What Learning Looks Like at Strata

At Strata, learning is designed to develop over time. Our approach centers on how children build understanding, regulate themselves, and apply thinking across experiences. Academic learning matters, but it is supported through a strong focus on executive function.

Executive function includes skills such as attention, working memory, flexibility, planning, and self-regulation. These capacities shape how children learn, not just what they learn. Our pedagogy intentionally integrates academic expectations with practices informed by Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and contemporary research on child development.

Learning Experiences Are Designed to Build Executive Function

Learning experiences at Strata are intentionally designed to strengthen executive function while supporting academic growth. Educators plan experiences with clear goals, drawing from structured academic frameworks while remaining responsive to how children engage and persist.

From Montessori, this includes attention to independence, purposeful materials, and opportunities for children to manage their own work. From Reggio Emilia, it includes inquiry-driven experiences and the belief that children construct understanding through interaction and exploration. Academic content provides direction and clarity around what children are working toward.

Together, these influences support learning experiences that:

• Encourage sustained focus and follow-through

• Require planning and decision-making

• Allow children to manage materials, time, and transitions

• Provide opportunities to adapt strategies when challenges arise

Structure provides direction. Responsiveness allows children to build the skills needed to navigate learning independently.

Engagement Builds Regulation and Independence

Children at Strata learn through engagement that requires active thinking and participation. Experiences are designed to invite children to initiate ideas, test strategies, and reflect on outcomes.

Montessori-inspired practices support concentration and independence. Reggio-inspired practices emphasize collaboration, dialogue, and meaning-making. Academic expectations ensure children are engaging with ideas that build toward literacy, numeracy, and broader conceptual understanding.

Through these experiences, children practice:

• Managing frustration and uncertainty

• Holding ideas in mind while working

• Shifting approaches when something is not working

• Taking increasing responsibility for their learning

Executive function develops through use. These moments are embedded throughout the day rather than isolated as separate lessons.

Educators Observe, Reflect, and Adjust

Educators play a central role in supporting both academic learning and executive function development. They observe how children approach tasks, respond to challenge, and regulate themselves within group settings.

This work includes:

• Noticing when a child needs more structure or more autonomy

• Supporting children in breaking tasks into manageable steps

• Asking questions that extend thinking rather than provide answers

• Adjusting expectations based on developmental readiness

Academic goals guide instruction, while observation and reflection shape how learning is supported in practice.

The Environment Supports Learning and Regulation

Learning environments at Strata are intentionally designed to support organization, independence, and focus. Materials are accessible, spaces are predictable, and routines provide structure without rigidity.

Drawing from Montessori, environments support independence and responsibility. Drawing from Reggio, environments are flexible, collaborative, and responsive to children’s interests. Academic materials are integrated in ways that encourage application rather than rote completion.

Across programs, environments:

• Help children plan and manage their work

• Reduce unnecessary cognitive load

• Support transitions and self-monitoring

• Encourage responsibility for materials and shared spaces

The environment functions as an active support for executive function and learning.

Learning Develops Across Time and Contexts

Learning at Strata is designed as a connected experience across ages and programs. Early learning, school-age programs, and camps build on one another rather than operating in isolation.

Across these settings, children continue to strengthen:

• Attention and persistence

• Flexibility and adaptability

• Planning and follow-through

• Reflection and self-awareness

Academic expectations evolve alongside these skills, allowing children to apply learning with increasing independence and confidence.

Closing Reflection

At Strata, learning is not defined by a single philosophy. It is shaped by thoughtful integration.

By combining academic goals with practices informed by Montessori and Reggio Emilia, and grounding them in executive function development, we create learning environments that support understanding, regulation, and long-term growth.

Academic skills matter. Executive function allows children to use them well.