A U.S. ACCREDITED SCHOOL SERVING OUR COMMUNITY’S CHILDREN
Ross Preparatory School (Ross Prep)’s academic program is based on an enriched U.S. curriculum, designed to your child’s awareness of the international environment in which they live. We have integrated four global themes into all areas of the mission, goals, standards, and benchmarks for our curricula.
- Critical thinkers and problem solvers
- Responsible, productive citizens
- Self-directed learners
- Effective communicators
CURRICULUM
Your child deserves the best education. Our U.S. accredited school, accredited by the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary School, and curriculum nurture the whole child to thrive in an ever-changing world.
The Ross Prep curriculum emphasizes the interrelatedness of all forms of communication and the importance of the processes involved. We have adopted an integrated language arts instructional program with the following parameters:
- Reading and writing must be taught together.
- Reading, writing, speaking, and listening must be integrated.
- Students should write for a variety of purposes and audiences.
- The writing process should include pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing.
The school's mathematics curriculum is grounded in the philosophy of learning:
- There is a mathematician within each of us.
- Experience with models for math concepts helps us understand, invent, and remember important math ideas.
- Learning mathematics is a social activity.
- Learning mathematics is an ongoing process of knowledge construction.
- Disequilibrium stimulates new learning.
- Mathematics is a fascinating world of its own.
Science is taught using a hands-on discovery and evaluation approach through classroom discussions and the conduction of experiments whenever possible. We particularly strive to foster students’ understanding and appreciation of the natural world by integrating science with other fields of study.
Ross Prep is grounded in the philosophy of learning:
- Science is for all students.
- Less content is more.
- The predominant objective of our science program is to present to students the wonder of science and the joy of exploration through inquiry.
Ross Prep’s social studies program prepares students to demonstrate responsibility and leadership as citizens of a global society. Whenever possible, we integrate our host country and the West Indies region into our studies. In addition to a study of history and geography, our curriculum includes:
- Cultures
- Governments
- Social systems
- Political systems
- Economic systems
- Comparative religions
In the music class, students sing, play percussion, and participate in a variety of activities to develop and strengthen musical skills. Students experience the music of today and yesterday as they learn to appreciate different types of music and to enjoy the music of other cultures.
Students are encouraged to express themselves through their artwork using a variety of art media. Students are instructed in art appreciation and art history as part of the total art program. The art teacher designs the program to coincide with current activities in core subjects at each grade level.
The goal of the health and fitness program is to create healthy, physically educated individuals who are intrinsically motivated to be involved in health-enhancing decisions and physical activity for a lifetime.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Ross Prep follows the U.S. Core Curriculum Standards for each subject area to benchmark learning goals for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Our teachers address the individual standards throughout the school year and student grades are based on where an individual student is in meeting each of those standards.
MATH |
|
ENGLISH |
|
SPEAKING |
K - 6 7 - 8 |
HANDWRITING |
3 - 4 |
FINE MOTOR |
K - 2 |
SCIENCE |
K - 8 |
SOCIAL STUDIES |
|
HEALTH AND FITNESS |
|
SPANISH |
K - 4 5- 8 |
STUDENT ASSESSMENT
Ross Prep uses standards-based grading. Students are expected to meet these standards for each specific grade level by the end of the school year. Through the use of assessment and evaluation, teachers can monitor your child’s progress, identify and meet individual needs, and enhance instruction in the classroom.
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), widely used skills and growth assessment, is the primary assessment mechanism to measure student achievement compared to the U.S. norm.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
- Assessment determines student knowledge or learning progress at one specific time.
- Evaluation assigns a ranking, grade, or score to student learning.
Your child is assigned a number that indicates where they are in meeting each standard as follows:
1 = Below Standard (acceptable at the beginning of the year)
2 = Approaches Standard (expected during the academic school year)
3 = Meets Standard (our goal for all students at the end of the year)
4 = Exceeds Standard (used in rare instances when a student demonstrates ability beyond the stated standard)
OUR TEACHERS ENGAGE IN ONGOING ASSESSMENT OF THEIR TEACHING AND STUDENT LEARNING. WE:
- Use multiple teaching methods and systematically gather data about student understanding and ability.
- Analyze assessment data to guide teaching.
- Guide students in self-assessment.
- Use student data, observations of teaching, and interactions with colleagues to reflect on and improve teaching practice.
- Use student data, observations of teaching, and interactions with colleagues to report student achievement and learning opportunities for students, teachers, parents, policymakers, and the general public.
OUR ASSESMENTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE GOALS THAT:
- Assessment tasks will be authentic and valid.
- Assessments will be fair.
- Assessments will be based only on what has been taught in the program.
- Assessments will be weighted according to the importance of the learning outcomes being assessed (large-scale assessments will be statistically sound).
- The inferences made from assessments about student achievement and opportunity to learn will be sound (data will be used to make instructional decisions).
At any time during the school year, if your child’s program is not satisfactory, the teacher will contact you. Together, we will develop a plan of action that will promote success for the student.
Ross Prep uses a web-based reporting system and report cards are issued at the end of each trimester. Teachers keep accurate records to support the grades given to their students. You are requested to sign the report card and return it within three days.
Although we do our best to accommodate parents unless there is an emergency or special circumstance, our policy is that report cards are not issued before the last day of school.
Our Program Objectives
Ross Prep has developed a model for student success. These are goals that we are striving to attain as we train up the next generation. They include:
- Provide a well-rounded program of instruction using the best educational practices appropriate to the cultural, intellectual, and social needs of our students.
- Provide a U.S.-based, non-sectarian, college preparatory, PK-8 curriculum with English as the language of instruction.
- Provide educational resources for a safe, challenging, tolerant, and supportive environment in which students are actively encouraged to participate.
- Prepare students to be independent thinkers, skillful communicators, and lifelong learners.
- Foster a sense of individual responsibility, self-discipline, self-reliance, and respect for self and others.
- Promote a creative, active lifestyle.
- Orient students to the world of technology and media, developing familiarity, competence, and awareness of the tools they will need as they continue their learning process.
- Encourage students, teachers, administrators, and parents to play an active role in promoting educational excellence at the Prep School.
- Recruit highly qualified and motivated faculty and staff members.
- Provide opportunities for families and friends of the Prep School to strengthen community bonds through a range of inclusive activities and programs.
- Encourage acceptance and tolerance of the diversity of moral, traditional, and religious values.
- Have all of our students choose to demonstrate social responsibility through active involvement in serving the community.
We’ve built a curriculum with your child’s academic success in mind.
