STEPPINGSTONE CENTER FOR THE POTENTIALLY GIFTED INC

Programs: Day school and extended care:basic program goals at steppingstone school is to organize, operate, and maintain a non-sectarian school for children; administer an educational program balanced between academic learning and personal development through interactions with peers and adults; to promote an educational curriculum and course of study commensurate with and in addition to that offered by local public schools offering degrees for grades kindergarten through eight grade. We deliver our course material using the akaba model of differentiated education. Named after the founder's father, kenji akaba, this method of curriculum design and course delivery has evolved over years of teaching gifted learners at steppingstone. This model provides maximum flexibility for teachers by accommodating the unique cognitive, physical, social and emotional aspects of the gifted learner. In most school settings, students are advanced by age. This often impedes gifted learners who may be academically one or more years ahead of their peers. Likewise, advancing students academically so that they are removed from their social group can create emotional stress and uneven personal development. We organize our students into small multi-age/multi-grade developmental classrooms of approximately 15 students each. Core subjects (math, spelling and reading), however, are instructed in even smaller (one to six students) ability groups. This allows teachers maximum flexibility to accommodate each student's academic needs while ensuring that students are nurtured socially and emotionally with their age-related peers.

special programs:steppingston supplements their programs with activities such as fencing, drama, other special programs to enhance their student's education. Some of these special programs are:instrumental music lessonstaught by a classically trained musician with a major in violin performance and teaching violin with a minor in teaching piano; also prepare students for competition and testing in solo and ensemble and the national federation of music clubs (nfmc) as well as participation in music recitals. Western martial artsthis martial arts class teaches students historical european traditions of self defense. Students ages ten through fourteen have fun learning techniques against targets and using them in padded sparring. Students also work together in group games and activities, building focus, confidence, teamwork and awareness. All activities use training equipment which provides a safe, fun and effective way of learning. Instructor has 14 years experience with both western martial arts and instructing children. Smart centerthe steppingstone magnetic resonance training (smart) center's purpose is to bring a research-based science experience to young, science-oriented students in order to meet our mission of "exciting the next generation of scientists". It offers middle school, high school and junior college students the opportunity to engage in research experiences that are usually only available to college students. Students will utilize a $200,000 magnetic resonance spectrometer (epr), develop a hypothesis to test, design an experimental protocol to test the hypothesis, conduct experiments using an epr spectrometer, learn to analyze the data, and to reach a conclusion. In addition steppingstone school plans to begin building a natural science center on property located in washtenaw county, michigan. Some of the programs being considered are a jogging trail with fitness stations, green technologies (wind and solar), a log cabin homestead with small livestock for hands-on early american social studies, natural wildlife habitats, and partnerships with groups such as the audubon society.

summer camp:a child's brain benefits from stimulation all year, not just from september to june. Steppingstone's summer day camp provides quality, guided enrichment and fun throughout the summer. Recreation is combined with learning in a relaxed, caring, and safe environment that provides diverse and challenging activities. Steppingstone's program is unique because it offers children the opportunity to choose the theme week they wish to attend while those children who enroll for the whole summer are provided with a new and exciting topic every week. The small student to teacher ratio allows for a high degree of individual attention. Children are placed in developmentally appropriate learning groups consisting of 8-12 children per instructor. Our program was designed by kiyo a. Morse, head of steppingstone school, and is run by a professional staff assisted by caring camp instructors.