A Day at Ren School

Children arrive between 7:30-8:00 and start the day with a school-wide morning meeting at 8:15. They break into literacy and numeracy classes that are based on each child’s abilities and needs. After lunch and recess, children are assigned to content and science courses based on age and to exploratory classes based on interests. School ends at 4:00 pm Monday-Thursday, and at 2:30pm on Friday.

Circles within the Community

Each child has a buddy (olders with youngers) and is a member of a family-style “clan” that acts as a conduit for school-wide connections and engages in service. One of the hallmarks of our school is the manner in which our children create, develop, and maintain connections to their learning, their peers, their teachers, and the broader world. Relationships are key to learning. Our children are known.

Homework and Basic Skills

We believe academic skills and knowledge are tools for building deep understanding, not ends in themselves. At Ren, children do not have traditional homework. Why not? At Ren School, we lay strong foundations for calculation, handwriting, spelling, and reading. We layer and network multiple approaches to skill-building and then integrate skills into daily use. Skills are applied to compelling project work. Context is the motivational springboard and natural home for maturing skills, not rote repetition. Children eagerly attend to skills that allow them to tackle questions or solve problems that are meaningful to them.