Faculty
Dana Vance, Middle and Upper School Director
dana.vance@bennettday.org
312-236-6388
Martin Moran, Lead Designer and Head of Middle and Upper School Program
martin.moran@bennettday.org
312-236-6388 x1002
Jessica Young-Eleazar, Division Chair, Humanities and Mathematics Teacher
Jessica.young-eleazar@bennettday.org
Renzo Bologna, Middle and Upper School Physical Education
renzo.bologna@bennettday.org
Claire Boyd, Learning Specialist
claire.boyd@bennettday.org
Joel DeFayette, Music Teacher
joel.defayette@bennettday.org
Meredith Falk, MS/US Spanish Teacher
meredith.falk@bennettday.org
Cory Graef, MS Science Teacher
cory.graef@bennettday.org
Ben Kirk, MS/US Art Teacher
ben.kirk@bennettday.org
John ORourke, MS Humanities Teacher
john.orourke@bennettday.org
Kendall Rodheim, Counselor
Kendall.rodheim@bennettday.org
Lauren Sawyer, Mathematics Teacher
Lauren.Sawyer@bennettday.org
Stephen Slaughter, Humanities Teacher
Stephen.Slaughter@bennettday.org
Zak Thompson, TESLab/PBL Teacher
zak.thompston@bennettday.org
Mission Statement
At Bennett Day School, our mission is to provide a collaborative culture that nurtures our innate sense of inquiry and curiosity. We are committed to advancing creativity, innovation, and the development of lifelong learners and leaders.
Philosophy
Bennett Day School is an inquiry-based learning community where teachers create experiences that stimulate and follow the natural curiosities and intelligences inherent in all children. Balancing a rigorous academic approach with a powerful sense of self and self-direction to the learning process are key elements of a Bennett Day education. Our goal is for children to “learn by doing,” fully realizing their capacity to think, learn, play, and create.
Professional development within and outside the school is essential to our craft. Teaching requires ongoing reflection that builds on past experiences, applies educational best practices, and prepares for enhanced student learning opportunities. A critical component to teacher reflection is the ongoing process of documenting student learning. Professional development on Wednesdays provides this time for teachers to respond to student provocations and inquiries and document the learning process.
Our educational practice is influenced by ideals including the Reggio Emilia school of thought, cognitive understanding inherent to multiple intelligences, and global and social awareness, which is central in place-based education. Independent schools are free from the constraints imposed by the public school system, but are by no means reckless with a child’s education. Through constant evaluation of our practice, Bennett Day School stays on the forefront of progressive education, honoring its rich history and carrying it forward.
Middle School Vision
Bennett Day School is a progressive school that provides unparalleled experiences – in our program offering, instructional approaches, and nurturing environment – that shape our community for a fulfilling, successful, and impactful life. Compelled by curiosity, immersed in complex questions about the world around them, and supported by a diverse faculty and peer population, the Bennett Day School community asks and seeks the answers to those questions that derive from creativity and innovation. Individual and collaborative learning are central to the work of our school day; students and teachers are held to the highest standards, not simply in terms of final outcomes, but in the planning and realization of their own learning. Ours is not a desk and chalkboard institution but rather a center, a laboratory, where students develop ideas and understanding, pursue passions and dreams, and hold themselves and their colleagues accountable for shared and individual work. Because school life at Bennett Day School embraces and celebrates the world outside as well as the world within, natural extensions of community awareness and service play a central role in what motivates our work. Understanding the world around them, our students see what is and what should be and tap into innovative thinking to make change a reality.
Level of Instruction
The Middle School Program is based upon the following values: Adolescents feel big feelings and live in extremes. It is a time of major cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Our Middle School focuses on these six key areas of support needed for growth:
Scaffolded Autonomy: Room to “fail” so they take risks and have the room to learn and grow through those failure
Opportunities for Play: Opportunities for play (as children) and hanging out (as adolescents).
Social Opportunities: Rich and robust social learning opportunities
Boundaries: Support in establishing boundaries and thriving within them
Values: Establishing interpersonal and intra-personal values
Perspective: Help managing often exaggerated interpretations of the world around them and their role within it.
Each learning experience contains instruction at the highest academic level. We partner with universities, businesses and nonprofits to both instruct and evaluate student work and students must demonstrate authentic application of specific, targeted skills to verify that they have acquired the specific skills to thrive at the college level and beyond. We believe this to be the best possible preparation for college and university study, and therefore do not offer AP or Honors curriculum, nor do we use grades.
