Reid School

Reid School is committed to the belief that each student deserves work that is appropriate to his/her in­di­vid­u­al development and instruction that emphasizes a student’s strengths in read­ing/‌English and math­e­mat­ics and eliminates his/her weaknesses.  Teachers request and receive 100% mastery of the stu­dents.

In both reading/English and mathematics classes, students are placed at their instructional levels so there are multi-ages within most classes.  Students move ahead in the curriculum as rapidly as they dem­on­strate mastery, and everyone masters.  Teachers employ direct instructional techniques.

Reid School staff members teach new vo­cab­u­lary, comprehension, study skills, writing, pen­man­ship, spelling, speaking, and listening skills daily in their literature, science, and social studies classes.  Stu­dents are taught to lead discussion groups.  Stu­dents’ critical thinking skills are deliberately taught through comprehension and study skills, and basic visual memory and recall skills are developed through Reid School’s penmanship and spelling in­struc­tion.  Most years Reid School students become State and Na­tion­al winners in penmanship com­pe­ti­tions.  Every year some classes of students are being taught above the 16th grade level.

Journalism classes, as well as creative and expository writing instruction, assist students to edit and rewrite their work.  Students are taught personal speaking skills and drama.  They learn to use their excellent oral language skills in poetry recitations, being judged in various competitions, during the annual Shakespeare plays, and in clubs like Mock Trial.  Students learn the traditional symbolic language of math­e­mat­ics and use manipulative materials to learn mathematical thinking.  Students learn to deal flexibly with mathematical ideas as they develop computational facility and accuracy.  Mathematics instruction focuses on problem-solving strategies as well as procedural techniques.  Advanced mathematics classes have included Geometry, Algebra 2 and Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus.