Building Better Together: Designing Supportive Classrooms in the Lower School

The bridge artwork was inspired by the book Someone Builds A Dream by Lisa Wheeler, a book that celebrates the many people and types of work involved in creating the world around us. Shared with the entire Lower School community at the beginning of the year, the book shows how creating anything meaningful requires many different kinds of people and kinds of work. Take the building of a fountain: though it might start with a sketch from a landscape architect, we also need excavation laborers, concrete workers, pipefitters, and so many more. Each person has a distinct role in the project that plays to their strengths, but everyone is building towards the same goal. This concept has been embraced by the Lower School administration, who have developed it into this year’s theme, bringing together teachers, specialists, counselors, and administrators to elevate student learning and enrich daily classroom experiences.

The year began with three days of Responsive Classroom training for everyone who works with Lower School students, including homeroom teachers, specialists, support staff, counselors, and learning services staff. By coming together and unifying our practices and learning structures across the Lower School, the faculty has established consistent expectations and routines, ensuring that all students can succeed, regardless of the class, learning space, or teacher.

But professional development didn't stop after those first three days. Faculty meetings have been restructured to prioritize ongoing professional development. Using a flipped classroom approach where attendees engage with reading materials beforehand, faculty and staff are able to use meeting time for collaborative peer learning. Throughout the year, staff have participated in training sessions on topics like behavior management, communication strategies, oral language development for young learners, handwriting instruction, and trauma-informed care, with many outside consultants contributing their expertise to complement the internal work. Creating more supportive classrooms means continuously investing in the people leading them. 

The focus on alignment is making a difference. Special area teachers who work across multiple grades have a particularly good view of the changes, and they've noted stronger alignment. Everyone's speaking the same language about routines and expectations. Students know how to line up, how to take a break, and how to transition from one space to another. This consistency allows teachers to raise the bar. When students already understand the routines, more time and energy can go toward instruction and hands-on learning.

Beyond classroom management, consistency has also extended to how student progress is communicated. Report cards have been revamped across all grade levels to provide clearer information to families. Third through fifth graders now receive grades, and the way progress is monitored and shared with parents has been standardized. Teachers send weekly newsletters with a consistent format across each grade level, covering the past week and what's coming next.

Supporting students well requires strong partnerships with families. The focus on communication reflects a core belief: the teacher-student-parent relationship works best when all three parts are connected and informed. The bridge artwork, completed by students in a Beyond The Classroom class, symbolizes these connections. The names of every Lower School student and faculty member appear on it, a reminder that everyone belongs to the SAS community and has a role in improving it. The piece reminds us that we are a community growing in the same direction, with a shared vision for how students learn and the people they will become.