Authentic learning and accountability provides a rigorous environment that responds quickly to an ever-changing world.
Learning in the Middle School: The Essentials
In the middle school at Bennett Day, students take at least one PBL class, two studio classes, and multiple “specials” classes each trimester. The following sections describe how each is taught and what teachers need to know to start the process of designing their classes.
Learning by Year
Each grade is designed to spiral skills and development in a manner that students are given the opportunity to grow and develop these skills at a developmentally appropriate pace. Each year, teachers are assessing the same skills across a continuum that charts growth from 5th to 8th grade. In each of these years, unique aspects of both the academic and social-emotional elements of the curriculum are engaged with and students are met where they are as they develop.
The fifth grade provides a transition for students into Middle School to move towards independence. Students for the first time are asked to be part of subject-specific classes, moving between teachers on a schedule. During this transition, attention is paid to how students can navigate their new responsibilities and become a more active part of their learning. Students will have a specific teacher for advisory and will change classrooms for their academic and special classes. During advisory, this transition becomes the focus and much time is spent helping students adjust to their new environment.
Sixth and Seventh grade are years of growth within the new middle school system. Students are developing strong bonds with their peers and their social lives become the focus of their worlds. Not surprisingly, many students de-emphasize their academics during this time period in favor of their social lives. During these years, teachers and advisors are spending time with students in a manner that helps them balance the two competing interests, while making sure to play an important role in helping students navigate the complexities of their new social lives.
Seventh grade in particular becomes a stressful time for many students and families, as the looming element of high school becomes more prevalent. In many schools, standardized tests become the organizing principle for the student, causing them endless stress and concern about what their future might look like. While we support students who might be interested in taking this route, our focus is on the development of the student as an individual on their way to the Upper School at Bennett Day, and therefore our program is focused on their growth as a learner and citizen.
The eighth-grade year is the culmination of the Middle School program and the beginning of the transition into the Upper School Program. While this year is structured identically to the fifth, sixth and seventh grade program, Eighth Grade asks students to take on a much larger role as leaders in the Middle School. Students in Eighth Grade are expected to act as mentors and leaders for their younger peers, and as they begin to transition into the upper school, they get mentorship from older students as well. Eighth Grade is a time period where students may still be feeling the stress of this transition, and advisory time is spent helping them navigate that stress as well as the day-to-day social challenges that come during early adolescence.
PBL
At the middle school level, we teach Science and Social Studies in what's called our "PBL", or "Project Based Learning" block. Science and Social Studies are a co-taught class over a double period so that students can see the connection between the two subjects. Each trimester, the science and social studies teachers together lead a long-term project in a theme that relates to both subjects (for example, a project theme might be "Water," where science studies the role of water in the ecosystem while social studies looks at historical and current human activities shaped by water access).
In science, students take a very hands-on approach to the subject, completing labs and activities that specifically ask the students to investigate and discover scientific principles within the theme. In social studies, instruction is also similarly varied, with discussions, group activities, and deep dives within the theme. The PBL block meets for 90 minutes each day, in which a student can potentially have 45 minutes that focuses on science and 45 that focuses on social studies. However, the block allows us to use the extra time to take on larger projects (for example, a science lab that has a long setup or takedown or if the teachers want to co-teach a longer period together). This allows for deeper inquiry as necessary.
In terms of topics, each PBL typically has two subject foci from which the teachers determine a theme. You can also find an overview of the steps of the PBL process at Bennett Day by clicking on this link.
Studios
ELA and Math classes are grouped together under the category of “studios.” Studios are generally defined as any subject-specific class that isn’t a “specials” Class (Art, Music, Spanish, PE). Studios are usually taught by an individual teacher, but can in some cases be co-taught.
Studio classes are year-long classes meeting five days per week for approximately 45 minutes per day, diving deep into a core subject. These classes can follow a more traditional survey-style path, but ideally contain significant amounts of Project-Based Learning. Studios are not expected to thematically match the PBL, but we encourage Studio teachers to find and teach connections between their classes and the PBL theme(s) whenever possible.
Competency-Based Assessment
Bennett Day School requires that students demonstrate competencies across the curriculum. These competencies represent the essential skills within various disciplines that demonstrate a student’s readiness to move on to post-high school life and are categorized in alignment with our Portrait of a Graduate.
