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Academic Overview

The IB Primary Years Programme begins in the ECC and continues into the Lower School, where students and teachers design units of inquiry around six transdiciplinary themes: Who We Are, Where We Are in Place and Time, How We Express Ourselves, How the World Works, How We Organize Ourselves and Sharing the Planet. In grade 5, students prepare their culminating PYP exhibition, which encompasses their entire experience with the PYP. This process is done through the collaboration of teachers and mentors by giving students the opportunity to demonstrate the IB Learner Profile, PYP attitudes and international-mindedness.

The LS curriculum framework is the Primary Years Programme (PYP), which begins in K1. The PYP offers an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. The aim of the program is to develop students into contributing world citizens according to the IB Learner Profile, instilling in students the desire to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. The mission of the program is to teach students to relate the experience of the classroom to the realities of outside world, making them lifelong learners and informed citizens in an international environment.

The six transdisciplinary themes provide a framework for teachers to design units for inquiry to understand local and global issues. Each theme involves inquiries that are significance, relevant, engaging and challenging for students at ASF, focusing on positive attitudes towards people, the environment and represent a pathway to build student agency. The PYP framework sets high academic standards that builds the academic and skills for the students to develop as global citizens.

Through the Primary Years Program framework, the emotional, physical, social, cognitive and aesthetic domains of each child are developed. We emphasize an inquiry-based approach to learning that focuses on prior knowledge, exploration, problem solving and collaboration. Our certified and experienced teachers provide instruction that is differentiated in order to meet the needs, interests and learning styles of each individual. Our goal is for students to find purpose in what they learn in order to build connections in their lives and make sense of learning and ultimately take actions to improve the world.

Students in grades 1-5 have two periods of instruction in Spanish that include Spanish Language Arts and the Mexican Social Studies program and support transdisciplinary learning.

Our Language Arts program follows the IB/PYP philosophy and framework and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, where language is the major connecting element across the PYP Units of Inquiry. Students are in a dual language program of instruction, with English and Spanish in all grades with exposure to a variety of literature, both fiction and non-fiction, to foster learning to read, and reading to learn, and the writing process across the curriculum. The five components of reading instruction are developed throughout grades 1-5.

ASF offers several programs to support students’ development of both the English and Spanish languages in the Language Learning Center located on the third floor of the Lower School Building. The Language Learning Center (LLC), includes systematic and explicit instruction for English as a Second Language (ESL) and Spanish as a Second Language learners (SSL). Students are assessed using criteria from such assessments as the IPT for Oral Language in English and Spanish, DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), NWEA results and Diagnostic Reading Assessments. Based on the multiple forms of assessment a decision will be made by the LLC teachers, Academic Dean and Leadership team regarding entrance into the LLC.

Another program designed to teach basic English structures for international students is Basic Academic Skills in English (BASE), offered to qualifying Lower School students at an additional cost. Children in this program have English instruction throughout the day, both in the regular classroom setting and one-on-one instruction or in small groups with the BASE teacher in the Language Learning Center (LLC).

Students identified as needing early literacy intervention in grade 1 will work in small groups or on a one-to-one basis with the reading specialist. These students are identified utilizing the DIBELS (dynamic indicators for early literacy skills) assessment results as well as formative and summative classroom assessments.

There are two Spanish programs as part of the Language Learning Center: Spanish as a Second Language (SSL), and Spanish Immersion. The goal of these programs is to prepare students so they will eventually be part of the Mexican Spanish Program. Students are assessed on their Spanish literacy skills and oral speaking ability throughout the school year. Students will be placed in the regular Spanish class once they have met the language standards to be successful in the regular classroom learning environment.

