Answers To Questions Parents Often Ask

Thank you for your interest in Canterbury School. The following information covers some of the most frequently asked questions.

1. At Canterbury your child will have a team of dedicated teachers working together to help your child reach his/her potential. This team is not confined to one curriculum program, but has a wide variety of programs available to meet your child's needs.
   
   This rich variety provides students with reading and math materials that allow extra help in areas when needed and, just as important, extra materials and enrichment programs for your child in areas in which he/she excels.
   
   
2. Students develop a solid phonics base for reading. Typically our students read over one thousand words by the end of Kindergarten. An emphasis on reading is continued as your child advances from year to year.
   
   We feel this emphasis is primarily responsible for the fact that most students place at the eighty-percentile rank or higher on standardized tests throughout all grades at Canterbury.
   
   
3. Our "Hands-On" math program allows children to experience the meaning of math with concrete objects. Your child then will move on to abstract math with a much deeper understanding and foundation for future work.
   
   By the end of Kindergarten, most students are comfortable with double/triple digit addition and subtraction. In first grade they move on to multiplication, and division. This is possible because your child will use the concepts to do math with our extensive math laboratory materials. He/she will have learned the concepts through the development of his/her creative problem solving abilities, logic, and higher level thinking skills (not through pressure, rote memorization, and drill).
   
   Basic math facts are also mastered, but learning is much easier and faster with the help of computer programs developed by Canterbury.
   
   In addition to math and reading, your child's curriculum will provide many other activities including:  English, science, music, art, social studies, PE, Spanish, etc.
   
   
4. Music is an integral part of our programs. Students often use songs to learn reading and math during their first years at Canterbury.
   
   
5. Computers are used in all grades. We have approximately one computer for every three students, allowing your child to have ample computer time. Computers are integrated with our curriculum. The programs have been created by us specifically for our students. These programs have been developed over many years and constantly refined to provide the most effective teacher support possible. The most efficient learning methods have been built into the programs to provide your child with the tools to progress at his/her own pace.
   
   
6. Throughout all grades, emphasis is placed on critical thinking and problem solving skills rather than rote memorization. The programs are challenging, exciting, and advanced.
   
   
7. Parents sometimes ask if our school day is too long for children. We believe that it is vital for students to develop a positive attitude toward learning. This is not accomplished by forcing children to sit for long hours of study. It is accomplished by involving children in active learning. At Canterbury students are motivated, not pressured. We feel one indication of this is the disappointment students often show when parents pick them up from school a little earlier than usual.
   
   Class sizes are small. You cannot give your child a quality education by sending him/her to a crowded classroom. Class size is limited to eighteen. Most of our teachers have been with us many years, some over fifteen years.
   
   After visiting our school, parents often ask what will happen when their child leaves to attend a school that does not offer the advantages of Canterbury. They ask if their child will be bored and become disinterested in school.
   
   
8. Over the years the performance of our graduates has shown quite a different story. Students return to Canterbury or call us on the phone time after time to tell of their successes. They are excited about being at the head of their classes. They tell about teachers who single them out as top students, ask them the hardest questions, and select them to lead class projects. Our graduates become class leaders helping other students with their work. The positive experiences they have had at Canterbury are carried to the world outside. Leaving Canterbury in no way marked the end of their academic successes. They return to tell us of the awards they win, they bring their report cards to show us their consistent honor roll status, and best of all they bring their enthusiasm about school and life in general.
   
   
9. Our graduates don't stop with academic success. They become Student Council members, school officers, and class presidents. No, our graduates do not need to fear boredom.
   
   
10. We provide a full-year school program. Students attend classes for approximately ten weeks followed by three-week breaks. This gives students the same amount of vacation time as the old 9.5 month school year, but in a manner that allows students and staff to enjoy periodic breaks that are reasonable in length. This provides a much more rational approach to learning than the old 9.5 month schedule that was designed out of the necessity of using children for agricultural work during the summer months. Our children do not need weeks of re-teaching upon their return to school at the end of a long summer break.
    
    
11. Students are an asset to our school. Key factors in providing a superior education are curriculum, staff, and students. Without excellence in all three areas, a school cannot offer a quality education for your child. Sometimes children from other schools have not had the opportunity to develop positive behavior for cooperating with others. Canterbury is not appropriate for children who choose to be unruly, physically aggressive, or negative in their interactions with other children or adults.
    
    The quality of our programs cannot be expressed on paper. We encourage you to call for an appointment to visit Canterbury. At that time you will have the opportunity to preview our programs in detail.
    
    
12. We also urge you to visit as many other schools as possible. We know you will find little that compares with the quality educational and social environment your child will find at Canterbury.