The Mission
OF ECHO HORIZON SCHOOL AND ITS ECHO CENTER is to educate children in a collaborative environment that is academically challenging and developmentally appropriate. We actively promote mutual respect, individual responsibility, and ethical action. The Echo Horizon graduate is an inquisitive and critical thinker who brings creativity, kindness, and self-reliance to the life long journey of learning.
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Dear Prospective Family, Greetings from Echo Horizon School, a Pre-K–6 independent elementary school located in the arts district of Culver City. We are excited to welcome you to our vibrant community! When seeking a school for your family, you want to find one that matches your values, beliefs, and aspirations—what author and anthropologist Simon Sinek calls a place “that believes what you believe.” At Echo Horizon, our academic standards are high, yet our school is not a pressure cooker— far from it, in fact. Parents describe the Echo Horizon community as caring, kind, and downto-earth. Our intentionally small, inclusive school gives students the freedom to explore, question, take risks, and imagine. Here, children are safe from unhealthy pressure and given the space to be children. Echo Horizon is home to our renowned Echo Center. Fifteen percent of our students are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH). Through the Echo Center, they use spoken language and hearing technology and learn and play alongside their hearing peers. This model benefits both hearing and DHH students. All of our students experience other ways of living in the world and develop empathy and an appreciation of difference. Equity and inclusion are core values at Echo Horizon. We believe that our school should truly reflect the world in which we live. Fifty percent of our students identify as people of color and over fifty percent of our administration does too. Our students graduate as global citizens, able to view the world through multiple perspectives. I invite you to experience our joyful, engaged, learning community. We look forward to meeting you and beginning a wonderful partnership!
PEGGY PROCTER Head of School
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A Unique
Education At Echo Horizon, we are elementary-school experts who focus purely on the elementary school experience.
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Our interdisciplinary academic curriculum is tailored to the needs of Pre-K–6 students. Echo Horizon’s curriculum is a unique blend of the “best of both worlds”: the strongest structures and programs of traditional education with the best researched and evidencetested innovation. Our approach to education encompasses the whole child, so our teaching recognizes the individual needs of each student. Our classrooms honor and support different types of learners within the same family. Echo Horizon students graduate with character traits and academic skills that take them to the top middle and high schools in the greater Los Angeles area. They are lifelong learners whose curiosity and imagination lead to critical thinking, exploration, and engagement.
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Our Kind, Caring
COMMUNI 04
Any discussion of Echo Horizon must first start with place. Our community is rooted in kindness, respect, and empathy. Every child at Echo Horizon is known, cared for, and forever after part of the Echo Horizon family. A school community can model the ways empathy and kindness support understanding and connections between those with whom we share similarities and differences. We believe that everyone, from our youngest scholars to our most experienced learners, will flourish in a community guided by these principles.
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Social-Emotional Learning The Social-Emotional Learning and Mindfulness Program is a core component of an Echo Horizon School education. We believe in nurturing a child’s character and ethical compass and developing social-emotional skills. This will help ensure that each child grows up to be a good citizen, a good friend, and a good partner—as well as someone who is engaged in a continuous process of personal growth. We believe that there are positive social and emotional traits and practices that can be nurtured and taught, and which have lifelong positive impacts. These include curiosity, creativity, collaboration, leadership, gratitude, conflict resolution, and a growth mindset. As an example, our sixth-graders are buddies for our kindergarten students and our fifth-graders are buddies for our Pre-K students. The bonds they develop benefit both older and younger students—our elder scholars become mentors and caretakers, our youngest enjoy learning from their older buddies.
Parent Association Involvement Our Parent Association is a vital part of our strong and inclusive community. It serves as a bridge between parents, faculty, and administration. Every parent is a member and all are encouraged to bring their passion, wisdom, expertise, and insights to a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout the school year. These include being a room parent, planning events, serving hot lunch, staffing the annual book fair, and so much more. Participating in Parent Association events is a wonderful way to be involved in the school, contribute to our community, and meet other Echo Horizon families.
Community Engagement and Service Learning Through community partnerships and engagement opportunities, students, faculty, and families at Echo Horizon build relationships and deepen our understanding of self and others. Community engagement and service learning programs mold responsible and action-oriented citizens who have a sense of purpose and growth. Our program includes ongoing and sustainable partnerships with local community organizations and curriculum crafted to connect grade-level classroom goals with the mission and needs of our community partners.
Parent Engagement Events We host and sponsor regular parent engagement meetings and events. Speaker series events include Dr. Dolly Klock on child development and puberty; Dr. Donald E. Grant, Jr. on diversity, equity, and inclusion; Peggy Orenstein on the challenges facing children in today’s culture, monthly community conversations with school leadership, and more.
