Almaden Country Day School

Almaden Country Day School is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational private day school founded in 1982 by Mrs. Nan Hunter.

Almaden Country Day School
Address
6835 Trinidad Drive

San Jose
,
(Santa Clara County)
,
California
95120

United States
Information
TypePrivate/Independent
Established1982
PrincipalOlaf Jorgenson
GradesPre-Kindergarten - 8th grade
Enrollment385
Color(s)Red and blue
MascotCougar
Websitewww.almadencountrydayschool.org

Serving grades Pre-Kindergarten through eighth, the school is situated on a nine-acre campus in the Almaden Valley neighborhood of San Jose, California.

Almaden Country Day School follows a developmental instructional model with heterogeneous grouping and an emphasis on deepening understanding rather than focusing solely on the acceleration of learning.

The school's mission is to "discover the gifts in every child."[1]

Accreditation

ACDS is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools [2] using a process that includes a written study based on more than 100 standards, as well as an on-site visit by a team of educators to assess the school's programs and operations.[3][4]

Mission Skills Assessment

Almaden Country Day School has been selected to participate in the Mission Skills Assessment,[5] a program developed by INDEX (Independent School Data Exchange) [6] and Educational Testing Service (ETS) to measure six student skills: teamwork, creativity, ethics, resilience, curiosity and time management. ACDS was the first South Bay independent school, and one of only 10 schools in California, selected to participate in the Mission Skills Assessment.[7]

Curriculum, Instruction, and Signature Programs

Overview

Almaden Country Day School's educational philosophy is to target instruction according to the developmental needs of students, using instructional models designed to deepen learning, rather than relying exclusively on rote memorization and extrinsic rewards.

Enrichment activities [8] and a focus on 21st-century skills are also emphasized throughout the school's curriculum.

ACDS maintains a student/teacher ratio of 9:1, with kindergarten classes limited to a maximum of 16 students, elementary classes to 20–22, and middle school courses ranging from 6 to 24 students.[9]

Instructional Program and Enrichments

Almaden Country Day School's instructional program and enrichments consist of:

Other enrichment activities at Almaden Country Day School include:

In addition, experiential learning is a key focus [10] and includes:

  • EDGE Day: Expanding a Dynamic and Gifted Education. EDGE Day was developed to expose older students to a variety of high-interest learning opportunities that are both unfamiliar and challenging.
  • Field Trips: Past excursions include Yosemite Science Camp, Coloma Outdoor Discovery School,[11] Walden West,[12] Catalina Environmental Learning Program on Catalina Island, Williamsburg, and Mount Vernon.
  • The ACDS Buddy Program matches each fifth- through eighth-grade student with a "Little Buddy" in preschool through second grade. Big Buddies join their Little Buddies in classrooms, read to them, and sit with them during organized lunches. They also partner together in school activities including the annual Spirit Day, Halloween Parade, and Thanksgiving Feast.
  • Library facilities with over 15,000 books and a dedicated librarian on staff

The ACDS technology program features the Imaginarium makerspace (which includes 3D printers, a CNC router, a laser cutter, sewing machines, metal-working tools, and more), a 1:1 laptop program for middle school students, iPads in every elementary classroom, Promethean classroom Activboards, and wireless Internet access campus-wide.

ACDS also offers an Orton-Gillingham-based learning program called The Learning Center (TLC). Designed specifically for students with dyslexia, the TLC program provides specialized learning support for core-curriculum classwork (reading, writing, and math), while allowing students to participate in the mainstream enrichment curriculum with the rest of their peers – studying science, art, music, drama, and P.E. in the elementary grades, for example, or choosing from more than thirty elective classes in middle school.

Early Childhood Education

Early education at Almaden Country Day School consists of Pre-Kindergarten for four-year-olds and young five-year-olds.

Classes are multi-age groupings with opportunities for same-age groups, pairings, and individual and small group activities tailored to students at various developmental levels.

The curriculum is a play-responsive, Reggio Emilia-influenced, developmental program based on a sequence of multi-sensory, hands-on skills.

The educational philosophy at ACDS is to develop the whole child, emphasizing social, intellectual, emotional and physical growth.

Elementary Education

Elementary (K-5) students at ACDS are enrolled in art, science, physical education, music and drama, in addition to core classes in language arts, mathematics and social studies.

The school's reading instruction program balances phonics and authentic literature with explicit skills instruction, addressing decoding and encoding skills, comprehension strategies, and a range of writing and language skills.

All elementary students at ACDS are involved in a Social-Emotional Learning program, a school-wide effort to develop a sense of community and leadership, a foundation of respect, and positive peer relationships, as well as achievement skills such as time management and organizational ability.

Weekly class meetings are designed to reinforce the Social-Emotional Learning program.[13]

Middle School Education

The ACDS Middle School curriculum consists of five academic core subjects, balanced by two elective courses including Spanish, speech and debate, videography, coding, website design, social justice, and others. The school day consists of seven 50-minute periods. ACDS provides a Middle School Homework Center for guided study after school four days each week.

Co-curricular activities available to middle school students include:

  • After-school interscholastic sports
  • The ACDS Buddy Program
  • A service learning program in which students develop and lead projects drawn from five categories: Environment, Health and Human Services, Public Safety, Education, and Social Issues
  • Service and Leadership elective courses designed to cultivate social awareness, leadership, and empathy
  • Performing arts electives
  • Off-campus field trips and overnight excursions

References
  1. "Almaden Country Day School mission statement". Archived from the original on 2017-09-04. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
  2. "California Association of Independent Schools official website".
  3. "Almaden Country Day School is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools".
  4. "California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) accreditation process".
  5. "A description of the Mission Skills Assessment". Archived from the original on 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  6. "INDEX official website".
  7. "List of INDEX member schools". Archived from the original on 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  8. "Almaden Country Day School's enrichment activity program description".
  9. "Almaden Country Day School at a glance". Archived from the original on 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
  10. "Almaden Country Day School's experiential learning program description".
  11. "Website for Coloma Outdoor Discovery School".
  12. "Website for the Walden West environmental education program".
  13. "An overview of Almaden Country Day School's Social-Emotional Learning program".

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