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Walk into Touchstone Community School
and experience the difference that a child-centered educational
community makes in the lives of everyone who gathers here daily.
Children come to school happily, eagerly, and with stories to tell
and discoveries to share – with each other, with their teachers,
and with the parents who participate in school life on a daily basis.
Our campus hums with activity. You may find a small group of four-
and five-year-olds making bread in the kitchen while a class of
seven- and eight-year-olds heads off to the gym. Nearby, two 11-year-olds
take turns reading their own poems and asking each other for feedback.
Rather than by grade levels, our classrooms typically group children
who span two or three age levels. These small, multi-age groups
allow each child to develop individually in an academically challenging
yet non-competitive team environment. New groups are created each
year, so that children have the opportunity to forge new friendships
as they experience sometimes being a younger member of a group and
sometimes an older, mentoring team member. Children thrive when
they are freed from a pre-determined pace based on age rather than
on their individual development.
Our program is organized into three groups: we offer a
preschool setting for four-year-olds, an
elementary program for children ages five to 12,
and middle school program for children
from 12 to 14. The programs
are based in our Grafton campus, and it is essential to us that children
of all ages have appropriate opportunities to interact with each
other on a regular basis.
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