Talent Development
At Northeast College Prep, we firmly believe that the experience of deeply developing a personal talent is a critical aspect of childhood development. We believe that all children need and deserve this opportunity. Because of this belief, we are building strong relationships with youth-serving organizations throughout Northeast and surrounding communities who provide such opportunities. We are committed to working closely with these organizations and our students’ families to ensure that all students experience what it means to deeply develop a personal talent. If you are interested in receiving more information about Talent Development Programs in your neighborhood, click here.
Learning is more than just academic skills. We believe that students will be more successful if the school culture is calm and positive; teachers explicitly teach social skills; a classroom and school community is built ensuring that every student belongs; and the school is intentional about teaching everyone to work with a variety of people. We believe that the social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum. This means that we teach our students how to be great people in addition to gaining necessary academic skills. At Northeast College Prep, teachers intentionally develop strong communities in their classes by explicitly modeling, teaching, and problem solving how to work with one another. The entire school uses non-verbal strategies (ENVoY) to preserve relationships and manage behavior. We use the Responsive Classroom philosophy and are committed to training all teachers in this approach to teach intrinsic motivation and ensure all students feel safe, belong and have fun while learning. Additionally, teachers intentionally teach social skills through two or three lessons each week (Fly Five curriculum, RULER and Responsive Classroom).
Students thrive with a strong teacher-student relationship. To this end, every student has one teacher for all subjects, outside of specialist classes, all day in Kindergarten – 4th grade. In 5th – 8th grade, students rotate between classes. We designed a school to ultimately be Pre-Kindergarten – 8th grade to allow for teachers and staff to build strong relationships with families and students over ten years. Teachers supervise recess and eat breakfast, lunch, and snack with their class to increase the amount of non-academic time they have to build relationships, which is essential to teaching academics. Additionally, teachers prioritize family communication through regular communication. Our staff cares about each and every student and this commitment allows each student to thrive.
Calm and Peaceful school culture where students learn and have fun
Our school culture allows students to learn and teachers to teach. It is the basis to our social-emotional development program. Every staff member uses the same strategies to build intrinsic motivation (Responsive Classroom) and prevent and redirect students with non-verbal (ENVoY) techniques. Because everyone implements these strategies, our school environment sets all students up for success. The structures are in place to learn and have fun during the day within the classroom and build school-wide community.
Heavy investments in our teachers: lots of professional development, lots of coaching and support.
Our teachers will get more coaching in one year, than teachers traditionally get in over two decades.
International Baccalaureate© curricular framework
- Unit of Inquiry (IB block) every day focused on science and social studies instruction. These themes are cross-disciplinary throughout the day and there is a block of time devoted to diving into the transdisciplinary theme.
- Teachers collaborate within the I.B. framework to create creative lessons and provide opportunities for student inquiry and exploration
Rigorous literacy program
- K-8 Wit and Wisdom ELA curriculum
- K-2 Being A Reader foundational skills curriculum
- Differentiated instruction to meet students where they are
- Adaptive technology-based literacy programs to enhance learning (i.e. Lexia, iReady)
- Balanced emphasis on reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills
Ready Classroom Mathematics
- Emphasizing inquiry, problem-solving, and conceptual understanding
- Differentiated instruction to meet students where they are
- K/1 teachers supplement core curriculum to ensure students develop strong foundations in number sense
- Adaptive technology-based programs to enhance conceptual understanding of math concepts (i.e. iReady)
Specialist classes
All students take five specialist classes:
- Arabic language
- Spanish language
- Music
- Art
- Physical Education
English Language Development
Over half of the students at Northeast College Prep speak a language other than English at home. Some of these students qualify for the English Language Development program. Students are supported by classroom teachers who are trained in specific strategies to teach English Language learners. Students also work with our Academic Support Teachers who are licensed ESL teachers in a co-teaching or small group models. All of the students who qualify for English Language Development take an annual test to track their progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening in English. You can learn more by reading our “English Learner” policy #592 or by calling the school at 612-248-8240.