Progressive Education

About Us

Chance School is the only institution in Louisville exclusively dedicated to early childhood education, providing instruction from preschool through fifth grade. Its evidence-based Progressive Education curriculum is recognized for innovative, high-quality implicit instruction that emphasizes inquiry-based learning.

Virginia Chance School offers rigor in a collaborative environment designed to build self-motivation, a growth mindset, and critical thinking skills with immersive nature-based learning for all students.

Within vibrant classrooms and on a wooded campus, students engage in hands-on discovery and collaborative project work. This environment supports the development of a lifelong love of learning and meaningful connections.

A transformative childhood education experience awaits.

A defining feature of a Chance education is the intentional development of the whole child, guided by the principles of Progressive Education (an educational delivery model, not a political stance in this context). The curriculum integrates the school’s philosophy with age-appropriate milestones, Common Core Standards, and guidelines from accrediting organizations such as the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the Gesell Institute, and established academic best practices.

Our Progressive Education Tenets

Childhood represents a continuous and evolving process, during which all children progress through cognitive, social, emotional, moral, and physical stages of development. Positive attitudes toward lifelong learning and participation in a democratic society benefit all individuals.

This philosophy is enacted through adherence to the following key elements of the program:

Whole Child Development

Intentional support is provided for student growth across all five developmental domains, facilitated by an integrated curriculum that offers more meaningful learning than isolated subject study. Teachers conduct authentic assessments through regular formal and informal observation.

Learning in Community

A purposeful, welcoming community rooted in mutual respect empowers both students and adults to build meaningful relationships and feel secure in taking risks. The environment fosters a joy of learning by encouraging curiosity, discovery, creativity, and open exchange of ideas through collaboration and cooperation.

Learning through Experience

Students are empowered to construct knowledge and understanding through active engagement, hands-on learning, and social interaction. This approach enables authentic connections and contributions to real-world contexts.

Environment as Teacher

Learning spaces are designed both indoors and in natural settings to promote and reflect students’ independence, responsibility, sense of community, and ownership of learning.

Benefits of Nature

Nature-based play, open exploration, and guided experiences foster environmental stewardship and strengthen students’ connections to their community and the broader world.

Dignity, Respect, & Voice

Students are empowered through positive discipline, respectful language and actions, and recognition of each individual’s voice and experience. This approach encourages responsible decision-making, problem-solving, thoughtful community participation, and the development of self-regulation and civic responsibility.

Foundational Independence

Choices and decision-making are integrated into routines and expectations to help students develop a strong foundation of habits and skills. This approach encourages students to value intrinsic motivation for learning rather than rely on extrinsic incentives.

Critical Self-Reliance & Self-Confidence

A strong sense of self and identity is nurtured, as these qualities are essential for student engagement and agency in learning.

Teachers as Facilitators

Faculty and staff serve as guides, supporting and challenging students to reach their full potential across all areas of development. Inquiry-based learning engages students in active, in-depth investigations that require critical thinking and value both the content and process of learning.

Honoring Uniqueness

We embrace multiculturalism, foster inclusion, and facilitate students’ discovery and acceptance of themselves and others by acknowledging and celebrating differences. We emphasize differentiation in the classroom to meet students’ individual needs; we also recognize that some students are better served in different programs or settings.

Celebration of Equity & Justice

Social justice and anti-racism are integrated throughout the program and reinforced through service-learning projects and community engagement. Growth is achieved by embracing and including others.

Partnership with Families

A strong collaboration between home and school is valued, as this partnership is central to the life of the school and critical to student success.

Accreditation

Exploring Progressive, Montessori & Reggio Emilia Education?

Families considering Montessori or Reggio Emilia programs are often drawn to Virginia Chance School for many of the same reasons: a deep respect for children’s curiosity, meaningful hands-on learning, strong relationships, thoughtfully designed learning environments, and opportunities for children to explore ideas deeply.

Chance’s progressive educational approach brings these values together with inquiry-based academics, two-teacher classrooms, nature-based learning, and a whole-child approach that supports children academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and creatively from Early Preschool through Fifth Grade.

If you’re exploring different educational approaches for your child, we invite you to visit Chance and experience how progressive education comes to life in our classrooms.

How We Teach

Learning cannot be separated from experience. Chance students learn by doing and collaborating. The core curriculum serves as the foundation, and your child’s interests and natural curiosity enhance the classroom experience and help us propel them to the next level.

From animals to seasons to other cultures … Chance students select and study themes that build on real-life experiences, which is a core tenet of deep learning and retention. Their studies crisscross from social studies and science into math and art. You won’t find desks in rows at Chance, but you will discover children actively engaged as they collaborate on group projects or select learning centers for hands-on exploration. We provide experiences that promote:

pride in one’s accomplishments
the desire to be an active participant
the belief that one is capable
the discipline to try and try again
the confidence to take risks as a learner
the attitude that learning is an exciting journey
practice to making choices in their best interest while also considering others
a growth mindset

Students’ abilities, interests, thoughts, and curiosity feed the curriculum in unique and meaningful ways. They have routine, goals with expectations, and a lot of accountability – and they have choices along the way.

At Virginia Chance School, we believe the goals of education are broad. We want to help children become literate, self-disciplined, and socially responsible individuals who are resilient and healthy in body, mind, and spirit; therefore, teaching to the whole child – cognitively, socially, emotionally, morally, and physically – is our goal.

See Progressive Education in Action

What does progressive education actually look like at Chance? Hear how our approach brings together inquiry, relationships, meaningful challenge, and whole-child learning.

What Is Progressive Education?