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Echo Horizon has an intentional program to ensure that diversity includes equity and inclusivity.
We know that the needs of Pre-K–6 in DEI are quite different from those of older children, so we work with experts in the field of DEI to ensure that we are up to date on best practices and well-prepared to deliver multicultural, diversity responsive curriculum and instruction.
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The skills and habits of mind students need in today’s world demand a diversified curriculum. Students should have multiple perspectives for current events, historical events, and heroes. Echo Horizon embeds DEI into the curricular content. Classroom conversations challenge students to stretch, wonder, engage, and question
their assumptions. This helps build community and an understanding of commonalities and differences. Echo Horizon’s teachers always approach issues in a developmentally appropriate way and have the support of our DEI Committee, which is made up of teachers, staff, and parents. Echo Horizon also embeds DEI into the life of its community. Family events such as Echo Center Family Education Nights invite the whole community to learn more about the experience of being deaf and hard of hearing; parent events, such as Fathers’ Night, allow
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All the research shows that in order for children to access academic learning they must first feel safe. The old mission of a school was to educate the mind. Now schools know that they need to educate the whole child, and that can only happen in an environment where students feel free to explore their identities, ask questions, and share their commonalities and differences.� — PEGGY PROCTER Head of School
fathers to get to know one another on a deeper level; and the student-created Cultural Cooking Club invites families to share food from their cultures. Above all, DEI brings the community of Echo Horizon together, reinforcing its appreciation for diverse voices and viewpoints. This helps ensure that all the children at Echo Horizon are treated fairly, equally, and seen as vibrant human beings able to live and reach their fullest potential.
Our DEI initiatives are led by Isabel Sanchez and Roger Bridges
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The
ECHO CENTER The Echo Center is a program that supports students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) in the mastery of listening and spoken language. Fifteen percent of Echo Horizon’s students are DHH and use hearing technology. Through the Echo Center program, they are fully included and learn alongside their hearing peers, who make up 85 percent of the school.
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Echo Horizon School was founded in 1983 by Carol Proctor and Kent Landsberg, but the Echo Center is even older—it was established in 1970. Although the Echo Center is for DHH students, all of our students benefit from this unique educational model.
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How Does the Echo Center Benefit All Students? Hearing and DHH students learn and play together, developing empathy, an appreciation of difference, and enhanced communication skills, such as always being sure to make eye contact when speaking. All students learn and practice self-advocacy skills and thoughtful communication so that they keep the needs of others in mind when they speak and play. General education teachers and Echo Center teachers work together, which allows for differentiation through small group instruction, scaffolding language, and checking for understanding. In addition, classroom hearing technology helps all students clearly hear the person who is speaking.
How Do Echo Center Students Learn in the Classroom? Our Echo Center students don’t use sign language in school. They use hearing technology to listen and speak. The hearing technology is both personal (hearing devices such as cochlear implants, hearing aids, or BAHA) and classroom (the Roger DM system). DHH students have Echo Center teachers who work with them in the classroom, in addition to their general education teacher. All Echo Center teachers have master’s degrees from accredited training programs that specialize in the listening and spoken language approach of deaf education and have a California DHH Specialist credential.
The Echo Center does a great job teaching our students advocacy skills, public speaking skills, and effective communication with their peers and teachers. I work with the kids each day, helping them to advocate for themselves and to know that they can do so in any environment. Nothing makes me realize the impact of my teaching more than having my students ready to graduate with the confidence and skills to succeed in whatever they choose for the next stage of their lives.” — JENNIFER MASCOLO Pre-K and Kindergarten Echo Center Teacher
What Is the Purpose of this Educational Model? The Echo Center is not only a unique program, it is the foundation of our school. Echo Horizon School was founded on the idea of an inclusive, diverse education and our community lives that every day. Our graduates are caring, kind, upstanders who strive to make the world a better place for us all.
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Inquiry x 2 Innovation=i
Design thinking at Echo Horizon isn’t about product, it’s about process. It’s not about making a robot or an invention—it’s about the problem you are designing for and your approach to solving it. It’s ok when designs don’t yet work! You learn by trying, and at Echo Horizon, the emphasis is on figuring things out.
