Lower School Signature Programs

ArtBeat is IDEAL’s annual art show and performance showcase, with schoolwide exhibits of our students' creative endeavors displayed throughout both school buildings. Each spring, as the school year begins to wind down, our community takes the time to reflect upon and celebrate all that our students have accomplished throughout the year in the visual art department. All students in visual arts classes showcase a body of work, and performing arts students sing, play, and act for their families and peers. IDEAL families tour our school art gallery as students highlight the motivation and techniques behind their work. Our authentic, gallery-opening style approach to ArtBeat provides an opportunity for students to display their skills and work, and student creations reflect each artist's creative spirit, courage, tenacity, and unique style of expression.

Learn more about the arts at IDEAL

IDEAL assemblies and community events bring students, families, and staff together to celebrate, reflect, and strengthen our shared community. Anchored in the Word of the Month, these gatherings highlight shared values and celebrate the rich diversity and cultures within the IDEAL community. Assemblies empower all IDEAL community members to respect and honor diversity, strengthen cultural awareness, and engage meaningfully with one another in a spirit of connection and belonging.

These gatherings celebrate the rich diversity, cultures, and identities within the IDEAL community, fostering belonging and mutual respect. Through student voices, collaborative performances, shared traditions, and reflection, assemblies empower students to build community and engage thoughtfully and meaningfully with one another.

IDEAL assemblies and community events affirm the importance of connection and celebration, creating spaces where students and community members feel seen, valued, and inspired.

The Big Buddy Program is a beloved schoolwide tradition that offers students a meaningful bridge to their older peers. Each student in Grades K-6 is paired with a “Big Buddy” in Grades 7 through Next Steps, forming a relationship that fosters trust, empathy, and belonging across grades. Buddies come together throughout the year for read-alouds, shared projects, games, cultural celebrations, and special events, creating moments of joy and connection that build schoolwide community.

For younger students, the program offers a chance to feel seen and supported by an older role model. Big Buddies listen, encourage, and lead with kindness, while Little Buddies learn that they are part of something bigger – a community that values them, celebrates who they are, and grows with them. 

List of Prior Speakers

Jelani Fenton, the owner of E.G. Bowman, the first woman-owned and black woman-owned insurance company in the country, purchased the business from Ernesta Precope, the company's founder. He discussed Ms. Precope’s vision, work, and legacy, and how he is following in her footsteps by mentoring young people in the industry.

Charles Imohiosen and Robert Masters of The Andrew Goodman Foundation, spoke about their public sector work and their commitment to carry on the work of Andrew Goodman, a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who helped register southern African Americans to vote in the 1960s.

Ben Holtzman and Sammy Lopez of P3 Productions, a Tony Award-winning producing team talked about How to Dance in Ohio, their Broadway musical based on a true story and cast entirely with autistic actors. 

Judith Heumann was an internationally recognized disability advocate. She served in the Clinton and Obama administrations and was a senior fellow at the Ford Foundation. In 2020, she published her memoir Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist. 

Heidi Latsky, a critically acclaimed, innovative, and influential leader in the physically integrated dance field, has toured and given keynote speeches internationally. She shared her project, Solo Flight, an installation of movement portraits with sound viewed as a hologram. 

Robert Rodriguez, former New York Secretary of State, spoke about his work focused on investing in and developing public good infrastructure projects, creating good-paying jobs, and addressing financial disparities for historically underrepresented minorities and low-income communities. 

Katheryn Russell-Brown, the Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law and the Director of the Race and Crime Center for Justice at the Levin School of Law at the University of Florida, read from her first children’s book, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone.

Community Time is a core part of the IDEAL educational experience, supporting students’ social, emotional, and civic growth alongside academic learning. Grounded in New York State’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education framework, Community Time centers monthly values connected to social justice themes through our Word of the Month and IDEAL’s mission of Inclusion, Diversity, Excellence, Acceptance, and Leadership.

