At Bear Valley Academy we teach our students from a whole child approach, building their academic skills while developing them socially and emotionally to have both strong character development and academic confidence through a personalized and relationship-based learning experience.

"Teaching for creativity involves asking open-ended questions where there may be multiple solutions; working in groups on collaborative projects, using imagination to explore possibilities; making connections between different ways of seeing; and exploring the ambiguities and tensions that may lie between them." 
—Ken Robinson, Out Of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative 

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Small Class Size, Shorter Days

Smaller class sizes have a lasting benefit for children in all areas, both academic and social-emotional. This is directly attributed to teachers having means to tailor their instructional methods to suit each child’s individual needs with an emergent curriculum. Given our low student-teacher ratio, at 8 students to 1 teacher, we are able to provide an individualized environment where students benefit from personalized curriculum and a strong relationship with their teacher. At Bear Valley Academy, we believe that one piece of the foundation for a child's development is meaningful relationships with their teacher and their peers which is fostered through a personal learning environment.

 

Through practices such as these we are able to meet the needs of our students and help them achieve their academic goals without the rigorous schedule of traditional schooling and returning the gift of time back to the family, which we believe is the most important aspect of a child's life. Monday through Thursday are our in school days while Fridays are at-home extension days for our BVA 1st graders. 

 

Emergent, Personalized Curriculum

Our teachers follow curriculum standards set by the Texas Education Agency for public schools, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. By using these standards as a guideline to build upon we are introducing the concepts and teaching methods that our students will continue to face in their academic careers. Our curriculum is written by the teachers who are involved in the daily learning of the students, guided by the student's interests and development, to enhance critical thinking skills. This allows the teachers to provide activities that evolve with your child's learning so they are continuously growing and exploring, never stagnant. This style of teaching will prepare your child for the next level of their academic career. 

 

We also participate in 4 extra-curricular classes each week to build upon what is taught in our classroom - Chapel, Art, Music & Movement and Sign Language. We practice our Spanish skills in our class as well! You may also choose to sign your child up for our After-School Enrichment programs.

 

Leadership

Education is constantly evolving. As such, it is imperative that our teachers have strong educational backgrounds and experience to match. The role of parents in their child’s education is just as important as their teachers and we value a home to school partnership. Encouraging, caring and consistent learning at home translates to great success in the classroom. 

 

Hands-On, Project Based Learning

A classroom should be a place where students enjoy learning! Our 1st grade academic structure is enhanced with lots of hands-on experiences, guessing and observing with experiments, invaluable one-on-one time with teachers, and large group time, and we know that creative free play can be extremely rewarding both academically and socially. Children use higher vocabulary, more variety of sentence structure, and higher levels of conversation during imaginative play. We use open ended play and exploration to create a balanced academic and developmental learning environment. Your child will love to learn!