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The learning is student-driven because that’s what interests students most. For young children, Dr. Patterson may start a workshop with characters presenting a problem and
how the problem affects them. Then each child chooses a character to design for. Creating a product while thinking of others ends up being a profound and meaningful experience for children. Dr. Patterson says that you can ask Pre-K students to draw a car and they will spend two minutes doing so. But if they choose a character to design for, they will spend 40 minutes drawing, because it’s about their choice and interests. And when they do creative work together, they get to know one another better and appreciate differences.
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The most important things we make are decisions. The most important things we build are relationships.” — D R . S A M PAT T E R S O N Maker/STEAM Coordinator
Placing design thinking and the needs of others at the center of i2 empowers students to invent things beyond our imaginations. For example, Dr. Patterson’s students connected with a class in Portland, Oregon. They learned that they share some of the same problems, such as getting to school on time or keeping siblings out of their rooms. The fifth graders created solutions— from pillows with embedded alarms to automated sibling management systems!
“A great thing about our student-choice rich environment is that as the students get older, they come up with more and more of their own projects,” says Dr. Patterson. “I had an older
student who wanted to build an angler fish puppet. It took a lot of prototypes and rethinking. It was really cool! When he got it done it was an amazing puppet that I couldn’t have made on my own. Those kinds of things happen pretty regularly.”
Dr. Patterson emphasizes that it’s ok for students to get frustrated when projects don’t work and need to be rethought. That too is part of the process. It’s what happens when students don’t have step-by-step instructions. He and the students are never working on a short-term project. The project is really about their year together and their time at the school. Together, Dr. Patterson and Echo Horizon students build learning experiences that go beyond “done.”
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Technology INTEGRATION
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At Echo Horizon, technology helps us connect, create, and further our learning. We support students in mindful technology use from the earliest days of Pre-K through Grade 6. Our technology always serves a curricular purpose— whether it’s to help students record data, present research findings, share information, or deepen their understanding. When students learn programs in the Technology Center, they go on to use them in classroom projects. Teachers create a safe space for children to explore technology and try programs that allow for further engagement and differentiated learning. There is no onesize-fits-all approach to the classroom use of technology—it’s integral to the learning and specific to the needs of each student.
Students from Pre-K–6th grade have 1:1 access to iPads in the classroom and laptops in our Technology Center. Children in G4–6 also take their devices home to allow them to work on long-term projects and assignments issued through Google Classroom. The students are taught how to be digital citizens who use their technology responsibly. From vetting their sources to engaging with classrooms and students around the world, we enhance learning opportunities through purposeful tech integration.
Our youngest Pre-K students may begin by exploring coding through simple games, learning how to use software to trace letters and record data for their parents. As they get older, they gain more autonomy and self-direction in their technology use. Students communicate digitally with other classrooms around the world, choose the technology they use for classroom projects, and bring in their favorite programs to share with the class. They learn about online safety, digital citizenship, and best practices for research. Here, technology is a tool that helps us communicate and express ourselves. We build the skill set and students go forth with the knowledge.
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Global
ARTS
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GRADE 3–GRADE 6 In what ways can I express myself? How do we bridge divides? What does it mean to be a citizen of the world? These are just some of the questions that our Grade 3–6 scholars explore in the ALAS program. Children grow up in a world that is globally connected and it’s vital that they have the skills that allow them to thrive in it. The word alas is Spanish for “wings.” Our younger students established the roots of their learning in the arts. In grades 3–6, they try out their wings and begin to fly. ALAS—which stands for Appreciation & Learning Through Arts & Spanish—is an integrated, team-taught program that combines Spanish language and cultures, visual arts, and performing arts with service and community engagement. We work collaboratively to create compelling curriculum for deeper, more connected learning. With the aid of diverse community partners, we incorporate local and global partnerships into our work.
The arts give children the opportunity to share emotion, impart information, better understand themselves, and connect with others. As they learn, our students grow the necessary roots of the foundational skills that will nourish and support them in their academic journey.”
PRE-K–GRADE 2
— KRISTEN REYNA Visual Arts Teacher
We know that arts give us joy, inspire us, provoke questions, and allow us to express ourselves. But what is the best way to teach the arts in a globally connected world? In our Pre-K–Grade 2 curriculum, we integrate arts education with core academics while maintaining the integrity of each arts discipline. We believe that the discovery of connections between global arts and other subject areas creates a deeper understanding of each. Students use a variety of media in visual art to communicate meaning and intent in original works while considering the elements of art, the principles of design, and aesthetic quality. In music, active and joyful students learn to sing, play, understand, and create through the Orff-Shulwerk approach. Performing arts nourishes children’s development by integrating their physical, sensory, and emotional selves. Using the same elements of dance and theater, children observe and reflect upon themselves, those around them, and the world.