Competency Assessment
Each course students take at Bennett assesses unique competencies. All students must demonstrate a minimum number of competencies to graduate-these are referred to as “foundational competencies.” Successful completion of these competencies indicate that the student has completed the expectations for graduation. You will find a chart containing where each foundational competency is assessed during a given school year here, and a learning scale for each of those competencies here.
Each trimester, students complete work related to the assessed competencies, creating a portfolio of their work completed and an explanation of how it demonstrates their proficiency. In order to receive the competency, they must be able to demonstrate adequate proficiency in all the core elements of that competency. Teachers will provide feedback on the student’s portfolio, explaining specifically how they’ve demonstrated the competency(ies) and/or what they need to improve upon to satisfy the requirements.
Students also have the opportunity to demonstrate “advanced competencies,” which demonstrate work above and beyond the minimum requirements. These competencies can be demonstrated in classes, independent studies, or courses taken outside of Bennett Day and, like the foundational competencies, require a portfolio of work to be evaluated by their teacher.
Foundational competencies are assigned to courses by the faculty. This ensures that all foundational competencies will be assessed for every student during their middle school experience. As students work through their courses, teachers are expected to regularly assess their progress in the assigned competencies, giving verbal and written feedback to the student. For example, if in a 9th grade PBL course, a student is being assessed on “Use of Evidence,” they may be asked to write a paper, a lab report, and do a presentation that requires evidence. Teachers will then give them feedback at one of the following levels:
Emerging: In the initial (Emerging) stage, a student is demonstrating the first level of skills on which the competency is founded. These skills are calibrated at a “basic” level of complexity.
Developing: In the second (Developing) stage, a student has mastered the first level of skills and is now building on those with additional interrelated skills that require the student to integrate more complex skills into their framework of understanding.
Accomplishing: In the third (Accomplishing) stage, a student is demonstrating the most complex skills and is connecting those skills to one another and all the previously demonstrated skills, putting together a full Competency.
Each competency has a unique learning progression/rubric that is outlined in the Mastery Transcript so that, in their assessments, teachers can give specific and actionable feedback on where, specifically, the student needs to improve to meet the minimum competency expectations for graduation.
Google Classroom
All Bennett Day School teachers are expected to use Google Classroom to manage their classes, including regular assignments, assessments and announcements. All class work for students will be provided to students there.
When Competencies Are Assessed
Unique subjects and competencies are covered each trimester.
Teachers will assign work in their classes, then use the gradebook to list the assignment, the date assigned, the competency being assessed, and their assessment of the student’s work on the competency scale. The scale is as follows:
- “Emerging”: Students are demonstrating some of the basic skills associated with the competency. (students in 5th/6th grade would likely receive this assessment most often if they are on track)
- “Developing”: Students are demonstrating all of the basic skills and some of the more advanced skills associated with the competency. By the end of 6th grade, students on track should be receiving this assessment on virtually all work.
- “Accomplishing”: Students are demonstrating all of the basic skills and most of the advanced skills associated with the competency. On-track students in 7th and 8th grade should be receiving progressively more of this assessment over the course of those two years.
MTC Progress Tracker
As outlined in the assessment calendar, students will submit a collection of work at the beginning of each month. This will be submitted on the MTC Progress Tracker. This is also where students will receive feedback from their teachers and where all student progress towards competency completion will be documented.
Advanced Competencies
Advanced Competencies are recognized when a student demonstrates a collection of skills at a high school level. A student is not only required to work consistently and capably over a long period of time, but also demonstrate skills beyond what might be expected at the middle school level. Advanced competencies help students begin demonstrating Upper School competencies prior to the start of Upper School and continue to challenge themselves throughout the middle school experience.
Advanced competencies can be earned through independent study, work outside of school, or in classes at Bennett Day School. However, competencies are not awarded based on hours completed–Advanced competencies are ONLY awarded through a demonstration of learning that shows students have satisfactorily shown competencies at the college or university level. Enrollment in a course labeled “Advanced” does NOT guarantee advanced competency.
In middle school, Advanced Competencies are the equivalent of the Foundational Competencies at the Upper School level, meaning a middle school student can demonstrate and be credited with Upper School competencies prior to entering the Upper School.
