School-age

Directly from the owner and director, Rachel Sugarman,

 

"Over 19 years of serving as a public educator in Maine, I have learned that many barriers exist to providing meaningful, engaging, and appropriately challenging learning experiences for all students. Some of these challenges include competing curriculum priorities in a post-COVID world, limited instructional time, staffing shortages, and the difficulty of meeting the diverse academic needs of learners within a traditional classroom setting.

 

At Miss Sugarman's School for Extraordinary Children (SSEC), we believe curriculum should be flexible, engaging, and responsive to the children in front of us. Learning is most meaningful when students are active participants in the process—asking questions, solving problems, exploring their interests, and making connections across subject areas. SSEC provides interdisciplinary academic and arts enrichment through creative problem-solving, STEAM experiences, project-based learning (PBL), literacy-rich activities, and hands-on exploration. Rather than relying solely on a one-size-fits-all approach, our curriculum is designed to nurture curiosity, encourage critical thinking, and provide opportunities for children to learn at an appropriate level of challenge.

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Children's interests, strengths, and emerging skills help shape the learning experiences we provide. Through meaningful projects, collaborative learning opportunities, and authentic real-world connections, students develop the academic, creative, and problem-solving skills needed to become confident, capable learners. Our goal is to complement and strengthen the learning that takes place in the home and traditional school environment while inspiring a lifelong love of learning."