Our Five Guiding Principles

One :: Academic Excellence: Our curriculum is based on the Core Knowledge Sequence developed by E. D. Hirsch,* whose philosophy states that teachers should impart to children the cultural knowledge that should be common to all the members of a particular society in order for that culture to thrive. In the case of the American culture, this means American and world history, geography, American and classic world literature, scientific principles and math skills and concepts. The Core Knowledge Sequence relies heavily on factual content rather than “touchy-feely” soft subjects such as “social studies” and politically influenced science. The students are considered intellectual enough to learn difficult (and interesting) content, and are expected to think. With our approach to academics we hope to increase the percentage of our students who qualify for honors/advanced classes in ninth grade.

Two :: Balance of Learning and Fun: The teachers at Bennett enjoy teaching, and make an effort to make it fun when possible. Our after schools sports activities - football, volleyball, basketball and softball or soccer are fun for all involved, including the parents. Ruby Tuesday is a wonderful class conducted at the end of the week for an hour, and it will be anything fun! For example, cake decorating, baking, quilting, video games, board games, and outside games. And, of course, we have dances for the middle school students. Our National Junior Honor Society takes a walk to Sonic at the end of each month. Some classes challenge each other to soccer or basketball games. For family fun, attend our Culture Fair in November.

Three :: Cleanliness and Orderliness: You will not see gum wads, food or pop spills on our sidewalks. Litter? It won’t stay on the ground for long. You will see our younger students walking in neat lines to the lunchroom or the playground. We maintain order at all times, even when we are having fun. This helps children feel more secure.

Four :: Community Service: Currently our community service projects include the National Junior Honor Society member students going to the Beatitudes Center every other week to spend time with the residents, exposing children to a different age group and social setting. Grade 5 conducts Litter Patrol on our campus and on 29th Avenue. Teachers and their students will determine their own community service projects this year.

Five :: A Safe and Healthy Environment: Good health to the Bennetts starts with mental and emotional health, and so we do not allow headsets or Ipods or any other devise at school that might be a conduit of degrading lyrics to your child’s brain. We respect our children and will work to keep them safe from the influences that bombard them in lyrics and on the internet. We do not sell soda or candy except for special occasions. You pack your child’s lunch and we think you will feed them what they will eat, meaning they will get better nutrition than they would by throwing away the school lunch. We occasionally have a bully at the school, and we work to help that child change his or her behavior, but if that doesn't happen, we release that child from our environment.


* The Core Knowledge Foundation
* E. D. Hirsch, Jr.