FAQ
Are bilingual programs available?
OFS is not a bilingual school, nor does it have a foreign language immersion program. However, foreign language does have an important place in the school’s curriculum. We offer Spanish or French, beginning in the preschool. We believe that foreign languages open the door to international communication, which can build a more peaceful world. Our foreign language program is taught by native speakers, and is intended to increase in intensity and rigor as the students progress through the grades.
Does the school address and handle educational issues – for example, use phonics instead of whole language for teaching reading? What is the homework policy?
OFS uses a blend of Montessori-based phonics, using hands-on materials as well as Waldorf approaches including stories, art and word games. We also incorporate other language techniques such as the Lindamood Bell process. OFS students entering first grade are usually six to twelve months ahead of their peers in reading.
Has the school received any awards for recognition or excellence?
Oneness-Family School has been honored many times with visits from many people in recognition of the world service performed by our students. In recent years, the Ambassadors of Haiti, Sweden and Angola have paid us visits, as well as Mohammad Ali and Wycelf Jean.
Are there exams for admission or for special programs?
Applicants are given basic, age-appropriate assessment tests during their visit in order to give the teachers an idea of the level at which the student is working. There are no tests or exams required for any admission to any of our programs.
What programs and activities recognize individual achievement? Which ones promote individual creativity?
Oneness-Family School’s unique philosophy of self-transcendence and empowerment offers a multitude of opportunities for individual achievement and creativity. In the spring our students – preschool through middle school – eagerly participate in our annual Science Fair, which provides an affirming, non-competitive atmosphere for students to explore and enjoy science. Peer mentoring programs, individual and group art and music programs, the annual drama production…all contribute to the feeling of success students achieve when allowed the space to experience their imaginations in a multi-sensory environment.
Are parents encouraged to participate in a variety of ways?
OFS is thrilled to have parents participate in school life in any or all of the following:
- classroom presentations
- classroom volunteering
- office volunteering at home or at school
- service on a school council (e.g. Diversity Council)
- Building & Grounds Council
- Fundraising Council
- chaperoning field trips
- spearheading and facilitating Parent Workshops or afterschool groups for the students
Are there programs for students with special needs?
OFS’s flexible Montessori-based environment offers teachers the ability to adapt their programs for students with many different learning styles. Students with mild learning disabilities, who have felt lost in a larger school, have often experienced academic and social success once they transition into our classrooms. Through our admissions process, we carefully examine each individual’s strengths and areas in need of development to assess whether their needs can adequately be met in an OFS classroom. If you would like to talk more about your child’s specific learning style needs and explore the possibility of placement at OFS, contact the Admissions Director, admissions@onenessfamily.org, who will be more than happy to any questions.
What are the provisions for childrens’ physical safety?
We maintain a maximum student-teacher ratio of 12:1 or less in the preschool and Kindergarten, and 14:1 or less in grades 1-8. Our front door is operated by an electronic locking system and a doorbell-operated intercom system that allows the school office staff to acquire verbal identification before releasing the lock and allowing people access to the school. There is attentive supervision of students in small groups during gross motor activities, both indoors and outdoors. There is clear communication of the rules between the students and teachers, and compassionate, natural consequences when discipline is required.
What methods are used to make children feel emotionally secure?
Students are empowered in all their activities – academic, emotional, sensorial, social – through teacher encouragement and peer mentoring. Students are given positive conflict resolution skills, starting in preschool, to allow for interactions that minimize hurtful words and situations. Students have age-appropriate sharing time in their classrooms, allowing them to cultivate appreciation for and interest in others’ lives as well as having the opportunity to shine within their own. Peer mentoring/conflict resolution provides opportunities for practice of peaceful conflict resolution skills, and gives students the chance to feel successful in helping others work through difficulties.
Are children’s brains in motion creatively or do they seem constrained? Do teachers accommodate learning styles?
Our mixed-age, multisensory classrooms are based upon the theories and materials of Montessori and branch out into Waldorf, Multiple Intelligences, and other teaching approaches that lend themselves fluidly to creative expression and different learning styles. For instance, students can learn many different things from a tactile math material that offers them numeric sequencing, visual alignment, number recognition, tactile pleasure, sustained concentration, and peer interaction. Also, our classrooms are decorated with beauty and care to provide children with a peaceful and calming atmosphere, thereby allowing for the most effective access to their creative hearts while they learn.
Do kids get breaks, recess, adequate wiggle time during the day?
Our students have recess at least once a day. Additionally, they takes breaks,
within reason, whenever they are needed. The flexibility of the space and the
layout in the Montessori classroom provides an extraordinary freedom of
movement to children, from preschool through middle school.
Do kids respect and enjoy their teachers? Do teachers treat kids with dignity, respect and caring?
OFS students and teachers, as well as office staff and even the Executive Director, are on a first-name basis. This is the first step toward the unusual level of equality that you will find at Oneness-Family between the students and their teachers. It is well documented and acknowledged that children learn best in an environment in which they feel safe; when respect and kindness are traded back and forth in a teacher-student relationship, children thrive.
Are teachers happy? Are they, and the administration, visible, supportive and accessible to parents?
Many of the teachers at Oneness-Family have been with the school for ten or more years. Our community is fortunate to have teachers – no matter what their tenure – who view their job as a mission, treating each day as a new opportunity to learning something themselves, from the interactions, experiences, and emotions of their students as well as their own. Our faculty functions with an unusual level of dedication and love – not only for their students, but for what they consider a gift: the privilege of helping young minds to find their way in the world.
Oneness-Family has a very open-door policy when it comes to school-home
communication. Parents have the ability to attange a parent-teacher conference any time, and of course have the opportunity to just stop by the classroom and chat with most of the teachers at drop-off and pick-up any day. Parents may attend field trips, provide a lesson or workshop in the classroom, and lead extra-curricular activities within their area of specialization or knowledge.
The administration’s door is always open, too. On most Fridays after
Community Meeting, at 9:30 am, Andrew holds Partnership with the Director,
a wonderful opportunity to share in a group whatever questions, concerns or ideas you may have. Parents are welcome to come in any time – and volunteers are especially welcome!
How heavily does the school rely on parent funding?
The Oneness-Family School is run almost exclusively on tuition and private funding. In addition to the standard tuition, we also run an Annual Fund Drive, which makes up for the bulk of the expenditures that are not covered by tuition alone. Information on the Annual Fund is available by request in the school office.
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