 

Experiences

A young girl in a bright yellow jacket stands smiling in front of a display of colorful, abstract sculptures.
A young girl in a pearl necklace stands behind a display board with information about Kamala Harris, while other people mill about in the blurred background.
Four young girls in casual clothing are sitting together on a bench in the foreground, while other children and adults are visible in the blurred background.
A young girl in the foreground adds fluffy white material to a black structure on a table, while other children work on crafts in the sunny, grassy background.
Children are engaged in a craft project at a table laden with colorful scraps of fabric and craft supplies, with a lush green hedge and a building visible in the background.
Two young boys in maroon hoodies are focused on cutting and marking a black t-shirt on a table, with stacks of cardboard and greenery in the background.
Three children play violins in the foreground, with shelves of violin cases filling the background.
Two children are working on crafts at a table outdoors, with a grassy area and other people in the background.
Children and adults gather around tables with craft supplies in the foreground, while a building and trees form the background.
Two girls in helmets smile on horseback in the foreground, while other riders and lush green trees form the background.
Two young boys in costumes, one dressed as a Jedi and the other in a rustic outfit, pose with thumbs up in front of a blurred outdoor gathering with people in various attire.
Four boys, two with face paint, pose in front of a large papier-mâché figure, with a blurred background of people and outdoor seating.
A young girl in a white tank top and black leggings poses playfully in the foreground, while others climb on a colorful rock wall in the background.
A group of children pose in front of a climbing wall, with two boys lying on a padded mat in the foreground.
A group of young children in chef hats watch a woman in a red apron prepare food in a kitchen with shelves in the background.
A group of children in colorful helmets stand with their bicycles on a grassy area in front of an old stone building with arched openings.
Six children in chef hats and aprons smile from behind a counter with baking supplies, while a wooden shelf unit with various items is visible in the background.
Two smiling young girls in casual clothing stand in the foreground with other children and outdoor seating in the background.
Two young girls in the foreground are painting at a red-covered table, while other children and adults are visible in the blurred background.
Four children in the foreground hold certificates, while two adults stand behind them in a library with bookshelves and a purple couch in the background.
Six children stand proudly in the foreground holding certificates, while a classroom with other children and shelves of books fills the background.
Four young girls make silly faces in the foreground, with a blurred background of trees and a building.
A young boy with curly hair slides down a bright yellow slip 'n' slide, with green grass visible in the background.
A group of children pose on a grassy lawn with trees in the background.
A young girl in a colorful swimsuit splashes water from an inflatable pool while people relax on the grass in the background.
A young boy in a green cap and safari vest smiles at the camera holding a clay sculpture, while another child in a similar vest and glasses stands behind him.
A young boy in a vest and hat proudly holds up a circular artifact in the foreground, while other children and a shaded structure are visible in the background.
A young boy in a blue sweatshirt points at colorful fabric hanging on a clothesline in a park, with other children and greenery in the background.
Two young girls, one with face paint and flowers in her hair, pose for a photo in front of a festive outdoor market with red umbrellas and decorations.
Two young girls smile at the camera with their arms around each other, while a blurred green lawn and people in the background suggest an outdoor gathering.
A young girl in a striped swimsuit holds a large blue exercise ball in the foreground, while a group of children and an adult stand on a grassy lawn in the background.
A man in a blue astronaut suit stands with three children in front of an American flag and a green and white flag.
A man in a hard hat demonstrates sawing a piece of wood to a group of children in hard hats, with a construction site visible in the background.
Two young boys play chess at a table in the foreground, with rows of bookshelves filled with books in the background.
Four young girls are on a stage in front of a painted backdrop of a school, with one girl holding a red ball.
A young girl in a red shirt shakes hands with an astronaut in a blue suit on a stage, with a banner featuring the American flag and embassy information in the background.
Children in the foreground lean over a table displaying colorful, decorated cakes, while adults and more children are visible in the blurred background.
An elderly man signs autographs on a red table in front of a stage, while a line of children and adults waits behind him.
A woman kneels to help a young girl with pigtails apply stickers to a sheet, while other people are visible in the blurred background.
A young girl with glasses and a black sweatshirt smiles at the camera in the foreground, with tables of books and other people browsing in the background.
A young boy in a teal shirt with a dinosaur graphic reads a book in front of a display of children's books.
Two smiling children, a boy in an Argentinian soccer jersey and a girl in a white shirt, hold books in the foreground, while a bustling book fair with other children and tables of books unfolds in the background.
A group of children in maroon shirts stand in front of a large bear mascot on a white backdrop.
Three young boys in the foreground smile and hold up small Mexican flags, while spectators sit in the blurred background on bleachers.
A young girl points to a paper on a pink table in the foreground, while adults and children are visible in the background among bookshelves.
Two young boys stand at a table with a poster about Kobe Bryant, one holding a basketball, with a soccer goal and grassy field in the background.
Children in the foreground walk in a parade holding signs for various countries, with a Ukrainian flag and a building in the background.
A young boy in a hoodie stands at the left foreground looking at a long table covered in a red cloth displaying various papers, while in the background, adults and children gather around the table with a building under construction visible behind them.
A group of children stand on a stage in front of a large screen displaying a photo and inspirational text, with red curtains framing the top.
A man with long gray hair speaks into a microphone in the foreground, while a large group of children sits attentively on the floor in front of bookshelves filled with books in the background.
Children play cellos in a classroom with music stands and instruments in the background.
Three smiling children in chef hats and aprons pose in the foreground on a polished countertop, while a woman stands in the background near a refrigerator.
A young girl stands on a stage in front of a painted backdrop of a room, with a red couch to her right.
A man draped in a South African flag walks with children holding American flags past a building with a sign pointing to various campus locations.
A young person in a costume stands on a stage in front of a colorful backdrop depicting a cafe on the left and an airport lounge on the right.
A woman in a denim jacket smiles as she walks with a group of children holding flags, with a modern building in the background.
A group of children in maroon shirts stand in front of a large bear mascot on a white backdrop.
Two young girls in the foreground sit on a gym floor, one wearing a striped dress and the other a soccer jersey, while in the background, other children and a large Indian flag are visible.
Several young girls in casual clothing are gathered in red theater seats, with some looking at a book while others are seated behind them.
Children in casual attire stand on a stage with their arms raised in front of a colorful, cartoonish backdrop.

