The devoted community at Bryant School of Arts and Innovation has embraced a collaborative, engaging and domain-based approach to learning.
After extensive review, we are glad to include Bryant School of Arts and Innovation among our Core Knowledge Schools of Distinction due to the following qualities:
- Content Integration Across Subjects and Grade Levels
- Collaborative Planning and Implementation Processes
About Bryant School of Arts and Innovation
Bryant School of Arts and Innovation is located in Riverside, California and part of the Riverside Unified school district. Over 100 years old, the school takes pride in its rich history and lasting reputation for high-achieving and well-rounded students. The school accommodates approximately 340 students in kindergarten through grade 6.
Bryant School and Core Knowledge Foundation
The mission of Bryant School of Arts and Innovation is to provide each and every student a clear, focused, and high-quality academic experience that meets the rigor of grade level standards as set forth by the Riverside Unified School District and the State of California. They found that the best way to meet this mission is to align with the mission of Core Knowledge — to advance excellence and equity in education for all children.
Bryant School has been utilizing the Core Knowledge curriculum since 2011 and has been a Core Knowledge School of Distinction since 2017. The school started with the Core Knowledge Sequence and now also implements the full range of Core Knowledge curricula, including Core Knowledge Language Arts, History and Geography, and Science.
“We choose Core Knowledge because it provides our staff the opportunity to provide students in the Bryant community with a quality education. This opportunity affords students the ability to develop cultural literacy and critical thinking skills through engaging and connected content, in order to be best prepared in their educational pathway.”
Natanya Johnson, Principal of Bryant School
Content Integration Across Subjects and Grade Levels
At Bryant School, the teachers and staff work diligently to ensure instruction is content-rich, coherent, cumulative, and taught in a context-specific way.
Grade Level Content Integration
Students are exposed to rich content starting in Kindergarten, which builds a strong foundation for later learning. For example, the study of plants in CKLA and CKSci in the primary grades prepare students in subsequent grades to build upon this foundation and expand their learning with hands-on experiments.
Students in fourth grade perform an experiment and analyze the absorption of colored water in celery sticks. Using their prior knowledge of plants, students are able to theorize the cause of the scientific phenomena.
Content Integration Across Subjects
While Core Knowledge curriculum and implementation naturally integrate content across various subject areas, Bryant School also integrates content within classes in its Specials rotation, including art, music and technology.
With lessons based on the Core Knowledge Sequence, the Specials teachers collaborate with grade-level teachers to ensure topics align with what’s taught in the classroom.
For example, Kindergarten students begin the school year learning primary colors and lines in art class. During the second trimester, as kindergarteners are learning about Native Americans in their primary class, they create totem poles during art lessons. The students use primary and secondary colors, along with lines and shapes.
Collaborative Planning and Implementation Processes
Through strategic planning, collaboration, and use of Core Knowledge curriculum resources (CKLA, CKSci, CKHG, Core Knowledge Teacher Guides, Core Knowledge Sequence), the team at Bryant School ensures that the Core Knowledge approach is implemented school-wide.
With regular planning meetings, school resources and support, the school encourages constant collaboration amongst the teaching staff, support staff, and administration. The creation of planning and instructional resources through these collaborations also lends itself to a more structured implementation of the Core Knowledge program school wide. It’s accomplished both within and across grade levels, allowing students to build on strong knowledge foundations.
On special occasions, grade levels will share what they learned with the whole school after wrapping up a unit. For example, when Grade 4 finished their unit on Ancient China, they treated the whole school to a Dragon Parade to demonstrate what they’d learned.
Visit Bryant School of Arts and Innovation
To learn more about effectively implementing Core Knowledge at your school, consider visiting or speaking with the administration at Bryant School of Arts and Innovation. Check out their Facebook page and school website to learn more about this outstanding school and see how to contact school leadership for a visit.