Practice Makes Progress: Building Independence in the Lower School Years

How do students move from relying on adult direction to becoming confident, self-driven learners? In this episode of Mission Moments, host Mrs. Linda Pryor, Executive Director of the Center for Mission & Academics at Brookfield Academy, is joined by Ms. Tanya Schwartz, Head of the Lower School (grades 3-5), for a thoughtful conversation about building age-appropriate independence in young learners.

Ms. Schwartz shares her background at BA - from Level 3 teacher to Head of Lower School - and reflects on how Lower School (grades 3-5) is intentionally designed to support students as they naturally seek greater independence and help them establish a solid foundation of strong study habits, self-awareness, and personal responsibilty.

Listeners will hear practical examples of what independence looks like at this age and how to nurture it, including:

• Learning to reflect: "Who am I as a learner? What works for me? What doesn't?"
• Developing valuable work habits such as organization, time management, and creating an effective workspace.
• Building study skills like note-taking, highlighting, reviewing corrections, and more.
• Using choices to promote autonomy while retaining structure.

The conversation explores the important role of parents in this process and how the BA Triangle, students, teachers, and parents working together to support student success, makes a difference.

Ms. Schwartz emphasizes that growth is not linear and that mistakes are essential to learning and phrases like, "practice makes progress," "reset, reflect, and restart," and "learn from your mistakes" capture the Lower School's growth mindset and culture.

If you like what you hear, we encourage you to follow the Mission Moments podcast and share with friends. Additional Parent Presentations with many great speakers are available in the MIssion section of the BA website.

If you would like to learn more about Brookfield Academy's Lower School - or any Division - please contact our Admissions Office. You can email [e-mail] or call [phone]. They will be happy to answer your questions and schedule a visit. If you've thought a BA education is out of reach, we encourage you to contact us. Many families are happy to see that it is more attainable than they expected.