A Multiage Approach to Learning

“I enjoy seeing my son interact with younger students as a mentor for knowledge and manners. Interacting with the different class levels is very smart; he benefited from it when he was younger and now he is the one giving advice and assistance. This is a good lesson in growing up that I feel is not offered enough in other schools.”
-- St. Mary’s parent

St. Mary’s School features multiage classrooms in order to support the continuous academic progress of each of our students. Our multiage program format is based on students’ age, skills, and maturity. Each year, we have designed and changed the program to meet the needs of the enrolled students for the current year.

Our two- and three-year-old programs focus on individual and social skills development through play. In Multiage K, 1, 2, and 3/4/5, curriculum is designed to help students to build academic skills in reading, writing, math, computers, geography, art, science, social studies, and religion. Physical education and music – taught by specialists – are also part of the curriculum. Most children in the full-day programs spend two years at each level. Some children may spend one year, others three years, depending on their individual readiness.
 

• Before and After-School Care is available for children in Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and all of the Multiage programs. (2009-2010)
• Two-Year-Olds: Every day, in either a morning or afternoon session, students are guided in the development of individual competencies and social skills through play. (2009-2010)
• Three-Year-Olds: Every day, in either a morning, afternoon, or all-day session, children are guided individually and in groups in preparation for the Pre-K experience. (2009-2010)
• Four- and Five-Year-Olds: Students attend our full-day Multiage K program in a readiness or Kindergarten format. Most students stay in this program for two years.
• Five- and Six-Year-Olds: Depending on their reading ability, students attend our full-day Multiage 1 Program, which is equivalent to a full day first grade program. Most students stay in this program for two years.
• Six- and Seven-Year-Olds: Multiage 2 is designed to encompass the skills normally taught in second and third grade. Since we do not restrict a child from moving forward, some students move up to the next level mid-year or go to another level that better meets their skill level for a portion of the day.
• Seven- to Ten-Year Olds: Students who are ready for the content taught in grade four and five attend Multiage 3/4/5. Many students are also introduced to skills normally taught at grade six and seven, if they are ready to work at a more advanced level.

“In the multiage community, every child can become a successful learner on his or her own continuum of growth.”

What is Multiage?
A multiage classroom is a mixed-age group of children flexibly grouped and regrouped frequently according to the task, learning objectives, and the needs and interests of the students. These groupings are set up to allow children to move along a continuum of academic and social skills rather than be restricted to a single grade-level program.

A multiage classroom is not a combination class in which a teacher instructs two or three grade levels in their designated curricula. In the multiage community, every child can become a successful learner on his or her own continuum of growth. This individual growth is supported through a process approach to learning that is child-centered rather than curriculum-centered. This means that teachers facilitate the learning of each child rather than instruct just the whole class based on predetermined grade-level skills and content.

Why Multiage?
Research shows increased academic achievement as a result of multi-age experiences. Students performed better on academic tests, demonstrated better higher-order thinking skills, scholastic independence, and a knowledge base greater than children in graded classrooms. Longitudinal studies also showed positive results socially for multi-age placed students. These students were more likely to develop healthy self-concepts, leadership skills, positive attitudes toward school, and good rapport with a broad age range of peers and adults.

Strengths of Multiage Classrooms

• Family Unit: A primary goal is to establish a community of learners that support and nurture each of its members. This “family” includes the children, teachers, specialists, support staff, parents, extended family members, and volunteers.
• Respect for the Individual: Each child’s learning rate and style is honored and supported. Students may pursue their interests as far as their interest and abilities may take them. Teachers learn each child’s strengths and areas of needed development so they can support and challenge each child appropriately.
• Focus on Success: Each child’s progress is viewed in terms of success rather than failure. This focus on success keeps the child engaged in the learning process and provides repeated success for all children, no matter where they are on their continuum of learning.
• Cross-Age Learning: Children look to each other and not just to the teacher for learning opportunities. Younger students benefit from collaborating with older children who often model more sophisticated approaches to learning. Older students benefit in their roles as mentors to younger children by becoming teachers and by modeling the learning.
• Mentoring/Leadership: Peer mentoring, where a more experienced or knowledgeable student takes the initiative to “teach” the less experienced student, is an exciting process. Mentoring directly benefits the mentors as well as the “pupil”. In addition, the social and emotional benefits of mentoring for younger and older children cannot be overstated.
• Autonomous Learners: The structure of the multiage classroom develops self-directing, autonomous individuals because children are invited to participate in their own learning and are offered choices in the process of learning to read, write, and solve problems. Children are given exposure to more advanced skills and information, so that when students are developmentally ready to master those advanced skills, success will be accelerated.
• Flexible Groupings: Groups are flexible and based on demonstrated skills and age. Grouping is not used to define a child’s learning capabilities, as children are not placed in traditional low, medium, and high groups within a grade level. Students who have advanced skills in a content area are often sent to the next level during the day to work at more challenging concepts.
• No Retention or Promotion: Continuous learning and success for each child is the focus. Retention is a by-product of traditional classrooms where the expectations are the same for all children. Because we know that all children do not learn at the same rate and because the research on retention shows it can be an emotionally difficult experience for children and parents, multiage classrooms do not depend on retention or automatic promotion to the next level.
• No Labeling: In same-grade classes, children are typically labeled as “below grade-level”, “on grade-level”, or “above grade-level”. In the multiage classroom, the focus shifts from getting every child to the same level of performance to encouraging each child’s individual progress on the continuum of skills.
• Child-Centered: Because learning is a personal construction of knowledge, multiage curriculum goals and plans are selected based on individual needs and strengths. Washington State Learning Goals are incorporated within an integrated, child-centered format. Children who move to another school will find themselves well prepared in not only the state requirements, but also in the skills and attitudes of a life-long learner.
• Authentic Assessment: St. Mary’s teachers use qualitative reporting tools such as portfolios, anecdotal records, observations, and formal and informal testing. Each child’s growth is recorded on academic and developmental continuums. Traditional letter grades are not used; rather, a checklist of skills and narrative reporting give specific information of the progress being made. Older students are involved in self-assessment and are invited to help report progress and set goals. Our goal is to have each child see herself/himself as a competent learner and individual.
• Professional Partnerships: Each child has the benefit of professional collaboration among adults who are actively working together to meet each child’s needs.
• Continuous Progress Model: We believe that grade levels can become barriers that restrict the rate of learning. We individualize as much as possible and work to design programs that will best meet the child’s individual learning style and skill level. Even when students are involved in the same lessons, teachers may hold very different expectations and give different assignments to students. Levels are designed so students may stay one, two, or three years with the same teacher. Our students have made excellent progress and transitioned well to new schools all over the world.

ACADEMICS LINKS

Materials and Resources

Early Learning

Subject Level

Enrichment

Special Programs and Services

State Learning Goals