PP here. We could have lived without the cursive (although at least some schools are still teaching it), but we did think teaching young kids how to form the letters of the alphabet to help them learn how to print seemed like a pretty basic skill to leave out. As was math facts. Or the months of the year. We expected that we might need to supplement, but didn't realize the extent of it until some things couldn't be fixed.

Montessori schools teach cursive. That's about it.

Anonymous wrote:I had two kids go through TR through upper elementary, and I did see some gaps in their knowledge. One kid was never taught how to write printed letters in the conventional style, so has terrible handwriting as a result. Neither kid was ever taught cursive writing. There was very little practice on math facts, so the kids did not have fluid recall and this posed a problem once they got to higher-level math. And we realized at one point that neither child (then in 8th and 4th grades) knew the months of the year. This kind of basic stuff just wasn't taught as part of the curriculum. We also thought the writing instruction was lacking.

It's an okay school, but if your child is academically proficient or advanced, they might not get much attention. This was particularly true for our quiet second child. In retrospect, we are much less enthused about "progressive" education than when we started.

Just another view from the trenches.

I don't thnk any schools bother to teach cursive anymore.

I had two kids go through TR through upper elementary, and I did see some gaps in their knowledge. One kid was never taught how to write printed letters in the conventional style, so has terrible handwriting as a result. Neither kid was ever taught cursive writing. There was very little practice on math facts, so the kids did not have fluid recall and this posed a problem once they got to higher-level math. And we realized at one point that neither child (then in 8th and 4th grades) knew the months of the year. This kind of basic stuff just wasn't taught as part of the curriculum. We also thought the writing instruction was lacking.

It's an okay school, but if your child is academically proficient or advanced, they might not get much attention. This was particularly true for our quiet second child. In retrospect, we are much less enthused about "progressive" education than when we started.

Just another view from the trenches.

PP is like me, I also thought the expeditions would be worked into every aspect of the curriculum. DD is at CMI and they have a math block and reading block every morning, which is like normal reading and math. The expeditionary learning component, or IPC, happens in the afternoon.

We don’t have a kid in upper grades, but have been in expeditionary learning for several years, and this may be helpful to you: A misconception I realize now that I had coming in, about every expeditionary school I toured - 2R, Mundo Verde, and Capital City - was that expeditions were worked into *every* aspect of the curriculum. Like I thought that if the expedition was about garbage, then pretty much most math and the language arts worked on during in that expedition period would be tied in to the theme somehow.

And at least at 2R, I don’t feel like that’s the case. The expeditions are like a big project they’re working on, and form the core of either the science or social studies curriculum in that semester, and usually tie into their art projects, but if kids are learning to read, or doing math, they’re still doing that in ways that seem both “typical” and varied to me, compared to any other school. So I don’t feel like there’s anything missing from the curriculum – kids are still learning how to read and do math, through a variety of strategies and with totally unrelated books and problems to the current expedition.

There is an overall approach that emphasizes hands-on, problem based learning; expeditions are a part of that, but that doesn’t mean that every area is tied to one expedition.

OP. Really just trying to get a sense for what important elements (if any) are left out of the TR curriculum. The curriculum looks intriguing (certainly one I would have enjoyed as a student) but also very specific. I wonder what, if anything, kids who go the TR route are missing out on academically.

I suppose parents of any current/former upper grade students could answer this, not just parents of grads. I understand the school doesn't have many grads yet, given its newness.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The oldest Two Rivers grads are in college now.

Technically you are correct, the 18-8th graders who graduated in 2010 COULD be in college this fall.

Why the could in all caps? The Facebook page has mentioned a few former students that are in college now.

pp is alluding that they may not have made it to college. My guess is that anyone with an 18-19 year old doesn't frequent DCUM. OP you may have better luck talking directly with the school about your questions.

True, but if you're asking about parents who have had their kids finish TR, I only know of two families from the original group. Others have peeled off to other charters, privates or DCPS, my family included. You see many families quit around first, third and fourth grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The oldest Two Rivers grads are in college now.

Technically you are correct, the 18-8th graders who graduated in 2010 COULD be in college this fall.

Why the could in all caps? The Facebook page has mentioned a few former students that are in college now.

pp is alluding that they may not have made it to college. My guess is that anyone with an 18-19 year old doesn't frequent DCUM. OP you may have better luck talking directly with the school about your questions.

Anonymous wrote:Okay - maybe parents of Two Rivers students who have made it through the upper grades? I'm curious how you feel about the curriculum and how well your child was prepared for their next school. I find the experiential/expeditionary learning model appealing, but because the topics are so specific, I wonder if you feel there's essential material that gets left out?

High school can sort that out for humanities. I'd be most concerned re math.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The oldest Two Rivers grads are in college now.

Technically you are correct, the 18-8th graders who graduated in 2010 COULD be in college this fall.

Why the could in all caps? The Facebook page has mentioned a few former students that are in college now.

Okay - maybe parents of Two Rivers students who have made it through the upper grades? I'm curious how you feel about the curriculum and how well your child was prepared for their next school. I find the experiential/expeditionary learning model appealing, but because the topics are so specific, I wonder if you feel there's essential material that gets left out?

Anonymous wrote:The oldest Two Rivers grads are in college now.

Technically you are correct, the 18-8th graders who graduated in 2010 COULD be in college this fall.

The oldest Two Rivers grads are in college now.

Would love to hear from someone who went through Two Rivers as a student. How did you feel about your experience there? The teachers? Where did you and your Two Rivers peers go after and how well prepared did you feel as compared to your other high school classmates?