This involves children in relevant and meaningful learning. Using these teaching techniques increases a teacher's ability to extend the Fairfax curriculum in many ways. Younger children have positive role models and more individuals besides the teacher to help them learn. Older children gain confidence and self esteem by helping others while they continue to work on their own challenging tasks. Children can take on more responsibility, leadership and initiatives which affects academics as well as citizenship.
Children develop friendships based on interest and maturity, regardless of age.
Children who are ready for additional math challenges, but who are not yet strong readers or writers, are in an environment where both strengths and weaknesses can be addressed while building positive self esteem and learning. Multi-age classes allow students to stay with the same teacher for two or three years. Parents, teachers and children develop a relationship that can begin immediately in September. At the beginning of the year, half of the class knows the teacher's routines, expectations, and management systems. This creates better parent teacher interaction as well as student to student, and student to teacher relationships.