Escalante-Biggs Academy, a Denver Public School’s Early Education Center, provides preschool and kindergarten students with a strong foundation for academic success. Our principal, teachers, and staff are experts in early childhood education, where we foster excellence in a nurturing, play-based environment. We prioritize students, uphold integrity, and promote equity, focusing on collaboration, accountability, and joy. We create a vibrant space where diverse learners thrive and develop a lifelong passion for learning.
We use Tools of the Mind Curriculum, Heggerty and TS Gold. The combination of these curriculums help build children’s confidence, creativity and critical thinking in the areas of Reading, Writing and Math and promote positive outcomes.
Amplify-CKLA/Caminos is the curriculum that is offered. It is a K–5 literacy curriculum that inspires curiosity and drives results, empowering all students with rich background knowledge. We also use Heggerty to build phonemic awareness and develop early reading and writing skills.
Bridges is the math program used to support all students in developing a strong mathematical foundation. Bridges provides the guidance, materials, and tools for building mathematical thinkers.
EL Achieve is the curriculum used during our daily designated English Language Development (ELD) block.
ELA-S classrooms are designed for Spanish-speaking students. The majority of instruction is taught in Spanish and a portion of instruction is taught in English. *Please note this program is not designed to teach kids Spanish.
ELA-E classrooms are for native English speakers as well as students who speak many different languages, including Spanish, and want to learn English. Instruction is taught in English all day.
All students participate in specials every day. Students rotate weeks between Physical Education and Visual Arts with the goal of helping kids stay healthy and develop an appreciation for creativity.
Social and emotional development is extremely important, therefore, we partner with Incredible Years. Every class utilizes Second Step curriculum daily for 20 minutes. Second Step® programs help students build social-emotional skills—like nurturing positive relationships, managing emotions, and setting goals—so they can thrive in school and in life.
In order to support all students academically, a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is implemented. Students who are below grade level receive additional instruction in reading/writing and or math. Additionally, students who are advanced receive instruction above grade level. These supports take place in both regular and intervention classrooms.
We are committed to creating and promoting a culture of excellence, in which Every Child Succeeds. As we build towards a district wide pre-k through 12 continuum of services for Gifted and Talented students, we commit to understanding characteristics of giftedness as well as embracing the identification process in early childhood. Our instructional practices focus on elevating rigor and differentiation through questioning, understanding the unique social emotional and affective needs of gifted students, and reflecting on our practices through ongoing data analysis. We celebrate our diversity and will provide the necessary resources and support to eliminate barriers to success and foster a more equitable future for students. We acknowledge the bias in systems of gifted and talented identification and are working towards equitable practices for identification and programming for all students in our school family. Our teachers build strong relationships with students, which enables them to look for characteristics of giftedness in all students including our BIPOC students who may be under identified.
We plan to meet these goals by intentionally planning opportunities that celebrate success with our students as we embrace the joy in our work. By fostering joy and passion for learning our students develop background knowledge, learn to problem solve, engage, and grow as individuals. Our instructional focus on how to support students targets rigorous questioning and intentional developmentally appropriate play. We create educational environments that are joyful, rigorous, and personalized to the individual strengths and needs of each student. Through our partnerships with families and the community, we have developed equitable pathways for gifted students to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally in our supportive learning environment.