Dimensions of Student Achievement
As a member of the EL Education Network, Trailside Academy centers our work around three dimensions of student achievement:
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Mastery of Knowledge and Skills
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Character
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High-Quality Work
Mastery of Knowledge and Skills
Trailside uses the following curricula:
- English Language Arts: EL Education's Language Arts Modules (K-8), Skills Block (K-2), and Additional Language and Literacy Block (3-5); Zoo-Phonics (PK), Handwriting without Tears (PK), and Dialogic Reading (PK)
- Math: Bridges (PK-5), enVision (6-8)
- Science: Project Lead the Way (K-5), Inspire Science (6-8)
- Social Studies: standards-based units (K-5), National Geographic (6-8)
- Social/Emotional: Sources of Strength (PK-8), Incredible Years (PK/K), Olweus Bullying Prevention (1-8)
Students also participate in exceptional specials programming in Music, Physical Education/Health, and Art.
Character
At Trailside, we believe that we are not passengers; we are Crew. We hold character development with equal value as academic growth, and anchor ourselves in five Habits of Character: perseverance, accountability, compassion, integrity, and advocacy. Students participate in Crew each morning to learn about these habits and build community, and the culture of Crew permeates all we do.
Trailside students are consistently recognized for their positive contributions to our crew. From shout-outs in the announcements, to Timberwolf Ticket raffles, to Leader of the Pack awards at our monthly Community Meetings, there is always something to celebrate.
We are not passengers; we are Crew.
High-Quality Work
The best way to imagine the learning experience of a Trailside student is to describe an example:
In first grade, students engage in the learning module, "Growing as Researchers: Birds' Amazing Bodies." Throughout this quarter-long unit, first grade researchers answer the questions:
- What makes a bird a bird?
- How do birds use their body parts to survive?
- How do specific birds use their body parts to survive?
- How do we build our research skills and share our learning?
Students build background knowledge about birds by reading a volume of informational texts and participating in structured conversations called "Science Talks." Throughout the unit, they can be found watching "bird cam" video footage and sketching the details of a bird's beak or feathers. Students participate in fieldwork, getting out of the school building to interact with and participate in the real work of professional scientists. They create observational drawings in their Bird Research notebooks and write informational paragraphs, modeling them after real-world, professional formats and taking each through multiple rounds of revision to ensure the highest quality. The module ends with a culminating Celebration of Learning in which students sing and act out a bird song using handmade puppets, share riddles they've written, and play a bird matching game.