22051 Wilson Road • Georgetown, Delaware 19947 • Phone 302-856-3300 • Fax 302-856-1750


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Evaluation & Assessment

Our goal is to develop a nurturing environment, not an overly competitive one, so students do not receive letter or numerical grades until seventh grade. Students are evaluated three times each year during teacher/parent conferences. Parents receive written summaries detailing each child’s academic and social strengths and weaknesses. We do the first evaluation in October when teachers and parents meet to set goals for our students. At the second evaluation in February, new plans are made for the remainder of the year. During the final evaluation in June, parents and teachers discuss their students’ academic progress and note any areas to be addressed over the summer. Attendance at parent conferences is mandatory.

About Us

As an accredited school through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, The Jefferson School applies the principals of good curricular practice and reviews its methods on a routine basis. The comprehensive curriculum for grades kindergarten through eight based upon the Delaware State Standards. The school’s Junior Kindergarten program follows the Creative Curriculum methods developed by Teaching Strategies, which employs a play-based learning environment.

The Jefferson School’s founders saw the need for an innovative, independent school that teaches the whole student and respects the individual stages of child development. The goal then and now remains to create a caring community of learners that will benefit from positive relationships among a small number of adults and children. Not only do our students master information, they develop the more important critical skills of seeking, understanding and applying what they have learned to real-life experiences. We lead our students from concrete experiences to the abstract; this progression is carried throughout the school program. Students must be actively involved in the enriched environment that we provide. The “art of discovery” is highly valued at The Jefferson School. The teachers assist children in making those discoveries, but our classrooms are child-centered environments where students learn independently and from one another. The focal point in all of our classes is the integration of the individual child with the universe as a whole.

Multi-age Classrooms

The school is organized into multi-age classrooms with a lower and upper school. There are four class levels in the lower school. (this is a link to the lower school section with Jr. k and more) Junior Kindergarten is comprised of 3 and 4 year olds. Kindergarten is known as Primary 1 (P1). First- and second-grade students learn together in the Primary 2 (P2) classes. Third- and fourth–grade students comprise the Primary 3 (P3) classes. The upper school (this is a link to the upper school section) contains two classes: the Intermediate 1 (I1) class which is comprised of fifth-and sixth-grade students. Seventh- and eighth-grade students learn together in Intermediate 2 (I2).

School Specials

The school offers a robust curriculum in art, music, physical education (PE) and Spanish. Often these “specials” are integrated with the school’s country of study or other social studies curriculum. All students participate in specials. The older students have music, PE and Spanish twice a week. School-wide initiatives such as the Read Aloud Delaware community service project and the country study program permit students to work closely with each other no matter what grade they are in.

The morning assembly or “Triangle” permits all students to hear announcements, share important news, pledge, and share a country fact. Students learn to respect each other in this forum as well as develop important skills such as listening and public speaking.