Lower School

It's my pleasure to welcome you to MTS, an educational community committed to developing the joy of learning within all students.

From the moment I stepped onto the MTS campus, the words of the Mission could be seen, heard, and felt. It is a place filled with caring, confident students, and endless expressions of love, wonder, and delight from students eager to share their ideas and discoveries, from engineering and robotics, to a vegetable from the garden, and so much more. After a single day at MTS, my cheeks were sore from smiling!

Beginning in kindergarten, teacher experts employ a research-based curriculum that is consistently refined to champion the growth of each individual student. With an emphasis on Social-Emotional Learning, Project Based Learning, and purposeful technology integration, MTS develops students who are well prepared for their future while remaining young at heart.

Lower School is a special chapter in the life of a child and their family, encompassing kindergarten through fifth grade at MTS. We strive to create an environment where all students feel welcome, safe and valued as their authentic selves. Together, students and teachers engage in building academic prowess and establishing foundations that fuel lifelong learning and the confident pursuit of big dreams.

During these Lower School years, we see knowledge and skills flourish in young students. It’s an exciting time where curiosity abounds. Students are encouraged to ask big questions and dive into research, guided by a rigorous curriculum that also values play and the intrinsic joys of childhood.

At MTS, we seek to instill students with both knowledge and goodness. Recognizing the need for justice in our local and global community, at MTS we are actively pursuing the work of raising anti-racists by applying a lens of equity and inclusion throughout our Lower School curriculum. At MTS, we respect and value diversity as a community strength and a vital component to preparing students for their future and fulfilling the words of our Mission.

In Lower School, we cherish the moments, celebrate the journey, and seek the future. I hope you will take some time to explore our website and then come visit us on our beautiful campus to experience our MTS Lower School community too!

Your Partner in Education,

Meagan Andrews

Head of Lower School

Meagan Andrews

Head of Lower School

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It All Begins with Lower School

Mount Tamalpais School delivers a K-8 education that goes beyond the expected. With academics led by passionate educators who specialize in the subjects they teach, and arts and athletics programs that are second to none, our students are "all in" all day long. Our profound commitment to nurturing our students' emotional development and supporting their unique identities and interests lays the foundation for success and happiness not just today, but throughout life.

Program Highlights

Academics

The academic experience in Lower School is inspiring and engaging. The MTS Lower School course schedule includes a breadth of disciplines from social-emotional learning, reading, writing, social studies, and math, to Mandarin and Spanish, to engineering and science, and PE, and visual and performing arts. This breadth of curriculum promotes the well-rounded development of our students and ample opportunities to explore and hone a wide variety of passions, interests, and skills.

The academic program at MTS is founded in research-based curriculum. Teachers use formative, on-going data and anecdotal evidence to refine structures and lessons to best meet student needs within each learning environment.

Technology Integration

Lower School students use technology in the support of their learning at MTS. Intentionally integrated technology gives students the opportunity to show what they know in multiple ways. Creativity, choice, and voice, are all enhanced through the use of carefully designed learning experiences involving technology. Technology is embedded within the classroom as one of the many tools students draw upon as they imagine, explore, and create.

Lower School Gathers

Every week the Lower School (Grades Kindergarten through 5th) meets in the gym during 1st period. These Gathers provide an opportunity for the Lower School community to come together and share as a collective, recognizing each other's contributions in their individual classes and exploring how they connect together.

Drama Teacher Deb Marcom Leads kindergarten students in activities

Learning from Experts

One of the many benefits of an MTS Lower School education, is a unique, departmentalized structure, beginning in Kindergarten. Our passionate teachers specialize in their subject area and teach that subject all day long. From the moment a child begins their journey at MTS, they are guided and upheld by an entire team of teachers. With the many eyes, ears, and hearts on each student, following them throughout their Lower School journey, teachers know each student's unique story, learning style, and learning progress. This enables a more seamless experience from one grade to the next as many teachers have the opportunity to work with students across multiple grades and ages.

As teaching experts, MTS faculty consistently refine their practice, immersed in their fields as life-long learners, pursuing formal professional development and self-directed exploration. We know that as a school “Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow” today’s learners need strong pedagogical foundations blended with the skills and experiences needed for tomorrow’s world.

Teachers provide opportunities for students to think critically and listen reflectively, empowering young learners to gain knowledge, understand events and people, and take action that positively impacts their expanding spheres of influence. Throughout Lower School, students demonstrate our Mission in their daily endeavors and as they connect to our larger community.

Lower School STEM

At MTS we appreciate that STEM is more than an acronym. Our students will live and work in a world where success depends on a mastery of the skills and mindset of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This is why we teach each of those subjects starting in Kindergarten.

Learn more about our Lower School STEM program in a recent blog post.

Head of Lower School holding up a sign that says "embarrassed."

Social Emotional Learning

In Lower School, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is both a dedicated part of each student’s day and woven throughout each subject-area class. We understand that SEL is an integral component to student and community success. Practices of gratitude and mindfulness complement our SEL curriculums which include The Dovetail Toolbox Project, Responsive Classroom, and the Collaborative for Academic, Social-Emotional Learning. Students learn through SEL how to better take care of themselves and others, which supports students in navigating our complex and often challenging realities of the world while maintaining health and wellness within themselves and as they engage with others.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

In the Lower School students build an understanding of identity, diversity, justice, and action. Utilizing an age-appropriate, cross-curricular approach, students explore and investigate different topics such as gender, race, ethnicity, immigration, ableism, human rights, and socioeconomics.

By investigating students’ own identities we aim to create a safe space where everyone can be themselves and feel like a valued and respected member of the community. By focusing on both celebrating differences and recognizing similarities, we strive for students to adopt a lens of inclusivity in their daily lives as they explore their own identities and become increasingly aware of diverse perspectives.

Our hope is for our younger learners to deeply understand and analyze the power of action, and recognize that their voice can promote social, political, and communal change. Throughout the year, each grade level leads the school in a social justice initiative for the local community, such as fundraising for a specific cause, organizing a food or supply drive, or partnering with a senior center.

Ultimately, students are encouraged to appreciate the values of respect, kindness, and empathy and integrate them into their daily lives, and to comprehend the importance of working together to help individuals and communities grow stronger.