At Friends Academy, Class Size Matters
It’s easy for students to feel lost in any school setting. After all, school is often a child’s first introduction to the larger world outside their families. Putting them in a room with many other students and one teacher can lead to some children getting left behind. According to Learner.com, the average size of an American classroom is 21.6 students. Friends Academy believes that number is far too high.
The best way for kids to be seen and heard is to reduce the ratio of students to teachers. Friends Academy believes that each child’s growth, as a student and a person, is paramount. By keeping its classroom size to about 12:1, teachers can give the maximum amount of attention to each student, allowing them to identify learning gaps, and provide instruction tailored specifically to each student.
Another benefit of having fewer students for each teacher is that students participate more — and get more from — small group work. Having smaller classes means their voices are heard. Feeling heard, and seen, often means that their mastery of the material grows because they’re more involved in their own learning.
Smaller Classes Build Leaders
In smaller class settings, students are encouraged to take active roles in their education by participating in discussions, developing a sense of community while exploring leadership roles, and learning to truly collaborate with others.
At Friends, students develop close relationships with the faculty, who hold a total of 104 master’s degrees and PhDs and can adapt their subjects to students’ learning styles. This helps teachers build a better rapport with students throughout the school year. Teachers become mentors, imparting valuable life lessons that complement academic learning. Moreover, with a lower student-to-teacher ratio, building a healthier classroom dynamic is easier, with fewer distractions and a better learning environment all around.
Friends Academy students are held to the highest standards; in fact, Niche.com ranks Friends as the #1 private K-12 school and #1 College Prep private High School on Long Island and ranks it in the top 100 schools nationwide. That’s because Friends Academy aims to instill a lifelong habit of learning in all its students, from Early Childhood, Lower, Middle, Upper School and beyond.
Limiting class size facilitates a sense of community where students aren’t only responsible for their own learning, but as part of a collective, are encouraged to collaborate and help — and be helped by — their peers.
Founded in 1876, Friends is steeped in Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equity, stewardship, and service. The school is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment, which offers students a wide range of intellectual, socio-economic, racial, and religious perspectives, while strongly emphasizing moral, ethical, and spiritual character development. The goal is to prepare students to emerge from their school years as active, thoughtful, and engaged citizens of the world.
The Friends Academy campus places students in a unique environment conducive to exploring their world and what it means to be a part of it. Located on 65 acres in Locust Valley, the buildings are surrounded by beautiful grounds that often become outdoor classrooms.
Friends also offers financial aid to all eligible students. Interested families are encouraged to experience all that the Friends Academy has to offer at a series of Open Houses this fall, starting with the Middle School on October 22 at 9:30 am, Lower School on October 23 at 9:30 am, and Upper School on October 24 at 9:30 am.
To RSVP to any of these events, kindly go to Friends Academy online. You can also schedule a private tour or learn more about Friends Academy’s outstanding Arts and Athletics programs.
SPONSORED CONTENT BY FRIENDS ACADEMY
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