Experience the School on The Rise Difference
School on the Rise is an elementary micro-school located on eight beautiful acres just outside Austin city limits, in southwest Travis County, deep in the heart of Texas. It is designed for families who have an interest in alternative education, specifically Waldorf education, and who are seeking: small class sizes, a spirit of innovation, a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, teachers willing to work with each child's uniqueness, a social environment of acceptance and personal responsibility, the right amount of academic challenge, plenty of time in nature, and considerably less homework.
The school is owned and operated by experienced teachers, who teach full time and conduct all the administrative business operations. This is one way we sustain our folksy charm and shoe-string budget. Our parent community is enthusiastic, engaged, aware, and supportive. Our learning environment lets each person be who they are while also expecting growth, anti-racism and bias checking, and progress in becoming our best selves. Classes are intentionally kept small so teachers and students (and parents) can have many interactions throughout the day…as individuals. No child is lost in the crowd.
The school is owned and operated by experienced teachers, who teach full time and conduct all the administrative business operations. This is one way we sustain our folksy charm and shoe-string budget. Our parent community is enthusiastic, engaged, aware, and supportive. Our learning environment lets each person be who they are while also expecting growth, anti-racism and bias checking, and progress in becoming our best selves. Classes are intentionally kept small so teachers and students (and parents) can have many interactions throughout the day…as individuals. No child is lost in the crowd.
Allowing the Child to Unfold
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Inspiring Joyful Learning
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Daily Rhythm
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Children naturally love to move and be creative. They learn best when we use movement and creative activities to invigorate the classroom. Using songs and games to practice math and having students make drawings to accompany their writing, are examples of ways that school can be fun instead of stressful. Warm, friendly and trusting relationships between students and teachers allow for the true essence of the children to come forth and shine.
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The days and weeks are structured to provide both consistency and variety. Each day begins with vigorous physical movement, singing and recitation, and then the "main lesson" where an academic theme is presented and worked with over a period of weeks. The remainder of each day is spent in academic practice periods, artistic classes, and recesses.
A Developmental Approach
Our approach is based on respect for the developmental stages of the growing student. The curriculum is designed to meet these stages and to harmoniously integrate each student's thinking, feeling, and willing.
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Imagine the PossibilitiesImagine a school that shares your values for nurturing your children. A school that allows them the time and space they need to learn in an unhurried, unstandardized environment. A school that challenges them to consider new ideas, solve problems in new ways, and see the world in a new light. A school that inspires them to trust themselves, develop their own gifts, and reach beyond the expected. What you’ve imagined is School on the Rise. |
Learning that Evolves as the Child Grows
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ThinkingOur teachers often speak of building the capacity for thinking." All aspects of the curriculum -- the artistic classes as well as the academic ones -- work together toward that goal. Modern brain research shows that the brain is still developing well into a person's 20's, so we could say that true thinking really only becomes possible then, and what we see before then only hints at what thinking can be.
Creative thinking may be the single most important skill for the 21st century. The constant "diet" of artistic and movement classes in our curriculum helps the students develop a habit of looking at every task or situation from multiple perspectives. In the arts, students must bring both their feelings and their will into their thinking. |
FeelingWhile questions of fact can be answered through thinking, most of life’s most important questions involve our values and preferences. To these questions we find our answer, not the answer, and to find them we must use our feelings. We all know that thinking skills can be honed. So too can the sensitivity and reliability of our feelings be increased over time. Artistic activities are an important way to cultivate a healthy feeling life. Similarly, a learning environment where students experience joy, respect, empathy, humor, and camaraderie contribute to healthy feelings and successful outcomes.
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Willing“What is the will, and how do we properly cultivate it?” This is a core question for us. The best ideas and the noblest feelings remain unrealized unless we have the will to bring them into the world. We can easily see that an education full of doing strengthens the will. But a will that is merely strong is not complete. It is represented as the bull in the china shop. A complete and effective will must also be tempered by “not-doing”: listening to others requires not interrupting, working carefully requires not rushing, learning a new skill requires perseverance, etc. The task of properly educating the will takes countless forms.
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