Our Educational Philosophy

 חֲנֹךְ לַנַּעַר עַל־פִּי דַרְכּוֹ
Chanoch lana’ar al pi darko
Educate a child according to their own path. —Proverbs 22:6

We will create a space of belonging where each child is deeply known, loved, and seen in their full humanity. Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogy,¹ we will foster learning environments in which all students’ complex and intersecting identities are affirmed, and their knowledge, skills, and experiences are valued. Our learning community will be designed to foster connection across lived realities, so that every student is honored and empowered to author their place within Jewish life, take part in shaping our tradition, and apply their learning as change-makers and healers of our world.

To cultivate this sense of affirmation, we will celebrate students’ successes, and lovingly tend to their growing edges as we accompany them on their learning journey. Through low-stakes formative assessments, our educators will evaluate students’ unique learning needs and differentiate instruction, because we believe that given the right level of scaffolding, all students can learn. We will use universal design for learning² – developing lessons with multiple means of engagement and expression – increasing accessibility and compelling every learner to grow.

עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ
Eitz chayim hi lamachazikim bah
It is a tree of life for those who hold fast to it. —Proverbs 3:18

Within the container of an immersive learning environment, Jewish literacy will not only be emphasized for the sake of mastery, but also in service of the cultural and spiritual rootedness that forms the bedrock of a resilient Jewish and political self. The day school environment offers something no other setting can fully replicate: an integrated space where sacred ancestral wisdom is not an afterthought or an add-on, but a living thread woven across disciplines and through the rhythm of each day. In this context, our Jewish texts, rituals, languages, and values are not extracurricular — they are elemental, helping to ensure our students feel at home in who they are and where they come from.

עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר
Aseih lecha rav, u’kneh lecha chaver
Make for yourself a teacher, and acquire for yourself a friend. —Pirkei Avot 1:6 

Social-emotional learning will be central to Achvat Olam, as we believe that teaching and learning happen through relationships. Drawing from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Framework,³ our educators will support students to understand their inner worlds, manage their emotions, build empathy and awareness of others, communicate and problem solve with peers, and use critical thinking to make responsible decisions. As a community of educators, families, and administrators, we will model our framework of collective responsibility and mutual accountability to guide our students in regulating their behavior in the classroom, in the hallway, on the playground, and beyond.

Rooted in sociocultural theory,⁴ we believe that social relationships fundamentally shape our learning in the classroom and that children learn best through conversation with peers. Our multi-age classrooms will offer our students the opportunity to teach and learn from one another on a daily basis. Achvat Olam will work to employ a co-teaching model, which contributes to greater accessibility for neurodivergent students and provides all our learners with multiple loving adults to guide them through the learning process at every turn.

אֵין אָדָם לוֹמֵד תּוֹרָה אֶלָּא מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁלִּבּוֹ חָפֵץ
Ein adam lomed Torah ela mimakom shelibo chafeitz
A person only learns Torah from a place that their heart desires. —Avodah Zarah 19a

We believe it is our responsibility to nourish and foster students’ inherent curiosity, creativity, and imagination. Using a child-centered approach, we will provide multisensory, hands-on, play-based experiences that excite and challenge learners of all ages. Our teachers will design and facilitate multidisciplinary units while explicitly connecting our students’ lives to lessons that meet national, statewide, and internal Achvat Olam standards – ensuring that our curriculum is both relevant and rigorous.

Exposed to new experiences and invited to explore their own interests, our students will observe, interact with, and reflect on the world around them, engaging in experiential and embodied learning. This immersive, learn-by-doing approach promotes student autonomy and resourcefulness. Our eclectic pedagogy will draw on the concept of constructivism,⁵ which asserts that learning is active, dynamic, and built upon learners’ prior knowledge and experiences.

בַּרְזֶל בְּבַרְזֶל יָחַד; וְאִישׁ יָחַד פְּנֵי רֵעֵהוּ
Barzel b’varzel yachad; v’ish yachad p’nei re’ehu
As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens the wit of their friend. —Proverbs 27:17

We will adopt a problem-posing model of education, ensuring that our curriculum is always applicable to our living realities. Our inquiry-based approach will empower our students to assume the roles of problem-solvers and change-makers in their everyday lives.⁶ Acting simultaneously as co-learners and facilitators, our teachers will create developmentally-appropriate opportunities to practice critical thinking, engage in productive discomfort and disagreement, develop their moral voices, and step into their roles as builders of a more just and caring world. Together, students and teachers will investigate the challenges facing their communities, discuss and co-construct an understanding of the root causes, and take meaningful, age-appropriate action to address them.

אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם
Eizehu chacham, ha-lomed mi-kol adam
Who is wise? One who learns from everyone. —Pirkei Avot 4:1

Our educators’ flourishing will be our students’ flourishing, and our students’ flourishing will be our communities’ flourishing. As such, Achvat Olam will commit to supporting and investing in our teachers by providing the resources they need to thrive. Our team of educators will be lifelong learners whose curiosities, collaborative spirits, and areas of interest will be nurtured in alignment with our educational philosophy. We will inspire a reflective community of practice, in service of our teachers’ professional growth – as our teachers reach their learning goals, they become more equipped to support our learners in reaching their own. 

At Achvat Olam, we will extend our teachers the autonomy to create educational goals for their students and determine the curricular resources needed to reach them. We expect that our educators will exemplify Achvat Olam’s values and embody our ethos in order to bring learning to life.