CDC - The Harris School

The curriculum of The Harris School is designed to help students in pre-kindergarten through grade 8 develop and utilize their full potential in all areas of life: intellectual, social, emotional and physical. This goal is accomplished by offering an individualized academic program that allows each child to achieve at his or

her best. Because our students tend to be precocious intellectually but as yet unable to master developmental tasks in the emotional domain, we provide small, academically-rich classrooms which provide individual attention, stability and support. A pupil:teacher ratio of 1:5 makes it possible for us to achieve our goal of an individualized academic program within a group setting. Because language is the route both to intellectual expression and healthy emotional development, speech and language skill-building permeates all subjects in the curriculum.

Consistent with our philosophy of an individualized curriculum, no one program or curriculum package is used. Rather, we utilize elements from various programs according to the needs of the child. Goals and competencies established by the national standards movement and supported by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) have been accepted by the faculty of The Harris School and implemented in each of the classrooms at the developmentally appropriate level(s) for each child. The specific goals and objectives for reading and the language arts

derive from recommendations by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association, for arithmetic by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), for science by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Goals and objectives for other subjects similarly derive from recommendations made by prestigious professional associations representing the various disciplines.

Students admitted to The Harris School are expected ultimately to make a successful transition into some of Houston's finest public and private schools. Harris School teachers provide students with many opportunities to obtain the skills for being successful school boys and school girls. They regularly review the curriculum objectives for HISD's vanguard schools and for selective private elementary schools to ensure that our students will master the skills and concepts needed for a smooth transition to mainstream schools. Important objectives for implementing The Harris School curriculum are listed below.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

To help children develop problem-solving skills

To help children develop critical-thinking skills

To help children master academic skills in all basic subject areas appropriate to promoting the utilization of their full potential

To provide opportunities to strengthen each of Gardner's levels of multiple intelligences

Language Arts and Literacy

To develop literacy skills that will promote a lifetime of reading enjoyment at home, school and the workplace

To encourage children to use verbal expression to share ideas within a group

To encourage children to use words properly

To expand children's expressive and receptive vocabularies in print and in speech within each of the academic subject areas

To encourage children to respond to open-ended questions

To help children utilize the full array of the language arts to express thoughts and feelings

Mathematics

To follow standards of the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics to promote mathematical thinking including...

Mathematics as problem solving

Mathematics as reasoning

Mathematics as communication

Mathematical connections

Science

To follow the standards of national science commissions such as the National Center for Improving Science Education including...

To develop each child's innate curiosity about the world

To broaden each child's procedural and thinking skills for investigating the world, solving problems and making decisions

To increase each child's knowledge of the natural world

To incorporate the nine basic concepts for K-8 identified by the National Center for Improving Science Education: systems, models, constancy and change, scale, organization, cause and effect, structure and function, variations, and diversity

Social Studies

To promote an understanding of ourselves and the world around us including...

An age-appropriate appreciation for human systems, physical systems, places and regions, the environment and society

A willingness to participate in improving the quality of life in the community, the nation, and the world

The ability to take the perspectives of, cooperate with, work with and respect others

Respect for the historical lessons of the past as a guide and direction for the future

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

To build self-esteem by providing a stable, nurturing and intellectually stimulating environment that promotes and acknowledges children's positive accomplishments

To help children understand their own and others' feelings

To encourage children to express their feelings through words

To help children learn and use self-management skills to cope with difficult situations and frustration

To help children become more self-sufficient and competent by having them take care of their own needs as much as possible

To encourage children to become self-regulating

To assist children in enjoying their own company as well as the company of others

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

To provide children with appropriate role models

To help children learn to take turns, to get along with others, to respect the rights of others, to wait patiently, and to begin to empathize

To help children develop friendships

To provide opportunities to learn about fair play, good manners, kindness, and cooperation

To help children learn to take care of themselves and the environment around them

To promote positive social interactions with other children, family members and other adults

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

To help children respect the physical safety and well-being of others

To master age-appropriate large and small motor skills

To appreciate the benefits of physical exercise for strength, growth, and coordination

Pre-Kindergarten
Kindergarten/Readiness
Primary (grades 1-3)
Intermediate (grades 4-8)

CONTACT US
900 Lovett Boulevard
Houston, TX 77006
713-526-2046
FAX: 713-526-9126
info@theharrisschool.com


The Harris School gratefully acknowledges the support of the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation in the development of this website