Academics

We welcome you to these web-pages that are devoted to the academic curriculum in both Early Childhood and Elementary School.  We intend for this to be a working site—a living, breathing, evolving site.  The best school curriculum is the one that continuously evolves, while remaining steadfast to its principles of surpassing TAKS and National Core Standards. The purpose for an evolving curriculum is about keeping abreast of the best research in child development and educational studies; staying current with updated materials, such as math problem-solving strategies and scientific topics from Singapore Math and Rice University StemScopes Science Curriculum; and the ever-shifting methodologies that flow from new technologies.

However, the basic preparatory goals remain the same:  we want to advance our students in the areas of math, science, reading, writing, Hebrew, Judaic Studies, history, social studies, music, art, and computers in ways that are active, creative, and engaging, and in order to provide the strongest comprehensive education possible so that our graduating Fifth Grade students are ready to take on the most challenging Middle School curricula offered in the most rigorous programs in the city. What pervades our teaching is the interest we place on developing in each child the mind, the emotions, the body, and the spirit. We keep a vigilant eye on what is happening around the city in the best Middle School programs—indeed, we keep tabs on programs across the country—so that we can tweak our curriculum wherever necessary, and tweak our teaching approach, to prepare our kids in the best way possible, investing in them the habits and the values that will have lasting, positive impact.

We encourage you to explore these pages and to bring your questions to your teachers or to the Principals, who will be happy to furnish you with additional information about your child’s educational experience at Beth Yeshurun Day School.  It is important to know that the strategic aim of our curriculum is to fulfill our school mission, which we present here:

The mission of Beth Yeshurun Day School is to foster confidence, leadership, a love of learning, and a sense of responsibility in students by honoring individual strengths in an environment dedicated to academic excellence, Jewish teachings, and the continuity of Jewish values.

Thank you for visiting the Beth Yeshurun Day School curriculum site,
Tom Elieff, Head of School