A few decades ago, the entire student body and all of Gaynor’s staff would fit on just a few school buses for the annual apple-picking trip to Demarest Farms. This year, nearly 400 students and over 130 teachers, staff, and specialists piled on 11 (eleven!) school buses for the trip to Hillsdale, New Jersey.
Stephen Gaynor School’s math curriculum is based on the three-pronged Singapore Math approach which includes concrete (hands-on), pictorial (visuals), and abstract (symbolism). No area of elementary mathematics is as mathematically rich, cognitively complicated, and difficult to teach as fractions, ratios, and proportionality.
Learning to write is challenging for all students but is particularly difficult for students with language-based learning difference. Head teacher Jane Moskowitz illustrates Gaynor’s approach to not only teaching writing but getting students to learn to love it.
“Five Questions With…” is an ongoing series in the Gaynor Gazette. This article appeared in the Summer 2019 edition of the Gazette and features middle school technology specialist, Brian Russ.
A pioneer in special education, Stephen Gaynor School is an independent Pre-K, Lower, and Middle School for bright students with learning differences. Founded in 1962, Stephen Gaynor School provides a highly individualized educational program in a rich, rigorous, and nurturing environment in which students gain the skills and confidence necessary to learn, grow, and reach their full potential.
