School Choice Card

School Overview

Printable School Choice Card

Eliza Blaker School 55, A Butler Lab School is inspired by the teaching approach from Reggio Emilia, Italy. At our school, children are encouraged to share, ask questions, and work together. Our teachers listen closely to children’s inquiries and provide opportunities for them to research those questions through project-based learning. We create hands-on experiences inside and outside of the classroom to explore children’s interests within our reading, writing, math, science, and social studies curriculum. We believe children express themselves in many ways, such as drawing, acting, music, and clay. We use these languages as ways for students to learn and share their thinking with others. Our classrooms have various work spaces, provocations, and high-quality materials to support our project-work. We encourage families to be a part of their child’s learning by inviting them into the classroom, on field trips, and to regular family nights. College of Education professors and students from Butler University also visit our school to collaborate with us on our teaching and learning practices.

Pillars of Reggio-Inspired Practice

• Image of Child & Relationships: We strive to create an inclusive place for every student and family. We want all community members from all backgrounds to feel honored, celebrated, and connected to the curriculum and classroom. We believe that learning does not occur independent of, but rather as a direct result of interactions with people, places, materials, and ideas.
• Environment as Third Teacher: We view the environment as an extension of the learning that happens in our world and a place to work together. Our environments are designed to be engaging, organized, and focused on creativity and inquiry. In our classrooms, you find a kitchen table to work at with a group, pillows to curl up with a good book, and jars to hold our beautiful materials.
• 100 Languages of Children: As students construct knowledge together, they use a wide variety of tools to explore, discover, and show what they know. These languages naturally allow for the creation of meaning in a variety of ways and that reflect multiple viewpoints. Hands-on, material-rich experiences are integrated into our curriculum.
• Design Process & Documentation: Our teachers believe it is important to work in collaboration with one another as we plan experiences for children. We think deeply about the purpose of our work, reflect on how we are doing, and continue to grow and learn by collecting evidence of student learning. We document the work we do with children to evaluate and create new experiences.

Grades Offered: Pre-K–5

Zone: 2 & 3

School Model: Inquiry-Based

• Reggio-Inspired School
• Project-based learning
• Butler University Partnership
• Integrated Arts
• Adult & Child Health
• At Your School (AYS) Childcare

Community Events

• Family Nights, Explore Days (children explore their interests in multi-age groups)
• Community Meetings (monthly gathering in our brand new gym)
• Book Buddies (each class is paired up to read together each month)
• Boltdog News (broadcast created by our 5th graders)
• Student-led announcements
• Student council