The Early childhood teachers carefully observe and interact with each child over the course of the last year of Kindergarten and evaluate readiness based on a multiplicity of factors such as physical and emotional maturity, fine and gross motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. In general we expect that children will be turning 7 in the fall or winter of their First Grade year.

We do not assign homework in Kindergarten or the early grades. Research has shown that homework is detrimental to student engagement and family time for young children, but can genuinely support a student's school performance in Middle School. Therefore, depending on the teacher and the class, occasional small homework assignments might begin in Third Grade so that students develop responsibility, organizational skills, and good habits. Homework is assigned for specific purposes: to review and reinforce class work; to assist in developing organizational skills and self-discipline; to allow the students to exercise inner creativity and deepen thought; and to bring subjects such as music into the home and daily life.

Approaches to discipline are varied and relate directly to the age of the child and any unique needs that child has. Parents are often surprised at how cooperative and fluid our classes are because the age-appropriate curriculum, the artistic activities, and the amount of movement in the day all help to keep students engaged in their learning. When needed, a teacher meets with parents to discuss discipline issues and formulate a plan.

The Garden School is a secular school that does not embrace or promote any specific religious doctrine. Our students come from a wide range of religious and spiritual interests and backgrounds. Through stories and curriculum we proactively introduce students to cultures and religions from around the world and throughout history.

The Garden School is committed to supporting inclusion and diversity in the academic, social, and communal makeup of the school's faculty, staff, parent, and student body. We believe that diversity of experience and community strengthens the school as an institution as well as individual students' world perspectives.

Parents are a vital part of our school and integral to creating and supporting the school's social life. Parents help organize festivals, work with school fundraising events, and may serve on the Board of Trustees committees. In each class, parents have opportunities to become class representatives, chaperone class trips, and hold class-held community workdays. Participation in parent education classes is strongly encouraged. Opportunities abound for parents to contribute their unique skills and energy to the school community through volunteering. 

Early Childhood classes maintain a low student to teacher ratio. The ratio in the Joyful classes is 1:5, and in Kindergarten classes, 1:7. In the grades, given our current physical location, classes are approximately 15 students in each class, with certain expansion classes split or combined depending on the subject.

Standardized testing is not an accurate or complete reflection of a student's wisdom, knowledge, mental flexibility, or ability to learn, and therefore we do not use this method of testing in the lower grades program. In Middle School, to gain the experience needed for standardized test taking and to gather data for high school readiness purposes, students participate in the ERB (Educational Record Bureau) CTP (Comprehensive Testing Program) each year of Middle School.

Students are assessed through their knowledge and skill in recounting the content of the portfolios they create over the course of the year. They are assessed both as individuals and as a part of their class. Beginning in third or fourth grade, spelling tests, math quizzes, book reports, and special projects may be assigned and evaluated by the class teacher. From fourth grade on, the teacher assesses the students in the writing of their own compositions and, starting in sixth grade, in the integration of science experiment write-ups. Along with this, ongoing class participation and portfolio assessments provide an opportunity for evaluation. Parent evenings are held periodically to discuss class progress, and parent teacher conferences are held to discuss individual student progress. Finally, a formal written narrative assessment is sent home at the end of the year.

The reasons for this have much to do with the physical and psychological effects of the medium on the developing child, so the "educational" quality of programming is generally not considered to be a redeeming factor. The research shows that media exposure, especially in the early years, seriously hampers the development of the child's cognitive function, especially in the area of right brain thinking.  Imagination is central to the healthy development of the intellect. Electronic media works against the healthy development of right-brain neural pathways. 

Students accustomed to passively receiving impressions have difficulty making the inner effort necessary to sustain an imaginative train of thought or to follow a complicated mathematical process. We would like our students to view the world through their own eyes, rather than through the lens of someone else’s camera. By delaying a child’s exposure to mass electronic media until the student’s will and feeling life have reached a certain level of maturity, we hope to encourage an enlightened, inquiry-based relationship to technology.

While we know that most families have some media as part of the home experience, we encourage families to significantly limit or discontinue exposure to television, movies, video games, computers and other entertainment media. At the very minimum, we expect families to maintain a no-media policy during the school week. As students get older, media is introduced and included in the school curriculum as an adjunct to the learning process through the Cyber Civics, a program designed to teach online stewardship.

We acknowledge that this can be a difficult transition, especially if the student has had a lot of media interaction. The school, and the families in our community support new families making this transition. New students have an easier time acclimating to this policy when they experience it as the status quo expectation of our community. 

Generally, transitions to public schools are without significant challenges, especially when they can be anticipated in advance. Your child's teacher will work with you to identify any gaps or discrepancies between their Garden School experience and the required public school curriculum in order to make your child's transition as smooth as possible.

We strongly believe that finances should not prevent the enrollment of a child whose family is otherwise a good fit for our community. Limited financial assistance is available, and we are working hard to expand opportunities for need-based financial assistance in the future. Georgia GOAL, is an excellent program which is separate from public school funding and allows state tax payers (including small businesses) to redirect a portion of their taxes toward independent schools. To apply for financial aid, a family must complete the Application for Tuition Assistance, which is processed by a third party who makes the determination on the allocation of financial aid dollars.

The Garden School offers tuition assistance to qualified families in the Kindergarten and Grades programs. Tuition assistance is not offered for the Joyful Beginnings program.