- Parents' Home
- Parents' Handbook & School Directory
- Lunch Program
- Parent Community Organization
- The FREEP
- Parents' Resources
- SRV Annual Fund
- Events/Celebrations
- School Calendar
The 21st Century Skills and SRV
The Partnership of Twenty First Century Skills is a coalition of organizations, individuals and government that build collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders. In 2002, it created the 21st century skills framework, which decrees that schools must align classroom environments with real world environments and eliminate the gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces. These 21st century skills and knowledge includes:
- Information and media literacy skills; communication skills
- Critical thinking, problem identifying, formulating and solving skills
- Interpersonal and collaborative skills
- Self-direction, accountability and adaptability
- Social responsibility and citizenship
- Global awareness
Furthermore, the 21st century skills coalition emphasizes that teaching and learning happen through an integrated, project based approach. At SRV, our educational philosophy, teaching and learning practices and curricular priorities have been focused on these 21st century literacies since our beginning early in the 20th century.
The creativity and intellectual curiosity amongst our students is visible at all times during the day, for example, when a Kindergartner cannot wait to share their book about a visit to the museum or when a Middle Circle student creates a dictionary of key terminology used in Forttown during recess. Children want to learn the mechanics of writing so they are able to communicate, share, and express their ideas about the topic they are most interested in (forts, a trip to the museum, a how-to book about capture the flag, candle-making, first snow day etc.), not because it is an assignment that the teacher is requiring them to complete.
Learning about community supported agricultural practices at the Red Hill Farm, maintaining an organic garden on campus, labeling storm severs and planting trees by the creek are a few examples on how our children are engaged in Citizenship and Social responsibility. The interpersonal, communication, collaboration and global awareness skills are nurtured in many ways. For some students, it is achieved through an inter-cultural partnership around music, for others, a mini-course with the Folk Arts Cultural Treasures School, an inter-generational partnership with Special Friends or a group visit to a nursing home and retirement center. These opportunities allow children to meet and interact with diverse groups of people, articulate their thoughts and ideas, and develop an ability to work effectively with diverse teams.
Self direction and responsibility is witnessed in even our youngest students, carrying the lunch baskets from the kitchen, serving snack as helper of the day, performing classroom jobs, taking care of the classroom pets and the sheep. Our social skills curriculum empowers children to be able to self-advocate, speak up in difficult situations, and use constructive approaches to deal with problems. Children develop open-mindedness to listen to peers even when they have hard things to say, respect community norms and make good choices even if no one seems to be watching and are willing to persist when encountered with a challenge so they are able to push through their frustrations and learn by reflecting on how they tackled something that was hard for them.
