8:30 am – 8:45 am
Project-based K-8, East Providence
One long project at a time
At Theorem, children spend six weeks on one question, in studios that hold three grades together. They make it, test it, make it again, and then show their families.
- Kindergarten to grade 8
- Three mixed-age studios
A studio week
Mornings for the project, afternoons for the rest
All three studios keep the same week. The long morning block belongs to the project, and each afternoon has its own shape.
A typical week
Monday
8:45 am – 9:15 am
Morning meeting
9:15 am – 12:00 pm
Project studio
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and outdoor time
1:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Reading and writing workshop
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Closing circle and clean-up
Tuesday
8:30 am – 8:45 am
Arrival
8:45 am – 9:15 am
Morning meeting
9:15 am – 12:00 pm
Project studio
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and outdoor time
1:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Math workshop
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Closing circle and clean-up
Wednesday
8:30 am – 8:45 am
Arrival
8:45 am – 9:15 am
Morning meeting
9:15 am – 12:00 pm
Project studio
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and outdoor time
1:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Making studio: wood, clay and cloth
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Closing circle and clean-up
Thursday
8:30 am – 8:45 am
Arrival
8:45 am – 9:15 am
Morning meeting
9:15 am – 12:00 pm
Project studio
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and outdoor time
1:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Out in the city, in small groups
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Closing circle and clean-up
Friday
8:30 am – 8:45 am
Arrival
8:45 am – 9:15 am
Morning meeting
9:15 am – 12:00 pm
Project studio
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and outdoor time
1:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Critique and all-school meeting
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Closing circle and clean-up
Sample classes.
Times shift a little with the project. The office has this term's.
How a project goes
One project, six weeks
A project is the main work of the term, and it has the same shape in every studio.
- 01Week 1
Step 1: Choose a question
The studio brings ideas, argues for them and picks one question worth six weeks.
- 02Week 2
Step 2: Find out
Children read, visit, interview and measure, and write down what they learn in a notebook.
- 03Week 3
Step 3: Make a first version
A draft, a model, a map or a recording: rough on purpose, made to be looked at.
- 04Week 4
Step 4: Test it and hear critique
The studio looks at each first version together and says what it sees.
- 05Week 5
Step 5: Make it again
A second version, with new materials and the skills picked up along the way.
- 06Week 6
Step 6: Show it
Families come to an exhibition night, and children explain how they made what they made.
The studios
Three studios, by grade and by day
Each studio holds three grades. The columns show the school day and the care on either side of it.
| Ages | Class size | School day8:30 am to 3:15 pm5 days | Early care7:45 am to 8:30 am5 days | After studio3:15 pm to 5:30 pm5 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower studioKindergarten to grade 2 | 22 | Offered | Offered | Waitlist |
| Middle studioGrades 3 to 5 | 25 | Offered | Offered | Offered |
| Upper studioGrades 6 to 8 | 28 | Offered | Offered | OfferedEnds at 5:00 pm on Fridays |
Sample programs.
The year
Exhibition nights, visits and when to apply
Families apply a year ahead, and visits start in the fall. Exhibition nights come at the end of each project.
This school year
Open house
Early November
Walk through the three studios with the teachers. Children are welcome.
- Tour
Studio visit mornings
Most Wednesdays, October to March
A morning in a studio, then a talk with the head of school.
Book a visit - Event
Exhibition night
December, February, April and June
Each project ends with an evening when families walk through the studios and children explain what they made.
Applications open
January
The application is a form, a conversation and a morning in a studio.
- Deadline
Application deadline
Mid-February
Families who apply after this hear back as places open.
Decisions
Early March
Every family hears by phone, then in writing.
First day
Late August
New children come in for a short morning before the full week begins.
Sample dates.
Faculty
Meet the faculty
Nine teachers share the three studios. Three of them are here.
Natacha Fernandes
Head of school
Leads the school and teaches in the upper studio on Thursdays. She speaks Cape Verdean Creole with families who would like to, and she is the person to write to first.
Adelaida Cardona
Middle studio teacher
Leads the middle studio's projects and its reading and writing workshop. She speaks Spanish with families.
Kunthea Sok
Making studio teacher
Runs the making studio on Wednesdays, with wood, clay and cloth. She speaks Khmer with families.
From families
What families write about us
A few lines from parents, in their own words.
4.8
64 reviews
5★52
4★9
3★2
2★1
1★0
“She came home on a Wednesday with clay under her fingernails and three questions for her teachers the next morning.”
Violet T.“At the exhibition night a second grader walked us through a model twice, and was patient both times.”
Wilford J.“The teachers write to us each term in full sentences. We learn what our son worked on and what he asked about.”
Elin K.
Sample reviews.
Visit
Book a visit
A visit is a morning in a studio, then a talk with the head of school. Children are welcome to come along.
Phone(401) 555-0107
Office hours
- Monday to FridayToday
- 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
- Saturday and SundayToday
- Closed