Overview
The educational program at Stevens stems from the belief that children gain a more thorough understanding of a subject if they experience it holistically. Social studies lies at the core, providing the springboard for knowledge and skill acquisition for even the youngest of children.

A. It begins in the Nursery School with the study of the child and his or her family, and it moves outward in a spiral through the 2nd grade to include the extended family, the classroom and school community, the neighborhood and local businesses, the town and the services it provides, and the larger metropolitan area.

B. In the 3rd & 4th grades, students begin to move backwards in time but continue to explore things that occurred in the metropolitan area (e.g., colonial settlements and Native American culture.)

C. In the 5th - 8th grades students are ready to explore cultures thousands of miles from home and separated from them in time by thousands of years. Ancient Egypt, Greece and China are explored and then the curriculum culminates with the traditional examination of American History and government in 8th grade.

Developed by the faculty and Head of School, the Stevens curriculum incorporates tenets of progressive education and principles of child development, along with the School's mission and primary goals. For each age group, teachers integrate art, science, movement, foreign language, math, language arts, and heath and physical education so that students can experience depth and breadth in various fields of study.

Within each grade, children are expected to meet the following curriculum goals:

• Have a variety of methods at their disposal to find out information · Be able to retain information
• Be able to connect information and derive patterns and concepts
• Be able to reformulate their ideas based on new information
• Have a variety of methods at their disposal to constructively express what they have learned
• Feel comfortable voicing their opinions orally and in writing
• Be able to use facts and reasoning to defend their opinions
• Develop a strong understanding of what a community is
• Work to sustain the openness and fairness of their community

At our Nursery School and PreK/K facility, basic materials and age-appropriate activities are used to help foster thinking, socialization, dramatic play, language and the development of routines critical to young children as they begin to discover themselves and the world around them.

At the Elementary School, social studies drives the curriculum, with the arts & sciences, and health & physical education carefully interwoven to encourage students to gain knowledge through an integrated context, that offers a global view.

Stevens Cooperative School
301 Garden Street, Hoboken • 201.792.3688
80 Pavonia Avenue at Newport, Jersey City, • 201.626.4020