Curriculum & Ongoing Development

Our curriculum is not the standard found in most schools where each subject is taught separately, usually using lectures and memorization. Instead we engage your children through our innovative curriculum, created by professionals in the fields of Gender and Women Studies, Education, and Developmental Psychology.     

  • Gender and Racial Equity

  • Relevant

  • Hands-on

  • Project-based

Finnish-Inspired Educational Model

A Finnish education is rooted in respect for and collaboration between teachers who are experts in their fields; research-based education practices which focus on the well-being of the child and creating a joyful learning experience; and ensuring education is equitable in that learning is individualized to the maximum extent possible. The VSL curriculum is inspired by this Finnish model and is representative of and therefore accessible to students from different backgrounds, the education is developmentally appropriate, and all students are provided the resources they need to learn, succeed and be challenged. In addition to implementing these principles in VSL classrooms, we weave curriculum on gender and racial equity into learning beginning in kindergarten.

VSL believes that direct instruction can include discovery-based and hands-on learning. Thus, we have selected our comprehensive math and science curricula to align with this approach to education. Our teachers are not limited to these curricula, but they do serve as a foundational framework for these subjects.

  • Junior Kindergarten & Kindergarten – VSL has implemented a Finnish-style, play-based early childhood curriculum which covers all subjects these early learners need.

  • Grades 1-8 Math – We incorporate the Mindset Mathematics curriculum that provides hands-on discovery of mathematic principles and ensures challenging learning for children who love math as well as those who are convinced that they are bad at math. The curriculum focuses on fostering a growth mindset in mathematics and understanding that math is a creative, engaging field.

  • Grades 1-8 Science – VSL uses Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding that follows structured learning progressions that build knowledge and develop understanding in systematic incremental steps. Through hands-on experience and real-world observations, students are inspired to stretch their thinking and draw conclusions. Overtime, BFSU helps students to develop scientific thinking and logical reasoning.

  • High School Grades – We use a combination of proven curriculum, area experts, and resources based on individual need, project scope, and content. We also have Inspire Science and Interactive Mathematics Program texts available to students. 

Mixed-Age Classrooms

VSL has mixed-age classrooms. Such an arrangement ensures that teachers expect students to enter school at a wide range of skill levels and, therefore, prepare lessons and activities that will challenge each student in the class. Mixed-age classrooms also allow students to stay with the same teacher for more than one year, facilitating more student progress and growth. Finally, mixing ages has demonstrated wonderful benefits in terms of outcomes, building confidence and collaborative abilities through learning from classmates, and experiencing a variety of perspectives.

Curriculum Development Committee

The Village School of Louisville is doing something really new and different in terms of educating children, so we knew we couldn’t implement our entire curriculum off the shelf. We are inspired by the Finnish model, and education in Finland is supported by a team of experts in relevant disciplines. We decided to adapt this model of collaborative expertise and create a Curriculum Development Committee. This committee was comprised of graduate and upper level undergraduate students in the relevant disciplines, such as education, women and gender studies, and developmental psychology and was led by VSL Board members. This committee built a curriculum scaffolding of the academic and anti-bias skills children learn at VSL at each academic level. VSL teachers then fill in this scaffolding with particular lessons and materials. The Curriculum Development Committee completed its work in April 2021. New committees will be formed in the future, as needed.