New Directions Learning Community (NDLC) is a public elementary charter school housed within the Kaukauna Area School District. NDLC offers instruction that is built around literacy and is tailored to each unique learner.
Key Features:
Development of lifelong readers and thinkers
Teacher authored curriculum based on current research about teaching and learning from Columbia University, NYC
Differentiated instruction
Cooperative, inquiry-based learning
Literature-rich classroom libraries, daily teacher read-aloud, literature discussions, and writer's workshop at all grade levels
On-going, rigorous professional development
Systematic, authentic intervention for readers who struggle
Integration of technology for student inquiry, publication, and communication
Hands-on mathematics and science
The use of the Responsive Classroom Approach to teach social, emotional, and academic growth
Monthly Family Nights and Season Weekend Family Events
Parent volunteer support in and outside of the classroom
The mission of NDLC is to develop student and teacher leaders. Students will be flexible, analytic, collaborative leaders ready for the demands of the 21st century. Staff will implement the Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop with fidelity across the elementary curricula in order to strengthen and improve the academic performance of the students. The mission also includes sharing the skills and techniques of the Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop with other interested educators inside and outside of the district. NDLC will be a lab-site where teachers will model and educate others on the structure and benefits of the workshop. Staff will actively participate in professional development, peer coaching, and collegiate study, while collaborating with one another in order to inform future practice and lift the level of student performance.
