Shaare Torah Kindergarten (STK) is a private kindergarten program that provides a kindergarten curriculum in a warm, nurturing environment tailored to each child’s individual learning and development. STK prepares students for 1st grade using the same curriculum and benchmarks as Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). STK teachers guide their small classes through their kindergarten journey by scaffolding each child’s learning according to their own unique pace and learning style, supporting and challenging each student to succeed to their full potential.
STK is a private school licensed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Nonpublic Schools Approval Branch. STK is a separate school from Shaare Torah Early Childhood Center (STECC). STK is a secular kindergarten program, not a Judaic or Hebrew immersion kindergarten.
Our teachers have degrees in early childhood education (preschool-3rd grade) or elementary education (Kindergarten-5th grade) with experience teaching Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade.
We follow MCPS Kindergarten benchmarks. We use the same math curriculum as MCPS, Eureka Math. For English Language Arts (ELA), we use the Learning A-Z curriculum, which uses the same reading levels and assessments as MCPS.
We group students into ELA groups and math groups that optimize their learning while providing opportunities for social-emotional learning. Teachers provide guided reading and guided math in addition to independent work.
In addition to ELA and math, our curriculum includes science, social studies, art, music, physical education, and more. Small class sizes and individualized instruction mean that we meet each learner where they are, provide all of the support needed, and challenge them to learn and grow.
We foster independence and responsible citizenship in the way the children care for themselves, their belongings, their materials, their classroom, and each other. We emphasize teamwork and collaboration. Much of our learning is driven by playing games together.
