High Scope Preschool Curriculum

The Staten Island HS classrooms follow the High Scope model of preschool education, a research-validated and evidence-based program shown to have positive effects on child outcomes, including cognitive and effective skills that lead to greater school success, as well as adult outcomes, such as improved socioeconomic status and greater social responsibility. Based on Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the High Scope preschool model views children as active learners, who learn best from activities that they themselves plan, carry out, and reflect upon. The High Scope Preschool Curriculum and associated instructional practices are aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework, the Head Start Program Performance Standards, the NYS Common Core Learning Standards, and the NYS Prekindergarten Learning Standards.

The Staten Island EHS classrooms use the Infant-Toddler curriculum from High Scope, ;which supports early childhood development through active participatory learning, in which children learn about the world around them through play and exploration. The curriculum focuses on six content areas: approaches to learning; communication, language, and literacy; social and emotional development; cognitive development; physical development and health; and creative arts. 

Caregiver practices are based on the principles of active learning, namely that infants and toddlers learn with their whole body and all their senses, communicate what they know, learn because they want to, and learn within the context of trusting relationships. The model provides extensive guidance for caregivers around supporting active learning through adult-child interactions, arrangement of the physical environment, daily schedules and routines, and observations and planning for children.