What is the KPM Approach to Children?
The KPM Approach to Children addresses the student's integrated personal, social, and academic development.  Fundamentally, it is about how adults regard children, and can be applied any time adults and children interact.  Sri Atmananda Memorial School implements this approach in an educational setting.  The nature of the relationship between the teacher and the child is at the heart of the KPM Approach to Children. The teacher values the child unconditionally, and treats the child with unfailing regard for his/her feelings and opinions. In this trusting relationship with the teacher, the child feels safe and open to express and explore his interests, gains self-confidence and is free to develop to his potential.  The process of how students develop personally, socially, and academically can be seen in the Four Basic Aims.  

Why is parent-school collaboration important?
Educating a child in a KPM School requires parent/school collaboration.  Good communiation between school and parents provides consistency for students in all areas of development.  It is important for both the school and parents to offer opportunities for children to learn and encourage them, but not impose adult expectations.

Parents are advised to learn how to best support their child's experience at school through ongoing parent education.  To find out more about the admissions process, go to School Admissions.

What are the Four Basic Aims of a KPM Teacher?
The Four Basic Aims describe the role of the teacher in a KPM School. The first and foremost aim of a KPM teacher is to build a relationship of trust with the children. The second aim is to enter the child’s world, which means wholeheartedly joining in the children’s activities and interests. The third aim is for the teacher to be aware of the children’s interests and developmental needs. The fourth aim involves nurturing these developmental needs through their interests. When a teacher is looking for a way to introduce skills or topics to a child, following his interest means being ready to suggest ideas, guide the child in certain directions, and expand and develop his activities, skills or talents.  When any subject is pursued with interest, learning is easy and automatic.  Interest is an important motivator for chldren.  When the children's interests are known and followed, the teacher can introduce curriculum topics, and expand the children's interests.  Learning then will be enjoyable for the child.  More about the Four Basic Aims.    

What licenses/accreditation does Sri Atmananda Memorial School have?
Sri Atmananda Memorial School, Austin, is accredited and licensed to apply the KPM Approach to Children by Atma Vidya Educational Foundation (AVEF), the charitable organization that operates the model school in India. The school is also accredited by the National Private Schools Accreditation Alliance (NPSAA).

How does the process work at the various grade levels?
In the first year, a child at Sri Atmananda Memorial School adjusts to school and develops relationships with teachers and friends. In the Lower Primary (LP), which houses grades K-3,  the main aim is the children’s happiness and development of a love of learning. The Upper Primary (UP) provides activities that accommodate the longer attention span of 4th through 6th grade students.   In the Junior High and High School, the students pursue subjects in-depth and meet in formal classes but with a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. There are also options for independent study as well as apprentice and internship opportunities.  The child is an integrated learner and develops personally, socially, and academically starting in kindergarten and continuing through to the 12th grade.

How is your method different?
The core of this approach is unconditionally valuing the child.  The relationship between the teacher and the student is the basis of any positive learning experience.  We all know this from our own personal experience, as we think about peak moments when a teacher really saw who we were and responded to that.  What is unique about KPM schools is that this trusting relationship is the heart of all interactions.   All aspects of the school are geared toward creating a learning environment that encourages the child’s relaxation and openness and ability to follow his or her own interest at his or her pace.  The end result is children who are whole people, know themselves, and have the skills to meet the challenges of daily life.

How does this approach compare with other education models?
The KPM Approach to Children requires teachers to value the thoughts and feelings of their students unconditionally.  This emphasis on the child's integrity is unique.  In Vital Impressions,  a  2004 report by Dr. Gary Borich of The University of Texas at Austin, the KPM approach was compared and contrasted to two popular progressive educational approaches, Waldorf and Montessori.   See the comparison or read the full Borich Report.

If you let a child follow their own interest, what if they show no interest in mathematics?
Our experience shows that children are interested in everything, but in their own way.  Learning is inevitable for children.  They have a natural curiosity to learn new things.  The teachers prepare interesting activities and take advantage of any opportunity to introduce science, math, reading and other areas of the curriculum in the course of younger children's play. For example, children playing with cars can be helped to make license plates, calculate miles per hour, or measure the gallons of gasoline needed to get to a destination.   Children interested in sports can discuss and research their favorite teams and make a presentation for their fellow students.  Older children can explore topics relevant to their current interests or future goals.   With a student teacher ratio of 4 to 1, each child's progress is carefully followed to ensure academic, social and personal needs are met.  By the upper grades, most children are generally open to learning about all subjects and see the benefits of studying.  Children take responsibility for their own learning under the guidance of the teacher.

You say that the children are free to do what they like, but how will they adjust to the "real world" when they leave school?
Although the children have a sense of freedom, the relationship they have with their teachers allows the teachers to guide their interests in constructive directions.  Students are able to function well in the real world because the attention, support, and guidance they receive as children help them develop the strength and self-confidence to meet challenges in life.  Beginning at the UP level, the students participate in a self assessment to help them evaluate any skills they may want to develop.  A school employing the KPM Apporach to Children is a microcosm of the "real world," not compartmentalized into classrooms and subject.  They also develop the ingrained systems thinking, decision making, and problem solving skills from the hands on learning environment.  They develop abilities whlch enable them to move well in society, and relate academic topics and their personal interactions to the world around them.  With the help of teachers, the children are allowed to confront and learn from such situations.  These skills are important to functioning effectively in the world of today and tomorrow.

Your approach calls for many teachers for your students. How is that affordable?
With a long term view, how can we afford not to? Can we put a price on honoring the integrity and wholeness of the individual?  We put our resources into teachers and not into remediation. This approach is cost-effective over the long term and can reduce the costs of remedial education, as well as help prevent behavioral problems that lead to social ills. We also offset the cost of teacher resources by creatively utilizing community resources, parent involvement, and through older children mentoring younger ones.  

What are the staff’s qualifications?
First of all, they all love children and enjoy working in an environment where children feel like they are in charge.  Many  trained in the KPM Approach to Children at the model school in India.  They continue to learn through their experiences with the children, ongoing staff development, and close communication with the trainers at the model school.

What grades are offered by the school?
Kindergarten through 12th grade.  Admission is open to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade.

How do the children prepare for college entrance exams such as the SAT?
At the high school level, the curriculum follows a traditional college preparatory program.  All students are encouraged to plan to attend college and test prep classes are offered prior to the PSAT and SAT as well as other standardized examinations.   Our first class of seniors graduated in June of 2007 and all have gone on to attend colleges and universities.