Head of Lower School

Jordan studied at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse. He majored in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood. Later on, he applied to ASF and began his career in Mexico in 2007 as a third grade teacher. He also held the position of dean of students. 

Jordan holds a Master’s degree in Science in Multidisciplinary Studies from State University of New York, College at Buffalo, NY and a Master’s of Education in International Administration from Endicott College, Beverly Massachusetts, MA.

A smiling bald man in a suit and tie is set against a plain white background.
 

Jordan Maas

Meet the Lower School team

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
      ACADEMIC      DEAN IB/ PYP COORDINATOR 

Lisa Purcell
 

A woman with short dark hair and a serious expression wears a maroon turtleneck and a cream vest against a mottled gray background.
 
Dean of     students  (1,4,5)

Monique Autrique
 

A woman with a green scarf and a light-colored sweater smiles at the camera against a gray, textured background.
 
Dean of students (2,3)

Tania Baram
 

A man with glasses and a colorful plaid shirt is pictured against a gray, textured background.
 
activities specialist

Juvenal López
 

A smiling woman with long brown hair and a black scarf is pictured against a gray, textured background.
Grade 1 counselor

Ruth Garza 

 

 

 

 

 

   

     GRADE 2             COUNSELOR         Tania Méndez

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GRADE 3  COUNSELOR

     Lee Ann Seifert

 
 
A man with short brown hair and a beard wears a denim jacket over a grey polo shirt, standing against a grey, textured background.
 
GRADE 4 COUNSELOR

Pablo Guerrero

A woman with dark hair and a light-colored cardigan smiles against a gray, textured background.
GRADE 5  COUNSELOR

Claudia Ortega
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grade 1 coordinator

Sofía Hidalgo
 

A woman with long dark hair and a floral orange top smiles in front of a gray background.
Grade 2  coordinator

Sharon Cannistra
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grade 3  coordinator

Maite Landerreche
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grade 4 coordinator

Michelle Muñoz
 

A woman with long brown hair smiles at the camera, wearing a colorful floral shirt against a gray background.
Grade 5 coordinator

Martha Lozada