Preschool
Whether through table inquiries in the classroom, circle time, free inquiry play outside, or while attending art, and physical education classes, growth happens in the following areas: social and emotional development, physical development, cognitive development, and language development.
We also have adopted a comprehensive literacy program for Pre-Kindergarten called “The Owl Literacy Program.” The program develops reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. This class prepares students for Kindergarten. Pre-Kindergarten makes regular visits to the chapel and has specialized classes in art, music and technology.
Small class sizes and low student-teacher ratios provide students with a learning environment that emphasizes the development of skills, creativity and character. An enriched curriculum facilitates student learning through interactive discussion, play-based learning, cooperative group work and hands-on activities.
Offering Four Unique Preschool Programs
Toddlers aged 2-3 years begin to socialize and develop a love of reading in the Watch Me Grow program. Classes are held twice a week accompanied by their parents or other family members.
Here, in a nurturing, supportive, and communal environment, they play with other children and begin learning how to function in a group setting.
A teacher reads to the children so that they start to understand and enjoy stories and demonstrates strategies parents can use at home to help their children increase cognitive development and become prepared for school.
In our program for ages 2-3, the children continue to learn through play. They develop a beginning foundation of learning by listening to stories and other texts read by the teacher, starting to identify letters, writing their names, counting from 1 to 100, recognizing shapes and colors, and beginning to play with addition and subtraction.
We again emphasize social interaction and building socialization skills. And our ages 2-3 program offers diaper training for children who need it.
This program continues to build a learning foundation and introduces phonics and arithmetic without symbols.
For example, students might add to groups of things by physically moving the items and counting them, instead of using the addition symbol “+”. Students engage in much play and socialization, and the teacher reads to them often.
In preschool, the children enjoy and learn from an abundance of social interaction and play as in the earlier programs, but they now have a full curriculum that takes them to the high kindergarten or low first grade level by the end of the program so that they are ahead of schedule and are very successful once they begin kindergarten.
We offer both a mainstream and an advanced course so that students learn at their cognitive level. The focus is on reading skills including basic sight words; however, the curriculum includes all the core subjects.
Elementary School
Elementary School atShanghai Linstitute School offers a well-rounded Christian-based program with small class sizes. Our teachers strive to build confidence and academic excellence. Each classroom teacher diligently plans instruction that targets individual learning needs by using a variety of academic resources and teaching strategies.
We emphasize Christian character and loving thy neighbor in our daily practices so that our school has a strong family atmosphere and students love coming to school to be with one another. Once a week, students attend a chapel service to focus on Christian lessons as a whole elementary school.
Elementary Core Subjects
Elementary Enrichment Classes
Shanghai Linstitute School recognizes that a well-balanced program includes a strong enrichment program. Each one of our enrichment classes is taught by a specialist in that area. Students attend classes weekly for 45 minutes, with the exception of PE that is twice a week. Technology is built into our classroom instruction. Students in kindergarten and first grade have access to tablets, second and third graders have access to Chrome Books, and fourth and fifth graders have access to laptops.
Middle School
Middle school is a time of great changes socially, physically, psychologically, and intellectually. It is also usually a very trying time for young people as they navigate the changing social landscape while striving to adapt to all their individual changes.
Shanghai Linstitute School supports our students with a tailored program that features teachers who love working with this age group and know how to support them; a respectful, safe, and nurturing environment based on Christian values and care for one another; a clear structure that helps students develop their personal, social, and academic skills; and educational challenges that are doable but also build strength.
Middle School Core Subjects
The Shanghai Linstitute School middle school curriculum is designed to meet and exceed the standards currently established by California. We are a liberal arts school, which means all subjects are given equal significance.
We learn all subjects through a Christian worldview lens. Students learn about Christ and we place a great emphasis on developing the character traits of Christ. We do this in order to ensure that our student possess a solid Christian foundation.
Our English classes focus on developing higher-level reading, writing, and speaking skills while exploring themes in literature that help students to mentally grapple with the issues they face as growing adolescents in today’s world.
Students take math classes based on their ability, not grade level. This allows them to learn at their cognitive level to best prepare for high school so that they are neither hopelessly confused nor bored by lack of challenge.
We use the Next Generation Science Standards to challenge our students and immerse them in science with a more hands-on approach. Although our science classes do not include Christian doctrine, the Christian perspective on scientific topics are presented and discussed.
Our eighth grade students complete the Big History Project created by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The students use all of the history skills and knowledge they have acquired to tackle a real-world problem. By the end of the course, the students make a prediction about the future of the real situation they have studied.
Shanghai Linstitute School has a robust foreign language program because we know that students who invest in a language during the critical middle and high school years boost their prospects for success -whether they aspire to pursue higher education or to enter the workforce upon graduation.
High School
We deliver a well-rounded liberal arts education that is based on American Education Reaches Out (AERO) standards. These standards ensure that students are prepared for study in universities around the world.
Shanghai Linstitute School is an international school, with current students hailing from China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Mexico, France, Vietnam, and Russia, and we are working to find students in other countries. This presents our high schoolers with a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with and learn from students with different backgrounds while building appreciation and understanding of other cultures.
A College Preparatory Curriculum
As a college-preparatory academy, we focus on maintaining excellence in academics, while helping students develop their individual characters, their social skills, and their physical health.