Earning Advanced Competencies
To earn advanced competencies, a student must demonstrate all the skills that make up the competency. This comes through the work a student creates in their classes and/or outside of school. Advanced competencies do not necessarily have to be tied to a specific course (although they can be), however the competency is awarded based on the work a student demonstrates over time.
Students earn Advanced competencies by applying for approval through the Progress Tracker and presenting their work in a portfolio to a teacher, who provides feedback to the student in pursuit of the Advanced Competency.
Regardless of the type of class, students at the middle school are assessed by teachers on a regular basis using our competency map and rubrics. Every trimester, teachers will provide students with assignments that ask the students to demonstrate the competencies necessary for growth and development across the curriculum.
Students will be consistently assessed on their progress in all competencies. During conferences, teachers will talk with families about their child's progress in these areas using our rubrics that explain a little more of what specific skills are contained in each competency.
Competencies by Trimester
Each trimester, teachers focus their assessment on different competencies. The competencies assessed are chosen based on their relevance to the developmental needs of middle school students over the course of a school year. During a given trimester, a student will be assessed multiple times on each competency and given specific and actionable feedback about their progress in this area. Each year, these competencies are reassessed during the same trimester so that a student’s progress can be tracked over time. In the addendum you will find a chart identifying each foundational competency in our map and when it is assessed during the school year.
Demo Day
Each trimester concludes with “Demo Day,” a public demonstration of the work done by the students over the previous twelve weeks. During Demo Day, students display their work to a public audience, which may be made up of students, faculty, parents and caregivers, or community members. Students may show their projects or lead the audience through an experience that comes out of the work they did in PBL. They may also demonstrate learning from any other classes as well.
We do not ask teachers to assess a student’s performance on Demo Day, however all the work they put into the demonstrations prior to demo day should be considered and logged in the process of assessment.
In previous years, students have done everything from science-fair style presentations of small group projects to larger experiential demonstrations, such as an Escape Room, for their audience.
The only major requirement for Demo Day is that it be public and authentic, having connection to the world outside of Bennett Day. Students need to see that their work has a purpose beyond the walls of the school, and Demo Day acts as an opportunity for them to showcase their work to an audience that they do not interact with on a daily basis.
Student Support Services
Our Student Support Team is composed of school counselors, behavior specialists, and learning resource teachers: Claire Boyd (Learning Specialist) and Kendall Rodheim (Counselor) specialize in fostering both social emotional as well as academic success.
Our counselors are dedicated to specific divisions and will partner with students, faculty/staff and families to provide social-emotional support, proactive curricular work targeting developmental needs (e.g., developing executive function skills), work in collaboration with teachers to develop and implement target SEL interventions, programs, lessons, etc.
Our learning specialist partners with faculty and staff to deliver Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports to identified students.
Tier 2 behavior/academic instruction/intervention is designed to meet the needs of students who are at some risk for academic failure but who are still above levels considered to indicate high risk of failure. The needs of these students are identified through the assessment process (MAP and/or AIMS), and the instructional program is delivered through smaller groups and are administered with a focus on meeting the specific needs of the students.
Tier 3 refers to the behavior/academic instruction/interventions that are provided to students who show a need for intensive help that is provided in addition to Tier 1 (classroom) and Tier 2 instruction/interventions. Tier 3 instruction/interventions consists of students who are considered to be at high risk for failure and, if not responsive, are considered to be candidates for identification as having special education needs. It is also viewed as a tier that includes students who are not identified as being in need of special education but whose needs are at the intensive level . The groups at Tier 3 are of much smaller sizes than Tier 2.
Our student support services team will be in regular contact with all families to discuss the specific needs of their students.
Social-Emotional Development
The Bennett Day advisory program is guided by the Developmental Designs approach which aims to help create and maintain a positive school environment, to promote self-management, and increase academic achievement among adolescents. Through the curriculum and strategies advisors and counselors are enabled to provide logistical, academic, social, and emotional support for students in a focused and responsive manner. One of the program’s key goals is to foster an environment of inclusion and a feeling of community. Advisors and counselors often work together to coordinate activities and longer units, but they also retain a high level of autonomy in how they respond to the needs of their advisees.
