Bixby & Associates

Results: Founded in 1970, Bixby School is organized around the belief that children are unique individuals, each with their own abilities, interests, and needs. Pat Baker and "Bart" Harlan Bartram, two gifted educators, and seven families first started Bixby School as a place for teaching and learning to occur in a way that they did not see happening in traditional schools at the time. Attention to the whole-child, and a customized, responsive approach to learning was uncommon in 1970. A lot has changed in education and in our world since Bixby first began, and Bixby has evolved and grown as well over that time. One of the things that has remained constant is our core belief that having students and teachers work alongside each other to develop a deep understanding of themselves, the world and their ability to have a meaningful impact upon it is the ideal paradigm for learning and growth. Almost 50 years later, the experiences of our alumni affirm for us the importance of seeing, supporting and growing the whole child: “I'm proud of being here; and I'm proud of the teachers [who are] always getting me ready, preparing me for the real world.” Jackson, Bixby Class of 2019 “...last week I found out I won a Rhodes scholarship! My plan is to research climate change when I go to Oxford. I credit Bixby for instilling in me a deep love of learning at an early age. I never would have had an opportunity like this without a place like Bixby to support me, and I am beyond grateful that I had such a lovely elementary school experience.” Katie Kowal, 2018 Rhodes Scholar “My elementary education has played a huge role in where I ended up.” Danielle Feinberg, Director of Photography for Lighting at Pixar Studios

Target demographics: .. students realize their full potential and develop well-rounded people who will impact the world.

Direct beneficiaries per year: 95 students between the ages of 2.5 and 11

Geographic areas served: Boulder Colorado

Programs: In pursuit of our vision “to be a recognized leader in progressive, whole-child, customized education”, our teachers develop unique experiences for children to appreciate and celebrate their creativity, originality, independence, energy, curiosity, playfulness, imagination, excitement, open mindedness, attention to detail, emotions, and ethics. Bixby’s focus upon the whole child starts with its intentional school design. Some of the design elements of our unique school include small class sizes, child directed schedules, multi-age classes, on-site swimming and a one-of-its kind outside area that was designed by “watching how kids play”. Our small class sizes and extraordinary faculty mean huge opportunities. As our students learn in small class sizes (4-10 students) they gain powerful voices – speaking up for themselves, leading their peers, and never being afraid to ask others for help. Smaller class sizes allow faculty to spend more time on helping students practice self-awareness and self care, and develop authentic relationships with adults, peers and themselves. As Bixby co-founder, Pat Baker, described, “it is important that students learn each year at least as much about themselves as they do about their academics.” From ecstatic moments to pensive days, Bixby is a safe place to be authentic. Encouraging self-growth in students requires schools to accept that students are first children and social beings, and that social beings develop an understanding of their world (learn) by engaging their instincts and motivation in new experiences. Rather than assign one (or 2) teachers to a student for a year, each year Bixby students have access to multiple teachers throughout their preschool through 5th grade experience. Working together as a team, preschool students have access to 4 early childhood educators in a multi-age (2 ½-5 years) classroom. Beginning in 1st grade, students physically move through the school each period to learn with a different teacher and different groupings of students. Rather than have a single 1st grade teacher, a 1st grader learns with a teacher who specializes in Creative Design throughout their elementary experience. In this way, students have access to multiple trusted adults who see them in different contexts Student peer groups are also dynamic. Rather than move from class to class with the same group of students, student groups shift throughout the day, giving them access to a variety of social groups with diverse personalities, talents, strengths - academic and personal, and backgrounds. Just like the real world! Self-awareness, care for others and motivation are the building blocks upon which learning takes place. Just as we want our children to be healthy risk takers, we must also take a risk by empowering students’ interests and instincts, allowing learning experiences to adapt and change based upon them. As the old adage says, “what gets measured gets done”, at Bixby we regularly measure students’ growth in a variety of areas. In addition to academic growth, our proprietary assessments help us to understand and support students’ social-emotional, citizenship and physical growth. Rather than teach kids what to think, at Bixby the focus is on teaching kids how to be thinkers. Learning is real-world based, empowering students to make meaning of the world and understand why the academic content matters. To encourage self-growth, children must never doubt their innate brilliance. Valuing the whole-child, customizing learning to account for children’s’ interests and motivations, and building a community around the idea that there are many ways to be brilliant human being are just a few examples of how we have created a culture of self-growth at Bixby these past 49 years.