The Lower School program is designed to meet the needs of gifted students ages 2 ½ through 11. The program's content and structure are responsive to developmental stages in the lives of children. Learning experiences are designed to help students find depth and personal meaning in their studies. Fundamentally, Roeper teachers respect and facilitate the individual abilities, needs, and interests of young learners.

At each of the four Lower School Stages, developmentally appropriate opportunities for choice, decision making and problem solving assist the students' developing sense of empowerment and personal responsibility for their own learning. Each Stage brings opportunities for greater levels of abstraction in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, foreign language, visual and performing arts, technology, and physical education.

Small student-teacher ratios make it possible for teachers to be close to each student's learning experience. Individual learning styles can be understood so that strengths are nurtured and strategies developed between teacher and student to most effectively meet that student's needs.

Welcome from Lower School Director – Suzanne Young

Dear Parents,
Welcome to the Roeper Lower School where gifted children 2 ½ to 11 years old begin their pre-school and elementary education. We are proud of our tradition of nurturing and teaching children in an environment which promotes academics and emotional growth.

At each of the four stages, students are encouraged to identify their passions and devote energy to pursuing them through an array rich in options. Specialists complement the core subjects with electives in computer science, music, art, dance, physical education, library science, and foreign language. Our teachers establish a relationship with each of their students and help guide them to an appropriate variety of classes. The rich student-teacher ratio provides an emotionally nourishing and physically safe environment in which our students thrive.

The Lower School is also a marvelous place for gifted children to find peers, which is important because, when you are among the intellectually top three to five percent of the population, it can be lonely. With academic peers, children have someone who shares their intellectual curiosity, gets their jokes, and understands their sensitivity. When children find themselves in a community of peers, it can be exhilarating. Our parents, too, find it a blessing to become part of a community with other parents of gifted children! Roeper’s Lower School is a wonderful place for a child to begin his/her formal education!

Sincerely,
Suzanne M. Young
Lower School Director
The Roeper School