Starting in fifth grade, students no longer spend the majority of their time with a single teacher. Rather, they split their time with subject teachers, and have a designated advisor with whom they meet on a daily basis. The commitment to providing students with small group support and dedicated advisory reflects Bennett’s emphasis on building community while providing a consistent place for students to feel safe and supported during the beginning of adolescence. Advisors serve as their students’ confidants, critical friends, and advocates, helping them navigate the difficulties of increased academic demands, complex daily schedules, and, eventually, preparations for high school.
Each advisor has a homeroom that serves as advisory, each advisor also sees their advisees in class as their subject teacher. Advisory meets for the first thirty minutes of each day and during that time academic, social and emotional topics are addressed. The Advisory also meets the last fifteen minutes of each day to debrief about the day’s experiences, successes and challenges.
Middle School students take an active role in parent-teacher conferences, creating portfolios and being active participants with both their advisor and parents and caregivers in their conferences. Students are assisted by their advisors, who guide them through the portfolio planning process in these constructive experiences.
Bennett Day School prioritizes social emotional development in students through regular advisory meetings, as well as one-on-one and group counseling support from our staff. In addition to our regular support for the social and emotional well being of our students, students are provided with a Depression Awareness and Suicide Prevention Traning. This program is given once a year to 6th-12th grade students. The SOS program is brought to us by Elyssa’s Mission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. Elyssa’s Mission is the only organization in the state of Illinois to fund, distribute and implement SOS.
Outside of the training program counselors partner with teachers on implementing and facilitating the advisory program which gives the school counselor insight on individual students and their SEL needs. Also, counselors join weekly grade level meetings to discuss their observations as well as get feedback from teachers on individual students to action plan for support if needed.
Bennett Day School evaluates the development of its social and emotional learning program through the use of Challenge Success, a yearly survey given to students across the country that measures their feelings about themselves as community members and students. These survey results are used internally to help us create responsive programming, policies, and norms for future years.
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated instruction is a teaching approach that tailors instruction to all students' learning needs. All the students have the same learning goal but measured by different proficiencies. The Competency Map is designed to allow students to gain mastery over the course of the middle school program. But the instruction varies based on students' interests, preferences, strengths, and struggles. It’s also a teaching method that helps bring struggling students up to speed, and enables more advanced students to learn at a faster pace. Every teacher at BDS ensures that their instruction practices and assignments meet the needs of each student.
Bennett Day School does not offer a gifted nor accelerated program, however, students working beyond expectations will be encouraged to engage in the process of advanced competency work.
If a teacher is unable to meet the needs of a struggling student within the class, then collaboration with a learning resource teacher will take place to provide additional support within the constraints of the program. In a situation in which a student requires additional challenges within the subject or area of study, teachers will continue to differentiate instruction in the classroom through dynamic grouping (across the grade level above/below) and digging deeper into topics, rather than moving on to next topics.
The Daily Schedule
The daily schedule is released on the first day of school each year and available to all families at that point.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How was your competency map created?
Our competency map was created by a team of expert teachers using state and national standards such as those associated with NCTM, NCSS, Common Core, and ISBE. Then these competencies were shared with professors from prestigious universities who gave feedback indicating which would be the most relevant to students in preparation for post-secondary study.
- How does the competency-based assessment system differ from traditional grading?
Unlike traditional grading, which often relies on averaging scores across various assignments and tests, competency-based assessment focuses on evaluating a student's mastery of specific skills or competencies. Instead of receiving a letter grade, students are assessed on a scale (Emerging, Developing, Accomplishing) that reflects their level of proficiency in each competency. This system provides a more detailed and nuanced picture of a student's strengths and areas for growth.
- How are students placed in classes/PBL groups? Are there different levels based on ability?
Bennett Day School does not use traditional ability grouping or tracking. Students are placed in mixed-ability classes and PBL groups to foster collaboration and diverse perspectives. Teachers differentiate instruction within these groups, tailoring activities and assignments to meet individual student needs and challenge them at their appropriate level.
- My student is working beyond middle school expectations in certain competency areas. How can I ensure that they’re being challenged and given the opportunity to get credit for their advanced work?
If a student is demonstrating skills beyond the middle school level, they may be eligible to earn Advanced Competencies. Advanced Competencies are awarded to students who can demonstrate a collection of skills at a high school level. Earning an Advanced Competency in middle school is equivalent to earning a Foundational Competency in Upper School and can be applied to their Upper School transcript when the enroll in our Upper School, allowing them more time to do even more advanced work at that point.
