Academics
Academic programs at the elementary school, which includes prekindergarten through grade 6, reinforce and build foundational skills and provide students with gradually increasing academic challenges while taking into account individual student learning needs.
Teachers and students at BPES take a cross-curricular approach to teaching and learning. For instance, English language arts classes include books on social studies and science topics, so students touch on multiple curricula throughout the day.
Grades 5 and 6 have a homeroom teacher that provides one subject area of core instruction. They travel as a homeroom class to other grade-level teachers for instruction in their other core subjects. This not only provides variety in their days, but prepares them for the format of the secondary schools.
English Language Arts
English language arts instruction focuses on helping students continue to develop their literacy skills to ensure they are reading at grade level. Students read in small groups and participate in guided reading sessions. Teachers encourage students to make connections between the content of what they are reading and their own lives.
Mathematics
Students gradually build on math concepts, which helps encourage them to deepen their understanding. The mathematics curriculum includes whole number concepts, whole number computation, mental math, problem-solving, patterns and functions, measurement, geometry, fractions, decimals and probability.
Science
The science curriculum helps students develop foundational skills, including observation, hypothesizing, experimenting, measuring, recording and interpreting scientific data.
Social Studies
The social studies curriculum includes the history and culture of New York state, the United States, Canada and South America. Social studies faculty format instruction to incorporate a variety of learning experiences, recognizing the value of individual research, literature, dramatic presentation, field trips, art, group research, class discussions and cooperative learning.
Beyond the Core
Elementary students participate in art, music, computer and physical education classes taught by teachers certified as subject area specialists.