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Joyful
READING Our library is a warm, welcoming haven for students, presided over by longtime and beloved librarian Mrs. Claudette Brown.
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Mrs. Brown reads to every class and knows what books each student likes. She invites authors for regular visits, hosts lunchtime book clubs, leads students in an annual poetry slam, and engages our whole community in the annual Book Fair and Celebration of Books. Students hold a school-wide Book Award project, in which they vote for their favorite books in various categories. A committee of sixth-grade students leads the Celebration of Books, which inspires reading and self-expression at all levels.
Students visit the library with their classes and can also come during recess to enjoy over 17,000 books on the shelves.
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Our Sports and Wellness program promotes the physical, mental, and emotional health of each student. Our students learn necessary gross motor, fine motor, and sports-based skills, while practicing cooperation, fair play, and inclusion. We give equal importance to learning techniques of mindfulness and wellness, as these will sustain students for a lifetime.
Sports and Wellness
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ATHLETICS
Echo Horizon students in grades 4-6 can participate in afterschool athletics with regular practices and competitive games. We emphasize equity and inclusivity, character education, collaboration, fair play, and a growth mindset. The Athletics program has a “no cut� policy; all students who want to participate on a sports team can join, with equal playing time for all students. Sports offered include Co-ed Flag Football, Girls Basketball, Boys Basketball, Girls Volleyball, Boys Volleyball, Co-ed Soccer, and Co-ed Track and Field. Students also have the opportunity to participate in interscholastic competition as part of the Coastal Canyon League.
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THE ECHO HORIZON
GRADUATE 20
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Our alumni have been accepted to the most exceptional secondary schools in the greater Los Angeles area, including:
Accomplished, inclusive, passionate, curious, collaborative, brilliant, creative. These are just some of the words that secondary school directors use to describe our scholars. Echo Horizon alumni go on to be scientists, athletes, artists, and changemakers who have the intellectual curiosity, resourcefulness, and courage they need to improve the world for future generations.
The Archer School for Girls Brentwood School The Buckley School Campbell Hall School Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences Geffen Academy at UCLA Harvard-Westlake School Marlborough School Milken Community Schools New Roads School Oakwood School TREE Academy Wildwood School Windward School
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AfterSchool
Enrichment Classes and Recreation Program Echo Horizon’s AfterSchool Program includes enrichment classes and recreation time.
Echo Horizon has an intentional program to ensure that diversity includes equity and inclusivity.
Our program helps students develop physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Children take part in a balanced, sequential program of ageappropriate activities such as fitness, cooperative games, and cultural projects. They learn and practice invaluable life skills such as respect, responsibility, empathy, and fair play while having a great time and making friends.
Enrichment Classes • O ffered on a trimester basis with a typical course lasting 10–12 weeks. • C lasses include Girls Club, Yearbook, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, Basketball, and more!
Recreation Program • O ffered five days a week until 6 PM and on parent/teacher conference days. • T he daily schedule includes a circuit rotation of games, crafts/ projects, quiet-space time, free play, and snack.
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How to
APPLY Our Approach to Admission
The Application Process
Echo Horizon School strives to ensure that our school community accurately reflects the vibrant city of Los Angeles. To achieve this goal, we look for students from a broad diversity of backgrounds and perspectives to help enrich our educational environment. We design our admission process to be easy and informative, with every applying family having multiple opportunities to visit the school and get to know us.
Applying to Echo Horizon School is easy. Our application and all supporting forms are available on our website at www.echohorizon.org. The Admission Team is always available to assist you as you complete the admission process. Please contact us at admission@ echohorizon.org or (310) 838-2442.
Getting to Know Us We strongly encourage you to visit Echo Horizon for an Open House and a Small Group Tour. The Open House gives a comprehensive view of our program and provides an opportunity for families to hear from Head of School Peggy Procter and our Leadership Team. Small Group Tours are more intimate and allow you to see every classroom in action. We also host a handful of other admission events designed to introduce you to our faculty and staff, as well as our wonderful parent community.
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Affording an Echo Horizon Education The investment in an independent school education for your child is an important family decision. Echo Horizon School is committed to assisting families with affordability through our Tuition Assistance Program. This program is one of the many ways we are able to welcome a broader range of families into our program. Tuition Assistance forms are also readily available on our website.
Echo Horizon School 3430 McManus Avenue • Culver City, CA 90232 (310) 838-2442 • www.echohorizon.org
Accreditation Statement: Echo Horizon School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs, and the Enrollment Management Association. Echo Horizon School does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, gender, marital status, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.