Through age-appropriate discussion, reflection, and collaboration, students build a deeper understanding of self, build relationships and connections with other community members, foster empathy, and develop advocacy skills. Community Time affirms that education extends beyond academics, empowering students to use their voices, strengthen their sense of belonging, and grow as thoughtful, compassionate community members and leaders.

Lower School Community Time
In Lower School, Community Time is a joyful and supportive space where students build a strong sense of identity, belonging, and community. Through stories, shared activities, and guided conversations, students learn to recognize themselves and others as valued members of the school and local NYC community.

Community Time centers monthly values that emphasize kindness, respect, and caring for others. These experiences help students practice collaboration, empathy, and positive communication while developing self-awareness and confidence. Through read-alouds, interactive activities, and reflection, students learn what it means to be an upstander and how their actions impact the community.

Each month, Lower School Community Time and assemblies focus on a specific value that continues to guide classroom conversations and community-building throughout the school year.

At IDEAL, we value the diverse backgrounds and perspectives in our community. We believe that every student’s identity should be seen and celebrated, and that this diversity strengthens learning and personal growth. Our curriculum is designed to reflect a wide range of cultures and to promote an anti-bias, inclusive perspective.

We teach students to understand and respect differences, challenge stereotypes, and resolve conflicts respectfully. This approach helps students become confident, compassionate individuals prepared to thrive in a diverse world.

Our teaching adapts to each student’s needs, using flexible benchmarks and curriculum choices that support our mission. For example, in Grade 8, students study cultural anthropology to explore both the shared traits and rich diversity of human cultures.

Teachers model collaboration, and students follow their lead. We know that exposure to different viewpoints helps students grow both academically and personally.

We also support diversity through roles like the K–12 DEI Coordinator, who helps ensure our curriculum remains inclusive. We utilize data on student learning styles and readiness to inform hiring and teacher training decisions.
 

At IDEAL, students are encouraged to know themselves, celebrate others, and explore the many dimensions of identity. Our Identity Curriculum is woven throughout the Lower School experience, providing myriad opportunities for students to reflect on who they are, where they come from, and how they experience the world. Through literature, class discussions, personal storytelling, and family engagement, students examine aspects of identity such as family traditions, language, race, culture, gender, and ability, always within a framework of empathy, inclusion, and respect.

Each fall, IDEAL’s Identity Museum – a beloved Lower School event where each student creates and shares a personal “exhibit” about themselves – sets the tone for our Identity Curriculum. These displays might include artwork, photographs, written reflections, or treasured objects from home. Families are invited to tour the museum, turning classrooms into vibrant galleries of student voice and heritage. In sharing their stories and listening to others, students learn that identity is both personal and communal – something to honor, express, and grow. The Identity Museum affirms IDEAL’s belief that every child’s story matters, and that learning who we are is foundational to learning how we connect, care, and lead.

Each year, IDEAL’s Lower School Science Expo showcases student learning through hands-on projects connected to a common theme. Students collaborate to investigate key concepts and present their understanding through interactive displays and demonstrations.

Kindergarten and first grade students build solar system models, demonstrating their knowledge of planets and space. Second and third graders create ecosystem dioramas, showing how animals adapt and survive in different habitats. Fourth grade students design and build Rube Goldberg machines, applying their understanding of force, motion, and cause-and-effect. Fifth graders have conducted experiments on topics like chemical reactions and water filtration, sharing their questions, process, and results.

The Science Expo offers students a chance to explain their thinking, take pride in their work, and engage the school community in their learning – reflecting IDEAL’s commitment to inquiry-based, hands-on science education.

In the Lower School at IDEAL, the Word of the Month program offers a joyful and intentional way for students to explore essential values and build character in community. Words like empathy, perseverance, inclusion, kindness, and responsibility are introduced through shared read-alouds, Community Time, classroom conversations, morning meetings, and assemblies that make each concept concrete and actionable for young learners. Teachers help students connect the monthly word to their daily experiences and guide them in reflecting on how their choices reflect shared IDEAL values. By revisiting these ideas throughout the year, the Word of the Month helps create a common language for the community, supporting students in becoming thoughtful, inclusive, and reflective members of the IDEAL family.