To earn an Advanced Competency, a student would need to demonstrate the required skills through a portfolio of their work. This work can be completed in classes at Bennett Day School, through independent study, or even through activities outside of school. The portfolio would then be evaluated by a teacher.
- What support is available for students who struggle with a particular subject or competency?
Teachers differentiate instruction within the classroom to support students who may be struggling. This can include providing additional scaffolding, adjusting the pace of instruction, or offering alternative assignments. If a student needs more intensive support, our learning specialist collaborates with teachers to provide targeted interventions and support. For students who want additional challenges, we offer the opportunity for those students to begin working towards high school competencies, which are assessed at a higher level.
- How does the school ensure that students are prepared for standardized tests or college applications, even without traditional grades or AP classes?
While Bennett Day School does not focus on standardized tests or AP classes, our competency-based approach ensures that students develop the critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills necessary for success in college and beyond. Our students build a strong portfolio of work demonstrating their mastery of essential competencies, which can be highlighted in college applications. Additionally, our counseling team provides guidance and support to students throughout the college application process.
- How can parents and caregivers get involved in their child's learning and stay informed about their progress?
Parents and caregivers and caregivers are encouraged to actively participate in their child's education. You can stay informed about your child's progress through our triannual conferences, where you'll have the opportunity to discuss your child's growth in specific competencies. Additionally, teachers use Google Classroom to communicate with students and parents and caregivers, providing updates on assignments, assessments, and feedback. We also encourage open communication between parents and caregivers and teachers throughout the school year.
- What is the daily schedule for middle school students?
The daily schedule is released on the first day of school each year and is available to all families at that point. Middle school students take PBL classes, studio classes, and multiple "specials" classes each trimester.
- How long is the school day?
The school day begins at 8:15 and concludes at 3:15. PBL blocks are 90 minutes long, studio classes are approximately 45 minutes per day, and advisory meets for 30 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon.
- What is the school's approach to homework?
In line with Bennett Day School's mission to foster a collaborative culture that nurtures curiosity and the development of lifelong learners and leaders, homework is not assigned simply to fill time or reinforce rote learning. Instead, when homework is assigned, it is purposeful and directly tied to the development of essential competencies. Our teachers carefully design assignments that extend learning beyond the classroom, encouraging students to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world contexts. This approach aligns with our inquiry-based learning philosophy, where students are encouraged to "learn by doing" and fully realize their capacity to think, learn, play, and create. While students will likely not receive homework every night, they are expected to engage in meaningful learning experiences both inside and outside of the classroom.
Glossary of Terms
- “Accomplishing”: This stage represents the highest level of proficiency within a competency.
- Advisory: A dedicated time for students to meet with their advisor for academic, social, and emotional support.
- Advanced Competencies: Skills demonstrated at a high school level, going beyond the minimum graduation requirements.
- Bennett Day Middle School Competency Chart: A document outlining all competencies students are expected to master.
- Competency-Based Assessment: An evaluation system focused on students' mastery of specific skills, rather than traditional grades.
- Demo Day: A public showcase of student work at the end of each trimester.
- “Developing”: The stage of demonstrating skills that are more than the basic skills contained in the Emerging stage, but not as complex as those in the Accomplishing stage.
- Differentiated Instruction: Tailoring teaching methods to meet individual student needs within mixed-ability classrooms.
- “Emerging”: The initial stage of demonstrating basic skills within a competency.
- Foundational Competencies: The minimum skills required for graduation.
- Google Classroom: A platform used by teachers to manage assignments, assessments, and communication.
- Inquiry-Based Learning: A teaching approach that encourages students to ask questions, investigate, and discover knowledge.
- Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) Progress Tracker: A tool for documenting student progress toward competency completion.
- PBL (Project-Based Learning): A teaching method where students learn by engaging in real-world projects.
- Place-Based Education: An approach that emphasizes learning through engagement with the local community and environment.
- Portfolio: A collection of student work demonstrating proficiency in assessed competencies.
- Portrait of a Graduate: A document outlining the desired attributes and skills of Bennett Day School graduates.
- Progressive Education: An educational philosophy focused on student-centered, experiential learning.
- Reggio Emilia: An educational approach emphasizing hands-on, collaborative learning.
- Specials: Classes outside of core academic subjects, such as art, music, and physical education.
- Studio Classes: Subject-specific classes, such as English and Math, that meet for approximately 45 minutes per day.