CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AT TBS

On Our Early Childhood Campus

Peace Education is at the heart of Maria Montessori’s philosophy, which holds that fostering peace for the individual leads to a peaceful society. The Early Childhood Campus (ECC) builds and expands the Montessori philosophy by teaching children about identity and diversity through the study of geography, culture, music, art, and literature. Children celebrate and build a sense of belonging by recognizing the ways in which they are similar and different, and learning that being different is a good thing. The ECC holds a Kindness Festival each spring, to build inclusive communities by recognizing and making visible the many kind things people do all the time.

Our ECC five year olds, through the Explorers program, partner with The Berkeley Food Pantry, visit them to understand how they meet the needs of those who facing food insecurity in the Berkeley and Albany communities, raise awareness, and provide groceries to them through food drives.

In Our Elementary Division

Students build understanding of identity, diversity, justice, and action with their Changemaker curriculum. Through the lens of literacy and storytelling, students learn about human rights, gender, race, ethnicity, immigration, refugees, ability/ableism, Indigenous rights, workers’ rights, and socioeconomics.

Learning about people who enacted change because of the inequities and inequalities they faced, students begin to see that anyone can become a changemaker. Working to understand systemic oppression through the interdisciplinary study of cultural studies, history, reading, writing, science, and art, and using the frame of why people move, 4th and 5th grade students address the issues faced by those who have been/and are currently being forced to move, including slaves, refugees, and immigrants. Students build understanding about similarities and differences, and about inequality and inequities in the culture and the system.

In Our Middle School

The Humanities curriculum is centered around social justice through the study of tribalism and the development of modern society, building understanding that no civilization has been created with equal distribution of resources, and access has been given inequitably. All of this leads to changemaking: justice and action. Once we understand that not everyone has the same rights or access, what do we do about it? How do we work to change the systems of oppression? In science, students are partnered with Save the Bay and a wetland restoration project. They re-establish habitat and potentially prevent community displacement.

WE’RE DEDICATED TO PRACTICES AND STRUCTURES THAT SUPPORT EARLY, ONGOING, AND MEANINGFUL CIVIC ENGAGEMENT – WITH CURRICULA ROOTED IN:

 

 

IDENTITY
DIVERSITY
JUSTICE
ACTION
 

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT STARTS AS EARLY AS PRESCHOOL.

IF YOU’RE OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE A VOICE, YOUR’E OLD ENOUGH TO USE IT TO SUPPORT CHANGE.

WHILE AT TBS, STUDENTS DEEPEN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF REAL WORLD PROBLEMS AS THEY BUILD THE ACADEMIC SKILLS TO TACKLE THEM.

Ignite Curious Minds
Awaken Generous Hearts
Engage a Changing World

K – 8 Campus

1310 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 665-8800

Early Childhood Campus

2030 Francisco Street
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 849-8340

Ignite Curious Minds
Awaken Generous Hearts
Engage a Changing World

K – 8 Campus

1310 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 665-8800

Early Childhood Campus

2030 Francisco Street
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 849-8340

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