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[quote=Anonymous]Parent of a Burgundy grad here. My DC whined about reading Magic School Bus in 2/3 instead of "real" books. DC's actual developmentally appropriate need was learning how not to roll their eyes at students who didn't read as well and figuring out how to be a good classmate and friend to them. By 4/5 DC knew multiplication and long division cold by the traditional methods. But, being taught/forced to learn multiple algorithms - which were usually frustratingly more time consuming - laid the foundation to make algebra concepts intuitive later.

Burgundy has the mixed classrooms for a reason - because they think it is important. Their goal is to prepare students for high school and they feel strongly that accelerating intermediate milestones does not necessarily improve outcomes. Many parents (including us) over many years have wondered/complained about them. The school could separate the students by grade (2/3 and 4/5) without hiring new teachers or needing new classrooms. I think the driving rationale is to create time/space/opportunity for the students to build better social and group skills while developing as strong a foundation in the basic elementary skills as possible. It gives students a chance to rotate through leadership/mentor roles as the older students in 3rd and 5th, assume greater responsibility to the group and experience curriculum projects that enfold across multiple school years.

Burgundy is never going to be a school that insists that every student memorize the multiplication tables in 2nd grade or push algebra to students in 5th and 6th grade. They are far more concerned about the kids learning the concepts in elementary school so they are really well grounded in algebra in 8th grade. Librarians have been known to tell elementary students not to borrow middle school YA books - not to discourage reading advancement but to make sure they aren't encountering subjects they and their parents might not be ready for. In the end, for the vast majority of Burgundy parents, we're pretty pleased with the how well our kids turn out and are prepared for the big leaps in social dynamics and academics in high school.
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