Building Block School
Building Block School serves 84 students in grades Prekindergarten-6, is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The student:teacher of Building Block School is 42:1.
Quick Stats (2021-22)
- Top Ranked NH School
- School Type: School with Special Program Emphasis
- Grades: Prekindergarten-6
- Students: 84 students
- Yearly Tuition: $7,500
- Acceptance rate: 30%
- Application Deadline: None / Rolling
Top Rankings
Building Block School ranks among the top 20% of private schools in New Hampshire for:
Category
Attribute
Acceptance Rate
School Overview
School Type
School Membership(s)School Assoc.
Grades Offered
Grades Prekindergarten-6
ADD/ADHD Support
Yes
Learning Difference Programs
Yes
Summer School Offered
Yes
Summer Program Cost
$175
Summer Program Cost Notes
$175 2 days a week for 2 weeks
Student Body
Total Students
84 students
Student Body Type
Co-ed
Students by Grade
Academics and Faculty
Total Classroom Teachers
2 teachers
Student : Teacher Ratio
42:1
National avg.: 13:1
Tuition and Acceptance Rate
Admission Deadline
None / Rolling
Yearly Tuition Cost
Tuition Notes
Paid in three lump sums over the course of the year
Acceptance Rate
30%
National avg.: 85%
Admissions Director
Wren Hayes
Admissions Associate
David Hayes
Endowment Size
$1.2 million
School Notes
- Curriculum
- The school will carefully curate a cohort of 15-18 students who will be supported by 3 teachers throughout the school year as they use Project-Based Learning to explore the 6 Cs:
- CollaborationCommunicationContentCritical ThinkingCreative InnovationConfidence(As outlined in Becoming Brilliant by Kathy Hirsch-Pasek & Roberta Michnick Golinkoff)Within each of these 6 competencies are clusters of standards that are determined by the staff for each emergent project. The standards may reflect Common Core State Standards, local NH school district standards, as well as standards developed within the classroom community.These competencies are explored in three physical spaces within the school: Socratic Space, Tinker Lab, and Outdoor Classroom. Of course, learning does not only occur at school, and parents are welcome to add to the child`s digital portfolio at any time!What tools will be used to support the mastery of these competencies?The staff's training on Project Based Learning (PBL) comes from the Buck Institute for Education (BIE), the "gold standard" in PBL. One great challenge to this kind of self-reflection work is that students don't often practice thinking critically about these competencies. Metacognition, or "thinking about thinking" needs to be taught and frequently practiced. We will help students practice these skills by doing structured protocols from Visible Thinking Routines in the classroom (Harvard Project Zero). The teachers will be trained to initiate these routines throughout the day in order to encourage higher-order thinking skills during real-life conversation among peers. Combining these protocols, conversations with students, teacher-created rubrics and real-time, authentic portfolios, a child's progress is able to be monitored and supported.
School Reviews
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