Looking Back, Looking Ahead: A Year of Growth at Serendipity

From Liz Jaroslow, Director of Teaching and Learning

As we come to the close of another school year, I find myself reflecting on just how much we have accomplished together. In the day-to-day rhythm of school life, it can be easy to move from one moment to the next , from morning meetings to field trips, from classroom projects to performances, from conferences to report cards, without pausing to notice the larger story taking shape.

And this year, that story is one of growth, clarity, and deepening purpose.

At Serendipity, we believe children learn best when they are known, challenged, supported, and invited to take an active role in their own learning. We strive to foster curiosity and creativity, by empowering children to explore, grow and ask questions. This year, we continued to bring those ideals to life in visible and meaningful ways.

Across classrooms, students engaged in rich, integrated studies that connected literacy, math, science, social studies, art, innovation, and social-emotional learning. They asked questions, built models, read deeply, solved problems, collaborated with peers, revised their thinking, and shared their learning with others. Whether children were exploring identity, community, systems, the natural world, storytelling, design, or invention, they were not simply “covering” content. They were constructing understanding.

One of the most joyful examples of this was our project-based learning work and Expo experiences. These moments gave families a window into the kind of learning we value: learning that is hands-on, thoughtful, creative, and full of student voice. When children explain their process, describe what they discovered, and proudly share what they made, we see more than a final product. We see confidence, persistence, communication, problem-solving, and ownership.

This year also brought important behind-the-scenes work around how we document, assess, and communicate student learning. We continued piloting our use of portfolios as an authentic way to capture growth over time. Portfolios allow us to look beyond a single assignment or score and instead tell a fuller story of each child’s development: the questions they asked, the strategies they tried, the risks they took, the skills they practiced, and the progress they made.

Looking ahead, we are excited to continue expanding and refining this work. Next year, portfolios will become an even more intentional part of how students reflect on their learning and how teachers share evidence of growth with families. Our goal is for children to increasingly see themselves as learners who can name their strengths, understand their challenges, and participate meaningfully in setting goals.

We have also been working on updates to our report cards so that they more clearly reflect the kind of learning that happens at Serendipity. Report cards should not feel like a narrow checklist or a final judgment. Instead, they should serve as a thoughtful snapshot of where a child is in their learning journey. Our updated approach will continue to include clear information about academic progress while also honoring the habits, dispositions, and social-emotional growth that matter so deeply in elementary school.

Families can expect report cards that are more aligned with our essential standards, more connected to classroom learning, and more useful as conversation starters. We want assessment to feel transparent, meaningful, and grounded in what teachers truly know about each child.

Another area of exciting growth is our continued work in mathematics. This year, we reflected deeply on how to support strong foundational math skills while also nurturing flexible thinking, problem-solving, curiosity, and mathematical confidence. As part of that work, we are looking forward to continued professional learning with YouCubed Math at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

YouCubed’s approach aligns beautifully with Serendipity’s belief that children are capable thinkers who benefit from rich tasks, visual models, collaboration, and opportunities to explain their reasoning. We want students to see math not as a subject about speed or memorization alone, but as a creative, connected, and meaningful way of understanding the world. This work will help us continue building math classrooms where children develop both skill and confidence.

As we plan for next year, we are holding several priorities together: strong foundations, engaging inquiry, student agency, meaningful assessment, and a coherent curriculum that helps children make connections across subjects and across grade levels. These priorities are not separate initiatives. They are connected pieces of the same vision.

We want children to leave Serendipity not only knowing more, but knowing themselves better as learners. We want them to be curious enough to ask questions, confident enough to take risks, reflective enough to grow from mistakes, and compassionate enough to contribute to their communities.

This year has reminded us again and again that children are capable of extraordinary thinking when they are given time, trust, challenge, and support. We are grateful to our teachers for the care and creativity they bring to this work every day, and to our families for partnering with us so thoughtfully.

As we look ahead to next year, we do so with excitement and intention. We are proud of what we have built, and even more excited about where we are going.