Multiage Education

At the Gold Hill School, our classrooms are at the heart of our community. To nurture healthy, happy learners, we believe it's essential to cultivate a healthy, happy community. Each day begins with a morning circle, where we connect with one another and learn about what's happening in each other's lives. Throughout the week, we focus on emotional awareness, conflict resolution, and strengthening our bonds as a community.

One parent once shared that she chose the Gold Hill School for her children because she wanted them to learn how to "live on a boat." Figuratively speaking, our school is like living on a boat—you can't just jump ship; you have to learn to work with others. In our small community, students learn to navigate differences and work through challenges. They form a sibling-like dynamic—disagreements arise, but we always strive to repair and grow stronger together.

At the Gold Hill School, we deeply connect our curriculum to the natural and social world around us. Whether studying scientific concepts like life cycles, adaptations, geologic features, and weather, or exploring social studies topics such as civics, economics, history, and geography, we begin by examining the world locally. This approach allows students to immediately relate to the material, creating a strong foundation for them to grasp broader, more abstract ideas. By starting with the familiar, we help students build a mental framework where they can easily place and understand more complex concepts.

At the Gold Hill School, we recognize that students learn at different paces. Applying the same expectations to all students at the same time doesn't honor their unique strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Our goal is to teach students within their Zone of Proximal Development, which means providing the right support at the right time to help them grow. To achieve this, we use flexible groupings that evolve as learning progresses, ensuring that each student receives the personalized instruction they need to succeed.

At the Gold Hill School, we have two classrooms: one for kindergarten, first, and second graders, and another for third, fourth, and fifth graders. Occasionally, second and third graders may cross classrooms. This setup allows each teacher to work with their students for three years. We operate in a multiage environment, not a multi-grade class. The distinction is that we teach one cohesive class rather than managing three separate grade levels in the same room.

When we embark on a unit of study, it’s designed for the entire class, not just one grade level. To keep learning dynamic and engaging, we rotate our units every three years. For example, we dive into topics like weather, the American Revolution, or an author study of Arnold Lobel once every three years, then revisit them with the next cohort. While we cover the same state standards as other schools in Colorado, particularly in social studies and science, the topics may be explored in different grade levels as outlined by the state.

At the Gold Hill School, science and social studies education often drive much of our learning. For example, while every school is required to teach opinion writing, our approach goes beyond the basics. In addition to writing opinion pieces within our district’s literacy curriculum—just as every BVSD student does—our students participate in a business and marketing unit where they create a new toy for the market. They then launch an advertising campaign, learning to write and speak persuasively to increase orders for their product.

This approach makes writing more than just an assignment to check off a list; students have a real, authentic reason to learn persuasive writing. They're intrinsically motivated to create their best work, without needing external incentives.

At the Gold Hill School, we integrate subject matter to introduce skills through a "just in time learning" strategy. While we use the same math workbooks as other schools in the district and successfully progress through them, we don't limit learning to workbook completion. For example, when students learn to count money and make change, we place that math unit within their business unit, where they are required to buy and sell products. This real-world application gives them a meaningful reason to master these skills. Authentic, practical learning experiences like these deepen and cement their understanding.

• A child learns as a whole person.
• A child progresses through stages of cognitive development.
• A child is an active, not a passive learner.
• A child constructs her own knowledge of the world.
• A child's learning is individual.
• A child's learning is a process.
• A child learns best when the activity is meaningful and relevant.
• A child learns through play.
• A child learns from social interaction.
• A child learns by imitation.
• A child's affect (emotion) impacts their learning.