Growing Place, Santa Monica

We are a learning community sustained by a close collaboration of parents, teachers and students. We believe that children are competent learners, capable of engaging fully with ideas and the world around them. We are committed to hiring, developing and supporting the best teaching staff possible. Teachers and children research and co-construct knowledge, foster curiosity, and experiment with many ways to express ideas. Teachers use documentation of the process of learning to revisit the children's ideas and to include parents in the life of the school. Through the continuing evolution and enrichment of The Growing Place sites we acknowledge the role of the environment in children's development. We value diversity as reflected in our tuition assistance program, curriculum and the tools our children learn to use to address each other's differences. The Growing Place helps children develop a positive disposition toward learning, which provides a foundation for academic success. Through collaboration with other schools, agencies and an extensive mentoring program for students of child development, we support the field of early education and our community.