Lincoln Elementary offers two learning options: Traditional Elementary and Montessori. Both programs have strong curriculums that adhere to data-driven best practices and ensure students receive outstanding instruction that develops the whole child. Below you will find our school wide offerings; to learn more about our two educational tracks, visit the Montessori and Traditional Elementary pages.
Every week, elementary students visit the Innovation Lab and Library, and participate in art, drama, music and physical education. These learning opportunities compliment our Montessori and Traditional Elementary curriculums and are foundational to the education we provide at Lincoln.
Lincoln’s Physical Education program focuses on cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development. Learning to live a healthy lifestyle, practicing teamwork and sportsmanship, developing coordination and gross motor skills, elevating heart rates and having fun are all important aspects of our PE curriculum.
Our visual arts program encourages students to express themselves through a variety of mediums, techniques and conceptual frameworks.
Lincoln students are exposed to a variety of theatrical experiences through our Drama curriculum that includes acting, dance, musical theatre and performances. Drama instruction encourages collaboration and teamwork while building self confidence and an appreciation for the arts. Throughout the year, music and theatrical performances are produced for the Lincoln community in our historic theatre.
Lincoln’s music program capitalizes on children’s natural interest in and appreciation for music. Our curriculum increases students’ understanding of music by teaching them to recognize musical elements, keep rhythm and read sheet music. Lincoln students enjoy expressing themselves through sound and movement while developing their nonverbal affective communication.
Kindergarten through 6th graders visit the library weekly to delight in books and hone their information gathering skills. Our librarian passionately curates a diverse collection of classic titles and new releases, and is dedicated to facilitating joy, wonder and a life-long love of reading in our students.
Lincoln’s Gifted and Talented teacher is based in our Innovation Lab, where classes and small groups meet throughout the week to work on special projects.
Throughout our school, we cultivate a nurturing, academically challenging and developmentally appropriate learning environment that provides resources to meet each child’s needs.
All Lincoln students receive daily instruction in our school-wide social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, Caring School Community, from Collaborative Classroom. Our School Values align with the SEL curriculum, which provides age-appropriate lessons for students on respect, caring, inclusiveness, integrity, responsibility, and courage.
SEL is interwoven throughout our school – within the classrooms, in the support our administrators and specialists provide, and in the way we engage our community. Research shows that utilizing a SEL approach in schools improves student achievement and prosocial behaviors and reduces depression and stress. This approach is particularly effective in partnership with families.
At Lincoln, students have access to a Restorative Justice Coordinator who is instrumental in supporting our educators and their students in social emotional growth within and beyond the classroom.
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), previously known as RtI or SIT, is a problem-solving process that helps students by providing them with tiered levels of supports or intervention. It helps educators by identifying students who need additional academic and/or behavioral support and interventions as well as students who may need to be formally evaluated for specialized or special education services.
Students who are in MTSS may receive support from one of our dedicated reading or math interventionists. As part of the MTSS team, the interventionists specialize in providing targeted support for students who are not yet meeting grade-level expectations utilizing the Bridges math intervention curriculum and the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading.
You can read more information about MTSS in our Parent’s Guide to MTSS.
The Special Education team works to meet the needs of students who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) by providing a continuum of services to meet the needs of students with disabilities. These supports are offered to all Lincoln students who qualify, Traditional Elementary and Montessori alike. The Special Education team also serves as a resource for classroom teachers to help differentiate instruction for students. Students are referred for special education evaluation by the MTSS team or by parent request (in writing).
Additionally, students who qualify may receive support from a related service provider, including our Speech Language Pathologist and Occupational Therapist, based on their individual needs.
Lincoln’s School Psychologist is at school five days a week to support the social and emotional well-being of students. With a comprehensive toolkit, services may include small group and/or whole class instruction, crisis intervention and support, anti-bullying, attendance support, restorative justice/mediation, and special educational supports and assessment. Through consultation with teachers and families, our school psychologist supports children’s behavioral and academic success inside and outside the classroom.
Occupational and Physical Therapists are assigned to Lincoln on an as-needed basis and work with students identified as having poor fine motor and/or gross motor skills. These students must also have an IEP. Students are recommended for services through referrals from the Special Education and/or MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) team.
The Speech Language Pathologist is at Lincoln two days a week and works with children identified as having a Speech Language Impairment with an Individual Education Plan. The speech language pathologist works closely with general education teachers and the Special Education teachers and provides services to students who are working on language skills. Referral is made through the classroom teacher to the MTSS team or by parent request (in writing).
The GT teacher is at Lincoln half time to provide weekly groups with students, and work with classroom teachers to differentiate support for students who have been identified as GT/HGT. Additionally, this position benefits a broader range of learners in the Innovation Space, which elementary students visit weekly with their classes.
Students in kindergarten, second grade, and sixth grade are given a universal screener for GT services, however parents may request testing outside of these grades if they would like by completing this nomination form: Gifted and Talented Nomination form.
The DPS GT department website offers a more detailed look at the identification process, or contact kate_huisken@dpsk12.net with other questions.
Enrichments are offered after school and include classes in: Spanish, computer coding, cooking, piano, art, sports and more! Click here to learn more.