Supportive Environment
Students develop a strong sense of themselves as part of a classroom community while also becoming increasingly independent learners and self-starters. Our Kindergarten teachers create a student-centered, play-based, nurturing environment with a focus on reading, writing, and math. There is careful attention to students’ individual needs and support of students’ social and emotional development.
Values-Based Education
Central to PJA’s curriculum are the school’s middot (core values): study, respect, identity, responsibility, community, and appreciation. Students are encouraged to make personal connections to these values in their own lives.
Jewish Life
Art, music, storytelling, and drama all play a major role as students experience the vibrancy and joy of Jewish life and traditions.
Self-esteem and Confidence Building
In Kindergarten, children are learning to identify their emotions and explore social competency concepts such as sharing space with others, developing meaningful relationships, and learning strategies for managing emotions. Active learning and independence are cultivated through purposeful activities and play, to build self-esteem and confidence.
Language Learning
Kindergarten students are exposed to Hebrew vocabulary through conversation, stories and song. They are introduced to the aleph-bet and starting in 1st grade, they will begin to learn how to read and write in Hebrew.
Student-Teacher Ratio
Kindergarten has a teaching team made up of a General Studies teacher, a Hebrew/Jewish Studies teacher, and an instructional assistant. The typical Kindergarten class is 18 students. Our student-teacher ratio in Kindergarten
is 10:1.
