Our Philosophy
At Canterbury Brook Academy of the Arts, we firmly believe that all children have the ability to learn when given the right supports and placed in the proper programs for success. We do not support a “one size fits all” approach to education and individualize our educational approaches to each student in our program. We also believe that exposure to and involvement in the arts enhances a student’s educational experience. We believe that students who are passionate about the arts should have the opportunity to study them in depth and spend time during their school day pursuing these interests, which often may become careers down the road. In order to work successfully in any field, however, we believe that students must be properly prepared with strong foundational skills. We explicitly instruct our students in many areas that are no longer as strongly focused upon as they were in years past such as phonics, grammar, reading comprehension and analysis strategies, computation strategies, cursive penmanship, and geography. We also believe firmly in a hands-on approach to learning and believe that multisensory learning experiences, especially in math and science, lead to better mastery of skills. We recognize and respect the need for standardized testing as a means of data collection and use the data compiled to drive our decisions regarding each child’s goals, but we also do not and will not teach to a test. Likewise, we respect technology and all that it has to offer but believe that young children need to spend more time with physical tools and learning apparatuses. We utilize project-based models and experiential learning whenever possible, and we institute a clear program to build executive functioning skills from an early age.
Students at CBA are integrally involved in their own education, helping to create and oversee their quarterly goals and being taught to advocate for what they need as unique learners. We encourage out-of-the-box thinkers, creative minds, and inquisitive learners. We want our students to leave us ready for the world beyond our school, able to be successful in any environment in which they should find themselves. As such, we foster a spirit of acceptance and cooperation among our students and try to ensure that our school functions both as a strong academic and arts-based program and a nurturing “family”for our students to rely on. Our teachers function in the same way. At Canterbury Brook, we have a large number of PD and PLC days mixed into our program to allow for the ultimate opportunities for collaboration among the grades. We use curriculum maps that overlap from year to year, showing how students move from basic understanding to proficiency to mastery of subjects over set time periods that can involve several different lead teachers. We also utilize an ever-growing editing checklist for both writing and math that moves with the students from grade to grade, keeping our high expectations consistent. Our teachers work as a cohesive team, supporting one another and sharing in the success of each child in our program. A graduate of Canterbury Brook is a product of every teacher he or she has had along the way. We take this responsibility very seriously and consider it an honor.
Our teachers also believe in working in partnership with parents in order to ensure student success. We do insist on mutual respect between parents and teachers; students deserve to know that their guardians and their educators are on the same page. We conference often with parents and involve families in all that we do, but we do enforce healthy boundaries for our teachers to prevent burnout and ensure respect for the field. Our teachers are critical members of the Canterbury Brook family, both the academic instructors and the arts track educators. They are visible at all school events and give of themselves in generous ways toward the parents and students of Canterbury Brook. Finally, from the youngest children at Canterbury Brook to the oldest, we encourage community outreach. We want our school to be a positive addition to the community, to help revitalize the village in which we are located, and to provide a much-needed niche within education in the Hudson Valley. We strive to keep our tuition far lower than any other independent private school options in the region in order to ideally be accessible to as many students from diverse backgrounds as possible. We also work hard to build positive connections with local businesses and community groups, allowing our school to serve as a hub for arts and learning in the area.
Students at CBA are integrally involved in their own education, helping to create and oversee their quarterly goals and being taught to advocate for what they need as unique learners. We encourage out-of-the-box thinkers, creative minds, and inquisitive learners. We want our students to leave us ready for the world beyond our school, able to be successful in any environment in which they should find themselves. As such, we foster a spirit of acceptance and cooperation among our students and try to ensure that our school functions both as a strong academic and arts-based program and a nurturing “family”for our students to rely on. Our teachers function in the same way. At Canterbury Brook, we have a large number of PD and PLC days mixed into our program to allow for the ultimate opportunities for collaboration among the grades. We use curriculum maps that overlap from year to year, showing how students move from basic understanding to proficiency to mastery of subjects over set time periods that can involve several different lead teachers. We also utilize an ever-growing editing checklist for both writing and math that moves with the students from grade to grade, keeping our high expectations consistent. Our teachers work as a cohesive team, supporting one another and sharing in the success of each child in our program. A graduate of Canterbury Brook is a product of every teacher he or she has had along the way. We take this responsibility very seriously and consider it an honor.
Our teachers also believe in working in partnership with parents in order to ensure student success. We do insist on mutual respect between parents and teachers; students deserve to know that their guardians and their educators are on the same page. We conference often with parents and involve families in all that we do, but we do enforce healthy boundaries for our teachers to prevent burnout and ensure respect for the field. Our teachers are critical members of the Canterbury Brook family, both the academic instructors and the arts track educators. They are visible at all school events and give of themselves in generous ways toward the parents and students of Canterbury Brook. Finally, from the youngest children at Canterbury Brook to the oldest, we encourage community outreach. We want our school to be a positive addition to the community, to help revitalize the village in which we are located, and to provide a much-needed niche within education in the Hudson Valley. We strive to keep our tuition far lower than any other independent private school options in the region in order to ideally be accessible to as many students from diverse backgrounds as possible. We also work hard to build positive connections with local businesses and community groups, allowing our school to serve as a hub for arts and learning in the area.
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