Fredericksburg Academy Lower School students learn by doing.
Lower School Falcons gain knowledge and confidence through experiential field trips and classroom activities, performing on stage in the Upper School Reed Theater, and by exploring the natural world through FA’s extensive trail system.
They gain character by tending the teaching gardens and collecting food donations for the area food bank, mentoring each other and younger students, and by serving as members of a community.
FA’s Kindergarten
FA’s Kindergarten is a play-based program that cultivates curiosity and critical thinking throughout the day with many special events throughout the year for families to celebrate their learning.
Grades 1-3
are designed to establish a solid foundation for success with all future learning, with a focus on outdoor education, dynamic field experiences, extensive performing and visual arts, and foreign language and technology to complement and support traditional areas of study.
Grades 4-5
are designed to model the more mature academic and social setting they will transition to in middle school. These classrooms are flexible spaces which allow for greater collaboration and configuration options.
Highlights of FA's Lower School include:
- All classrooms in our Lower School use Responsive Classroom, a research-based teaching approach which is based on the idea that children learn best when they have both academic and social-emotional skills. Responsive Classroom's guiding principle is that knowing the children we teach is as important as knowing the content we teach. Each class activity helps children learn the skills of cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
- Small class sizes provide greater opportunities for differentiation to support the learning of each child.
- Faculty work collaboratively to build continuity between grade levels to ensure benchmarks are met at each level and that students are best prepared for their next transition.
- Focus on authentic learning rather than teaching to tests allows students to discover, engage, and imagine for the entire school year without disruption.
- Integrated specials classes in music, PE, art, Library, technology, Spanish, and STEAM create the most meaningful learning experience.
- Regular communications from faculty and the school to parents promote partnership and keep parents informed of student, classroom, and school community activities.
- Specialized learning support guided by our Resource team for students needing specified learning accommodations.
- Physical, emotional, and social health maintained through the assistance of a certified school counselor and registered staff nurse.
Signature Elements
