What makes us unique
PreK 3 - 8th grade
Small Class Size
Class sizes at the Circle School are limited to 14 or fewer students. By keeping our student-to-teacher ratio low, we allow for individualized instruction, deeper connections, and the ability to truly learn and grow from one another.
Pre-K 3 is limited to 10 students as they become familiar with a school setting.
Nature Based Learning
Students of all ages spend several hours outside, every day, because we value outside time as an intentional priority rather than an afterthought. In the 2022-2023 academic year, each student spent an average of 9 hours outside each week. The outdoors is our learning laboratory, in so many ways. Between free play recess, neighborhood walks, PE & yoga, gardening, circle time, snack & lunch, and outdoor lessons and explorations, the time quickly adds up.
The research-supported benefits of outdoor learning are immense and diverse, and most teachers will tell you from experience what researchers have proven to be true: allowing children to move, have hands-on experiences, and interact with their world encourages curiosity, creativity, and deeper understanding of concepts. Nature time is for nurturing the whole child and building strong, agile minds and bodies. The open-ended possibilities of nature require intense focus, where the brain is constantly assessing risks and planning the next steps. Successfully making these mental and physical adjustments brings joy and builds confidence, which translates to all aspects of a child's wellbeing.
Heading out for a walk is often a part of the class routine at The Circle School - walking in a nearby park or just around the block, students learn to listen, look, and learn as they walk, to re-center themselves and reconnect with the natural world, while also getting the wiggles out.
Our students spend much of their day learning outdoors and learning from the outdoors. We believe that in order for children to grow to care deeply about the Earth, they have to experience it firsthand. Children who spend time immersed in nature grow into empowered adults ready to take the steps necessary to conserve and preserve our planet.
Storytelling
Each day at The Circle School begins with a community ritual of oral story-telling. The entire school -- children from PreK-8th grade, teachers, staff, and many parents too -- sits in a circle on the floor and listens to a teacher share a folk wisdom story from cultures around the world. The teacher tells the same story each morning for a week, until the students begin to help tell the story themselves. The teacher calls on students to suggest their own answers to parts of the story, drawing upon their creativity, cultivating their confidence, making them storytellers too.
We select stories that teach peace, empathy, open-mindedness, and social justice, carrying each week's wisdom lessons into the curriculum and classes for that week. Community Circle is also a space to practice engaged listening, giving the speaker the respect of our attention.
"The stories reveal the similarities and diversities of human experience and interpretation. They open us up to our place in the human community and to the strength and existence of other cultures."
- Isabeth Hardy, Circle School Founder
Teaching Peace
In recognition of 55 years of teaching peace, our community was awarded the honor of serving as the 2021 San Antonio Peace Laureate by The PeaceCENTER! The Peace Laureate recognizes a local voice of wisdom and experience to speak for peace and justice in San Antonio. The very first laureate, Dr. Ruth Lofgren, believed in the healing power of the natural world for children and their families and we are proud to continue her legacy with our culture of teaching peace through nature-based learning.
The Circle School’s founding ethos and curriculum is shaped by the work of Nicholas Roerich, a Russian philosopher, humanitarian, and theorist of interdisciplinary education. Roerich developed the Banner for Peace Through Culture, which is our school symbol, to be flown over schools, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions to protect them in times of war, similarly to how the Red Cross is intended to protect hospitals. Through his efforts, a Pact for Peace was signed in support of this concept in 1935. Also through his efforts, leagues devoted to the concept of peace through culture were established around the world. This aspect of his work still continues.
Teaching peace through culture is the bedrock of our curriculum, culture, and cooperative.
Changemakers
The Circle School is the only Ashoka Changemaker School in the city of San Antonio, and one of only three schools in Texas (and only 80 schools in the U.S.) with this international designation. We pride ourselves in this award which recognizes our efforts to cultivate empathy, leadership skills, and purpose in our students, all focused on problem-solving for the common good.
Giving back to the larger San Antonio community via Changemaker Initiatives is central to our mission and our curriculum: We prioritize experiential learning and immersive education in ways that let us explore, understand, and respond to social problems, inequalities, and injustices in our local community. We represent a space of hope and change where children and their families can learn about -- and practice -- peaceful conflict resolution, egalitarian cooperation across differences, empathy, and environmental stewardship for Mother Earth.
Each class addresses what it means to be a Changemaker in various ways, depending upon the age and interest levels of the students. The activities engaged in range from books to writing projects to helping clean our local community to fundraising projects such as Food Drives and Clothing Drives.
Seven Fundamental Skills
Our founder, Isabeth Bakke Hardy, identified Seven Fundamental Skills that our curriculum as a whole teaches:
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IMAGINATION: Develop an imagination that is rich and well founded on nature and culture.
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OBSERVATION: Develop the ability to observe and explore and put observations into order and to develop an appreciation for patterns and relationships.
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CREATIVE THINKING: Develop memory, attention, concentration, basic concepts, logic, and the qualities of clarity, broadness, originality, and openness.
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COOPERATION: Consider cooperation as the science of life. Develop the ability to work for the joy of it and do so in harmony with others; to develop a sense of and feeling for the common good; to develop all aspects of communication including language arts skills, listening skills, music, art, etc.
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DISCERNMENT: Develop the ability to interpret findings critically and to develop the ability to see, hear, and sense subtle differences.
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LIVING ETHICS: Develop a simple code of conduct and use it to live and interact with others.
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A SENSE OF BEAUTY: Develop an appreciation for beauty in all forms.
Whole Child Education
Specials Programs
Through our specials programs, students are able to explore areas of interest even further and engage all of their senses and imaginations in thought provoking ways throughout the school day. Specials classes utilize field related experts to teach lessons and engage students in subjects such as art, music, Spanish, yoga, theatre, gardening and more. Our specials program is adaptable and subject offerings vary from year to year.
Specials classes are a regular part of student’s daily school instruction, as they attend these classes for 30-45 minute blocks multiple times per week.
Mixed-Age Interactions
With the flexibility of the school curriculum comes many opportunities to engage students of different ages and abilities together in cooperative play and learning. It is not uncommon to find 4th grade students reading to Pre-K 3 classrooms or multiple grade levels building towers and obstacle courses together on the playground. Through these interactions students are able to refine communication and cooperative skills, as well as learn through observation and mentorship.
Narrative Assessment
In place of a report card or formal grades, teachers document student progress through written narratives. Parents meet with teachers once in the fall to set goals for the year, and then meet again after the first and second semesters to review and discuss these written assessments of their child.
Narratives serve as a comprehensive guide to the inner workings of the whole child. They integrate reflections on the seven fundamental skills and social interactions, as well as document growth and struggles in academic subjects. These reports capture more than just a student’s efforts and knowledge at a given point in time, but truly embody who they are at the core of themselves as people. Many families report reading back through old narratives decades after leaving the school only to find that the reports still describe and capture their (now adult) children perfectly.
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