Childhood provides a unique opportunity in a human’s life to immerse oneself in learning, to expose oneself to the full range of human experience, and to follow one’s natural inclinations toward specific interests and gifts. During no other time are we so free to learn, nor does it come so naturally. We are hard-wired over tens of thousands of years to use our early years to observe, imitate, experiment and differentiate. We believe it does a disservice to young people NOT to expose them to a large array of skills, knowledge and material. 


Our hope is that students graduating from Quintral have a strong sense of self and are headed in the direction of their ikigai, or reason for living. Because for many this might include university-level studies, we are deliberate in our college preparation during the high school years especially and are confident in our graduates’ ability to face whatever challenges lie ahead. We support a full range of post-graduate life pursuits, including but not limited to: volunteer work, an Ivy League University, community college, technical school, career work, travel, care for family, or any other heart-felt trajectory.

Individualized learning plans

Multiple class offerings and areas of interest

Bilingualism

Academics at Quintral can be summarized into the following categories:

Academic Planning

At the start of each semester, students and their families meet with one of our academic planners to determine their class schedule, sign a learner contract and, if applicable, review their self-assessment from the prior semester. Student differences are respected and students are given significant autonomy in and out of the classroom. This autonomy breeds confidence in each student starting as young as 1st grade and also teaches the valuable skills of goal setting and planning. Unique academic challenges are addressed and action plans are put into place so that no student struggles in silence or experiences any form of shame for their unique abilities. Assessment is ongoing as students work through objectives in each subject and present their projects or workbook to their classroom Guide. At the end of each semester, families are invited for a very special presentation day where students have an opportunity to share all they have learned with their families and friends. Some projects might include a formal presentation, while others might be displayed through artwork, completed projects or an illustrated home-made lesson book.

Classroom Experience

Classes are subject-specific, mixed age, and limited to a low ratio of students to Guides. Entering a classroom feels akin to walking into a beehive, with students hard at work on their individual daily, weekly or monthly goals. Some students might be working independently, while others are working with partners, in groups, or with the help of the Guide. At the start of each semester students are given a list of “Learning Objectives” which they use as the first page of their homemade lesson book. These objectives are to be worked through at each student’s own pace and in their own style. When a student is ready to learn a new objective, they discuss their approach with the classroom Guide, work through the material and then when finished debrief once again with their Guide in order to “check off” the objective and move onto the next. All work is recorded in the lesson book to be used for review and so that students, Guides and families can visually see the student’s progress. Whenever possible, Guides are encouraged to take the learning outside and to think beyond the walls of the classroom. A “floating” Guide is always available to assist when students’ work takes them to other areas of the campus.

Courses and Curriculum:

At the elementary level, students at Quintral are divided into 2 age groups, or “cycles”, 1st-3rd grade and 4th-6th grade. In their first cycle, students receive a social studies and science curriculum that provides a foundation for all their future learning. Language arts and literacy are directly tied to these core subjects and teachers utilize literacy as a vital tool in children’s grasp of the material. In their 2nd cycle, students will work through a comprehensive world and local history curriculum which is tied to their study of science through inquiry-based themes. Students approach the material at an age-appropriate level and the themes become more challenging as students get older. Mathematics is taught sequentially, with students receiving a list of learning goals at the start of each semester for them to work through independently, with partners, or in groups. Each semester that they enroll, assuming they were able to master the previous semester’s content, students will be presented with the next level of skills. The math Guides introduce new concepts and answer questions as needed, but students are generally working at their own pace and in their own preferred learning style.

Extracurriculars:

In addition to our wide selection of core and enrichment classes, we also offer many opportunities for learning outside of the classroom. During our two daily outdoor breaks (90 minutes in total), students are offered optional activities such as arts and crafts (Maker Mondays), practice in bartering (Martes Mercado), science experiments (Wonder Wednesdays) and board games (Jueves Juegos). After-school clubs include theater, chess, orchestra, choir, debate and language lessons. In addition to our end-of-semester presentation day, we also celebrate our students’ hard work through a school play, spelling bee, concert, chess competition, live debate, talent show, dance performance and harvest fair.

Bilingualism

We believe in the significance and importance of speaking and understanding more than one language. Not only does it improve executive function and provide a lifetime of unique opportunities, but it also teaches an extremely important lesson…that our single perspective is not the only one, and also not necessarily the “best”. Students who can speak another language can see the world through the eyes of an entire other culture. Our goal is to foster this incredible gift every chance we get. Our approach is unique because of how thoroughly we embrace the sometimes messy, uncomfortable and challenging aspects of language learning. At Quintral we normalize the slower and shorter conversations that are often a mainstay of a bilingual community. We view spoken language as only one form of communication and we teach and encourage relationships between people who still haven’t mastered the other’s language. We laugh together, eat together, work together and mediate conflict with one another in spite of natural language barriers. We provide all materials, from school memos to meetings to emails in both English and Spanish and we ensure that all of our community feels welcomed, included and heard, no matter where they are in their language learning journey. As a school, outside of the classroom, we spend two days a week immersed fully in the English language and two days immersed in Spanish, and on Fridays we bring our native language to the table to celebrate the beauty in diversity. We provide language learning classes to students and families alike and our language Guides have extensive experience in second language learning. 

Technology

At Quintral we view technology as a vital and revolutionary aspect of modern-day life. With great power comes great responsibility and our goal is to provide our students with the knowledge and skills needed to handle and develop technology in a way that benefits both our planet and humankind as a whole. We expect Quintral graduates to be on the verge of the cutting-edge technology of their generation, and we accomplish this through consistent, controlled access across all ages. We utilize the best aspects of technology on a daily basis and we do not shy away from discussions around the many ethical and societal red flags that modern technology presents. We do not allow individual handheld devices at school (they are checked at the door) because of the great potential for distraction, but we do have computers, laptops and tablets available in each classroom…carefully configured to perform only those tasks deemed most beneficial. Going beyond typing, programming and data entry, our technology class at Quintral teaches students about the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence, the use of robotics and how to find credible information online, among many other interests and skills.