Skyline Elementary School

There are 26 incoming kindergartners. Upper grade spaces are only available when a family moves out of the program.  

 

Our primary classroom child to teacher ratio is 20-1, with the additional help of a classroom instructional assistant. Our upper grade classroom child to teacher ratio follows the current Solana Beach School District guidelines.

Instructional assistants are funded by the parent community. The assistants work with small groups of children and one on one with children within the classroom. The classroom teacher is responsible for the planning and evaluation of the instruction. 

All children in the Global Education Program have access to the services offered through the Solana Beach School District (ie: Speech, Learning Center, English Language Development…)

Homework is not given solely for homework’s sake.  Relevant homework is given on a developmentally appropriate level and may be an opportunity to discover more, explore a new topic and/or extend prior learning.  Homework is viewed as a tool for developing independence, organization and time management skills.  The program recognizes the need for children to play, have family time, and to get a good night of sleep as critical components in a healthy learner’s lifestyle.      

“Ungraded” means that classrooms are multiage settings.  “Non-graded” refers to the fact that students do not receive grades.  Instead, student progress is reported to parents through a variety of measures including student work samples, teacher observations, student self-reflection and developmentally appropriate formative assessments.

Families must reside within the Solana Beach School District boundaries to apply. 

Families can only apply for the program when their child is eligible to start school.

Families need to apply each year if they are interested in the program; waiting lists are not carried over from year to year. 

Applicants who currently have siblings in the program receive priority if space is available. If you have siblings applying for the program, if one child gets taken off the waiting list, the other sibling remains in his/her spot for the remainder of the year.  The next year you need to apply for the other sibling and then sibling priority applies. 

There is no denying the positive impact that technology can have on classrooms. As with any other “tool” in the classroom, it is used when it enhances curriculum and experiences for children. We strive to use technology in developmentally appropriate ways.

Technology is a tool used as an enhancement not as a substitution.  It is used to support active engagement (not passive learning).  It will not be used to replace valuable experiences such as creative play, real-life exploration, physical activity, outdoor experiences, conversation and/or social interactions that we believe are imperative to all children’s development.

“Use of technology in the early childhood program must not be a goal unto itself: the purpose is not to teach children how to use computers; they can do this as they get older, just as they can learn to drive a car later in their lives (Wardle, 1999). Appropriate use of technology in the classroom is to expand, enrich, implement, individualize, differentiate, and extend the overall curriculum.”

Children will be exposed to a wide variety of technological tools to enhance their learning experiences at school and at home.

Over the many years the GE program has been in existence, our students have gone on to middle school, high school, college and out into the working world as competent, capable, successful global citizens. The Global Ed student body is made up of a cross section of the same student population who attend the rest of the Solana Beach School District including children who have special needs, children who have challenges academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally.  We believe our program provides the kind of environment where all types of children thrive, develop a lifelong love for learning, and a belief that they can achieve anything through hard work and a desire to succeed. When students leave the Global Ed. program after completing sixth grade, they also leave the Solana Beach School District. The middle and high schools are a part of the San Dieguito School District. Though longitudinal data is not maintained between the two school districts, anecdotal evidence reported by former students and parents as well as middle and high school staff supports the successful transition of Global Ed. students into middle and high school. These are a few of the areas most often reported  (beyond academic performance) as the strengths students coming from the Global Ed program take with them to middle and high school: Global Ed students are active, rather than passive, learners. They advocate for themselves, actively participate in class activities, and ask questions and for clarification when they do not understand. Global Ed students work well with others. Global Ed students are strong problem solvers and critical thinkers. A large percentage of our former students consistently make the middle school honor roll. We believe if we prepare our students for today they will be ready for tomorrow.