Academics

Core Academics
ANCS has found, and research supports, that ability grouping within multi-age classrooms creates the optimal environment for students to develop socially as well as academically. This environment fosters an enthusiasm for learning and emphasizes that learning happens through interaction among and between student, teachers, peers and environment. Low faculty/ student ratios assure that students receive individual attention. Well developed lessons provide opportunities for each student to explore, create and solve problems.

The curriculum encompasses instruction in the core academic areas of language arts, mathematics, science and social studies as well as enrichment studies in art, music, physical education, foreign language and technology. In our classrooms, instruction is not limited solely to a textbook; we also incorporate community resources, related literature and technology while integrating each subject into themes and projects toprovide students with a well-rounded experience.

Atlanta New Century School is unlike many of the traditional schools that dominate the educational strata.  It was created as a model environment for children to learn in a manner that corresponds to their mental and physical development. The learning model is based on research about how students best learn.  One of the most critical ideas is that learning is most effective when it has a context.  This idea has been validated by research. A far cry from the traditional model of subjects taught in daily 45-minute segments, the Atlanta New Century School model takes advantage of the natural relationship between subjects.  For example, if a student or group reads the book, The Rock, the teacher may have them collect, research and identify rocks for science, weigh and compare the rocks for math, and catalogue the experience as a writing activity.  The students are accountable for certain skills in each area, but learn these skills as a natural part of discovery learning.  Further, research shows that skills learned in this type of rich context are truly mastered (as opposed to learned).

Paired with this integrated approach is our recognition that children learn at different speeds and with different styles.  Because of this, ANCS students work together in many different group configurations and at a variety of activities designed to meet a wide range of learning styles.  Research has shown that children who have opportunities to work and play with other children of different ages and levels of cognitive development are able to learn more deeply than in homogeneous environments.  Parallel to this approach is the applied use of teams for learning.  By carefully structuring cooperative activities to simultaneously hold individuals accountable while developing group skills, we prepare these students well for the collaborative working world they will face.

ANCS multimedia and communication technology is an integral part of the program.  It is important to note, though, that while we believe that technological skill is the currency of the world these students will inhabit, we also believe that it is not the object of learning.  Each student will walk out of our doors with formidable skills including these new tools, but the process through which they will have acquired those skills will have been through learning in all other academic areas.

In addition to the resource of technology, the students have access to an unusually rich set of community resources.  Musical experiences are provided through the Rialto School of Music at Georgia State University as well as concerts and performances throughout Atlanta.  The School makes regular use of the Atlanta-Fulton County Library and Centennial Park.  For Civics, our students have immediate access to the Capitol, Museum of Patriotism, Imagine It Childrens Museum, Zoo Atlanta, The Carter Center, and Spivey Hall. For current events and news, CNN is around the corner.  Students studying architecture have access to a number of buildings in the neighborhood that are on the historic register which they can visit, photograph, film, draw, or sketch.  Other sites include the Atlanta Preservation Center, The High Museum, the US Court of Appeals, and the Research Center of African American Cultural History.  Whatever the resource, their real value lies in the teacher’s ability to respond to student interest by enabling access to these real-world resources.

ANCS has enjoyed documented success with its students.  Through the use of assessment tools the school has been able to monitor the majority of students averaging two-year gains in skill level each academic year.  This gain is possible because of the way in which the school environment is structured, the way the curriculum creates a context for learning the subject matter, and the brain based instructional strategies that teachers use with students.  Our facility is situated on the edge of Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta.  The location allows access to area resources that contribute to a dynamic and challenging curriculum with programs that use the Universities, libraries, museums, corporate facilities, theaters, performance halls, and parks of Atlanta.

Extended Day Program

ANCS curriculum provides extended day programs for working parents. From 3:30 - 6:00 pm ANCS students can be engaged by completing home work or any number of enrichment activities, such as chorus, ballet, swimming, arts & crafts, chess, private music lessons, martial arts, leadership, service-learning opportunities and more.

Enrichment Education

ANCS believes that excellence in education is possible only with the full inclusion of enrichment education. Our enrichment curriculum (Art, Spanish, and Music) benefits the student because it cultivates the whole child, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication. In addition, our enrichment program engages students in a process that helps them develop the self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation necessary for success in life. Recent studies show that students who study the arts are more successful on standardized tests such as the SAT. They also achieve higher grades in high school. If our students are to become productive citizens and lifelong learners, they must have the benefits of an enrichment education.