The Children’s School is located on six acres of land in La Jolla, California, surrounded by mature trees and neighborhood homes. The school is easily accessible by freeway and is within minutes of the ocean and downtown La Jolla.
Each classroom is a rich learning environment that has been carefully arranged and furnished to suit the developmental needs of its students.
The
Children’s School has a proud history as a pioneer in progressive education. It
was founded in 1972 by a group of educators as a child-centered school
that focused on developing the whole child. The founders believed in
accomplishing this through a hands-on curriculum rich in academics,
social development, art and physical education. The school’s
curriculum and educational philosophy drew inspiration from the work of
numerous scholars including John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Lev
Vygotsky, and Howard Gardner. This approach to education distinguished
the school from traditional public and private schools, and remains a
hallmark of the school to this day. Originally housed at a church
in Point Loma, the school was relocated to Sorrento Valley in the
mid-1970s where it enrolled children from toddlers to the eighth grade.
In
1983, the school moved to its present location in La Jolla. It operates
in its current location under a lease from San Diego City Schools. Along with the move to La Jolla came an expanded
commitment to the school's social curriculum and its parent education
programs. TCS’s parent-toddler program, which was based on a
model from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena and includes a parent
education component, was expanded to include parents of children of all
ages.
In the late 1980s, as the middle school movement grew in
popularity, TCS dropped its seventh and eighth grade program. Current
research, however, shows that students do best in an elementary school
that goes through grade eight, and The Children’s School will return to a
toddler to eighth grade program by 2010-2011.
