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Curriculum at Carroll

Carroll School's Academic and Curriculum Approach

Educational decisions are guided by the needs of the individual child.

Carroll School is fiercely dedicated to giving each child what they most need. What does this mean? Your child's learning profile drives what your child is taught each day, not what is written in a curriculum map or textbook by someone who never met your child. This is different from typical schools where a prescribed curriculum informs teachers about what and when to teach.

Our educators assess and track student performance daily and build lessons based on your child’s mastery of essential grade-appropriate skills in reading, writing, and math. In content-rich subjects - science, history and the arts - we align with the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework but use a project-based, cross-curricular approach to ensure your child receives an intellectually challenging and enriched set of experiences.


Our Curriculum Guiding Principles

Examine Carroll’s academic program through the lens of five enormously important guiding principles.

Diagnostic & Prescriptive Education

In other school settings, students with language-based learning differences are often taught in the same way. Not at Carroll. We dig in and identify each student's strengths and weaknesses. We study each child’s neuropsychological testing which is provided by parents, often through their public school system or through an independent psychologist. From that base, we begin to design each child’s educational program in order to provide what each student most needs. The loop continues throughout a child’s time at Carroll as we collect more data and design new educational opportunities based on the information.

Two students compare notes and help each other on a math project.
Middle School teacher works one on one with student.

Grouping and Scheduling

Once we identify each student's cognitive and academic profile, we create small class groupings and a custom schedule that delivers effective instruction. Unconstrained by large classrooms with few teachers, Carroll School is set-up to place students in classrooms and focus areas with peers and educators that can address weaknesses, accentuate strengths, and challenge students academically. This happens not only in English Language Arts classes, but all core classes.

Small group of students at Carroll's Lower School.
Small group of Middle School students work closely with teacher.

Custom Pacing

At Carroll, a child's education moves forward as quickly as possible and as slowly as necessary. In other words, we expect children to make meaningful progress and our teachers push forward optimistically at all times. Yet, we also make sure that each child can utilize the skills, strategies, and content that they're taught. Simple exposure is often not enough. We check constantly to ensure that students truly understand, can harness, and “own” what they experience in their classrooms and tutorials.

Orton-Gillingham trained tutor works one on one with student.
Middle School student reading a book in ELA class.

Interesting and Intellectually Challenging

We don't just value children's curiosity, passions, and talents - we build an education around them. Carroll’s program is designed to ensure that each child has daily experiences in areas where they shine. While remediation of language-based weaknesses is also essential, opportunities in the arts, science, social studies, makers, athletics, outdoor education, social interaction, leadership, community service, and technology are integral components of the Carroll School curriculum. Our project-based and cross-curricular approach helps students make their thinking visible and keeps them interested and challenged.

Student engages in interesting and intellectually challenging physics project
Student engages in interesting and intellectually challenging biology project

Skilled Educators

Without skilled teachers and tutors, positive educational outcomes are simply not possible. Carroll educators, every one of them, are trained to be experts in educating children with language-based learning differences. All educators are required to complete Orton-Gillingham training. As well, the Hall Copacino Institute of Professional Study courses were created to help identify and train educators for the different aspects that make a successful educator at Carroll: (1) Orton-Gillingham, (2) The Whole Child, (3) Data-Informed Instruction (4) Pedagogy - The Science of Teaching, and (5) New Educator training.

This ensures that educators possess the skills that enable children to succeed in ways that typical schools cannot accomplish. Skilled educators drive the curriculum for each student according to a deep understanding of what each student most needs.

Upper School math teacher shows students how to solve problem
Lower School math teacher shows students how to solve problem

Carroll School helped my child be more intellectually curious, emboldened, and fully embracing his leadership skills. Nick is thriving at Carroll and becoming the successful and self-assured young man that we always knew he could be. The St. Louis Family Upper School

Dive Deeper Into Our Curriculum

Explore Carroll School’s innovative curriculum approach, designed to empower students with dyslexia to thrive academically and beyond.

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