students opportunities to choose increasingly complex texts, discuss books with teachers and classmates, and develop their identities as readers and writers. Their writing grows from early stories and observations into longer fiction, essays, research, poetry, and other forms. Individual conferences, small-group instruction, and independent work allow teachers to respond to each student's strengths and needs.

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By middle school, students are expected to know themselves as readers and writers. They read increasingly complex literature and nonfiction, participate in substantive discussions with their peers, develop and defend ideas, and write meaningfully across genres and subject areas.

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​At every level, teacher read-aloud time is treasured, as all ages look forward to their teacher sharing curated books that provoke deep thinking, emotions, ideas, and opinions applied across the curriculum.

Our teachers draw from research-based approaches and resources including Learning Without Tears, Collaborative Literacy from the Center for the Collaborative Classroom, structured literacy practices, and Nancie Atwell's Reading Workshop approach. Students who need additional literacy support can also benefit from consultation with our Director of Special Education, who is trained in Orton-Gillingham.

Math at Touchstone is a search for meaning.

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The youngest mathematicians begin with the world they can touch. They sort objects, notice patterns, compare quantities, build structures, measure, count, estimate, and begin to recognize the mathematical relationships all around them. A child organizing blocks by shape, color, and size is thinking mathematically. So are two children who discover that their five blocks and five more blocks make ten.

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As students get older, that same emphasis on understanding continues. Elementary and middle school teachers use Open Up Resources as a foundation for mathematics instruction, building skills and concepts in a coherent sequence from year to year. Students learn mathematical procedures, but they also learn why they work. They explain their thinking, try different approaches, use appropriate tools, learn from mistakes, listen to others' strategies, and persevere when an answer isn't immediately apparent.

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Math classrooms include a balance of explicit instruction, individual practice, collaborative problem-solving, activities, and conversation. Teachers respond to the students in front of them by providing additional support when a concept needs more time and greater complexity when a student is ready for it.

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By middle school, students are preparing for the advanced mathematics they will encounter in high school while developing something equally important: the ability to recognize when mathematics can help them understand and solve a problem beyond math class.

Some of the most distinctly Touchstone learning happens when the boundaries between subjects begin to disappear.

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Each year, our faculty develops an Essential Question for the school. Past questions have included "How do we honor the past and steward the future?" and "How do you create a sustainable community?"

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Thematic studies grow from these larger questions and integrate science, social studies, history, literacy, mathematics, environmental learning, the arts, and, for older students, technology. A question that begins in one subject may lead somewhere unexpected: a scientific investigation may require students to research history, collect and analyze data, interview someone in the community, read primary sources, create artwork, write persuasively, or present their findings to an audience.

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Teachers design these studies around important academic content while leaving room for children's questions and interests to shape the work. As students get older, they take increasing responsibility for researching, making connections, developing ideas, and deciding how to demonstrate what they have learned.

At Touchstone, students learn about themselves, one another, the communities we belong to, the histories that shaped those communities, and our responsibilities within them.

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This work develops alongside our students, evolving each year to reflect their growing understanding of themselves and their communities. As students progress, their learning deepens, and they are encouraged to apply these concepts in meaningful ways both within and beyond the classroom.

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For our youngest students, it begins with identity and relationships. Who am I? Who is in my family? What makes us alike and different? What does it mean to be part of a classroom? How do we take care of one another?

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Through books, play, conversation, and everyday classroom experiences, children learn about themselves and one another. They encounter families, cultures, identities, abilities, and experiences that may be similar to or different from their own and begin developing the language to talk about those differences with curiosity and respect.

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Students in the elementary years continue to explore their own identities and learn about people whose experiences may differ from theirs. They study communities, history, cultures, and changemakers through literature, primary and secondary sources, projects, discussions, art, and thematic studies.

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More complex questions begin to emerge as students grow: Why do people experience the world differently? What makes something fair or unfair? Whose story is being told? Whose might be missing? What happens when people disagree? How have individuals and communities created change?

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Older elementary students begin examining concepts of identity, diversity, justice, and action more explicitly. Teachers use developmentally appropriate books, media, activities, historical examples, and current events to help students approach complicated subjects thoughtfully, rather than reducing them to simple answers.

In the OSP, teachers draw from resources including Facing History & Ourselves and the Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards, guiding students as they examine history and contemporary society through multiple perspectives and consider questions of identity, power, equity, justice, and change.

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Classroom discussions and Socratic seminars help students learn how to listen carefully, support their ideas with evidence, question their assumptions, disagree kindly, and consider perspectives other than their own.

Students of all ages are encouraged to recognize injustice and to understand that they have agency when they encounter it. At the same time, learning to participate in a community means learning how to engage with disagreement, complexity, and ideas that may challenge their own.

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Restorative practices and Collaborative Problem Solving support this work throughout the school. Students have opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their classrooms and community while learning that having a voice also carries responsibilities. They are asked to listen to others, consider the impact of their choices, repair harm, and contribute to the group's well-being.

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The community revisits and adapts these practices continually in response to the age and experience of each student involved. Teachers and students might work together to reflect on outcomes after a playground conflict, address the challenge of sharing classroom tools, or reach consensus on shared expectations. This collaboration helps build a school environment that embodies respect, empathy, and shared responsibility.