Elementary Grades K-6
Welcome to the elementary experience at the Apogee School. Our program is designed from the ground up to serve the unique needs of gifted students. Our students are excited to come to school each day because it’s an environment that truly understands them and teaches at a pace they appreciate. Each student has a Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) to guide the individualized experience.
Curriculum
As a school fully accredited by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), we teach Indiana’s Academic Standards as a minimum starting point. Students transferring in or out of Apogee will be aligned with other schools in the state.
We also offer a wealth of enrichment curriculum.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience classes are taught one day per week at every grade level. Apogee teachers certified in Applied Educational Neuroscience from Butler University write the neuroscience curriculum to meet the unique needs of gifted students. Neuroscience classes go far beyond traditional SEL. Students learn about their brain and nervous system and are able to understand and articulate the intense emotions typical of gifted students. This empowers them to find success in managing their emotions.
Learn more about our Neuroscience program here.
Genius Projects
Wouldn’t it be great if you could study a topic that interests you as a school class? That’s exactly what Genius Projects are.
Learn about Genius Projects here.
Mini Courses
Did you know you can take classes in fencing, chess, podcasting, D&D, game design, cooking, 3D printing, and more at Apogee? Every quarter a new catalog of mini courses are offered for students in mixed age groups to choose from.
Learn more about mini courses here.
Grading System
The traditional A-F grading system was designed over 100 years ago to meet the standardization needs of the Industrial Revolution. Our approach to teaching and learning have drastically changed, but interestingly our grading practices have not kept up. Why are we using a system designed to rank students against each other at the elementary level?
The Apogee School has adopted a standards-based grading system that’s based on mastery rather than the traditional A-F class rank system.
- Apogee offers an individualized curriculum, so it makes sense to assess students based on what they know rather than how they rank in the class.
- Gifted students often accelerate and miss prior content. Standards based grading offers a practical way to track their full knowledge through their elementary career.
- Gifted students often put a lot of pressure on themselves to achieve, which leads to anxiety and perfectionism. Standards based grading reduces the stress of keeping up with other studednts.
- We believe the purpose of grading should be to reflect what the student does know rather than what they don’t know.
- Standards based grading is more informative than an arbitrary letter grade.
Responsive Classroom
Our teachers are trained in the Responsive Classroom philosophy that includes:
- Morning Meetings to check in and connect each day
- Interactive Modeling to learn procedures, routines, and social expectations
- Logical Consequences that allows a child to maintain their dignity while correcting behavior
- Small class sizes
- Click here to learn more about Responsive Classroom.
