The Children’s School on Torrey Pines Lane is fulfilling parents’ demand for more grades. The school will soon offer seventh and eighth grades; today’s fourth-graders will enter the seventh grade in 2009 and graduate from the eighth grade in 2011.
New classroom facilities and a science lab will be built to accommodate the students, and the entire project is expected to cost $2 million. The school has already raised $1.3 million, with a sizable gift of $950,000 from the Nelson Family Foundation. Construction of the new addition is expected to begin in 2008.
Last year, the school asked parents what they wanted to see at The Children’s School in the next 10 years. Additional grades and a grass playing field topped the list.
In response, the school just opened the Kelly Family Field on Sept. 8 at a cost of approximately $100,000. La Jolla Youth Soccer will also use the field for evening and weekend practices.
Head of School Molly Huffman said that the school curriculum follows California guidelines but is essentially a program for gifted students. She believes that the emphasis on developing social skills ” interpersonal capabilities, emotional intelligence and peer problem-solving ” will particularly benefit middle school students.
“That’s basically a test time for children, when their focus is away from their parents and more on their peers and peer pressure, so it’s important to have a strong social curriculum in middle school to help children define boundaries and to figure out who they are,” Huffman said.
A total of 60 students will comprise the seventh and eighth grades and classes will be capped at 15 children.
The Children’s School is an independent entity, established in 1972 with the mission to provide a child-centered education that emphasizes the whole child. Presently, 220 students are enrolled on six acres at 2225 Torrey Pines Lane. For more information, call (858) 454-0184 or visit www.tcslj.org.