We believe students come to school with a great deal of prior knowledge and curiosity. They learn best when teachers build on this curiosity by helping them pose real questions about the world around them and subsequently helping them conduct in-depth investigations to answer those questions. Our curriculum has two important aspects, which provide for student learning needs:

• Systematic instruction, in which teachers plan activities to help children acquire skills and strategies.

• Integrated project work, in which students conduct in-depth investigations of important topics and apply skills and strategies to solve real world problems.

Duke School has competency benchmarks at each grade level in all curricular areas. These benchmarks are based on standards set by national professional organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Teachers set goals based on ongoing assessment of each child.