In the Elementary School at Beit Rabban children and teachers engage in both broad and deep interdisciplinary and subject-based studies in the context of an integrated Jewish and secular curriculum. Academics at Beit Rabban combine the acquisition of knowledge and skills with the development of the character and disposition of a life-long learner. We believe strongly that these two necessitate each other — children need strong skills with which to access text, solve mathematical problems, engage in scientific experiments, and communicate effectively in writing. But these skills are worthwhile only in an environment that fosters open inquiry and critical and creative thought, where children are encouraged to ask questions of the text, understand the strategy involved in the math problem, invent the scientific experiment, and have a story they want to tell. In addition to subject-based skills we consider listening, thinking, and expressing questions, thoughts, and ideas, to be essential learning skills as well.

Rather than being structured into regular class groupings or grades, the school organizes children in the elementary school into mixed-age learning groups called kevutzot — Garinim (kindergarten/1st grade), Shtillim (2/3rd grades), and Nitzanim (4th/5th grades) — allowing an interaction between children of a wider age range, promoting truly individualized learning in a social context, and enabling flexible small groupings for different areas of instruction such as math, Hebrew, Chumash, and reading. The age range within each kevutza is wider than the traditional model used in many schools, enabling us to individualize teaching and learning according to each individual's needs, developmental level, and learning style. The wider age range creates a dynamic, social learning community in which students can learn from one another, be role models for each other, take on varied leadership roles, and recognize and appreciate their own talents and strengths as well as those of others.