Multi-Age Grouping
Why Multi-Age?
At PS1, we reimagine the traditional classroom. Instead of separating children strictly by single grade levels, we bring them together in multi-age classrooms (spanning two grade levels) that mirror the diversity of real-world communities.
In these authentic environments, students learn with and from one another—exchanging ideas, modeling behaviors, practicing responsibility, and developing leadership and social skills.
Multi-age learning is developmentally aligned and child-centered.
Teachers know each student deeply, guiding academic, social, and emotional growth. With an integrated, project-based curriculum, learning is dynamic, connected, and meaningful. Teachers act as facilitators and guides, giving students space to explore, question, and discover.
The multi-age structure made such a difference for my son. Early on, he learned by watching older peers, and later he had the confidence to take on a leadership role himself.” J.R. PS1 Alumni Parent
At PS1, eight of our nine classes bring together students from two consecutive grade levels: K–1, 2, 3–4, and 5–6, so children experience a dynamic and evolving peer community each year.
This structure gives every child the chance to be both a leader and a learner throughout their school journey, building essential skills in adaptability, empathy, and collaboration. By learning alongside peers of different ages, students develop strong connections and social agility, lifelong skills that help them thrive in a variety of environments.
Our multi-age approach is intentionally designed and academically rigorous. Social studies and science run on a two-year rotating cycle so students encounter fresh material each year — never repeating the same curriculum twice. Math is the one subject taught by grade level, ensuring precision, progression, and alignment with developmental needs. Across all subjects, teachers follow grade-level standards while tailoring instruction to meet students where they are.
Families often tell us, year after year and now generation after generation, that this two-grade span was the key to raising well-rounded, confident, articulate, and resilient young people.
Curious to hear what they say?
CLICK HERE to view testimonials from students, parents, and alumni about our multi-age grouping classroom structure.
How It Works
At PS1, eight of our nine classes are multi-age:
- Youngers: K–1
- Bridge: 2nd grade
- Middles: 3rd–4th
- Olders: 5th–6th
While this structure is consistent, it also remains flexible. Depending on the needs of our specific student body in a given year, we adjust groupings to ensure that every child is supported and challenged in the ways that serve them best.
Families often tell us—year after year, and now generation after generation—that this structure was the key to raising well-rounded, confident, articulate, and resilient young people.
Beyond the Classroom: Cluster Life
Our multi-age classrooms are woven into a larger Cluster system that strengthens belonging, empowerment, and connection across grade levels:
- Youngers Cluster: 3 classes of K–1 students
- Bridge Cluster: 1 class of 2nd grade students
- Middles Cluster: 2 classes of 3rd–4th graders
- Olders Cluster: 3 classes of 5th–6th graders
Every child belongs to a Cluster, and Clusters pair up as buddies:
- Youngers and Olders partner, so our oldest students learn to mentor while our youngest students gain role models and friends.
- Bridge and Middles partner, fostering collaboration, friendship, and care across grades.
This layered structure means children don’t just know their classmates—they know every teacher and peer in the school. Students grow up feeling part of a safe, supportive, and interconnected community. By the time they graduate, PS1 students are self-assured, collaborative learners ready for whatever comes next.
Class Placement
When children are grouped developmentally, as they are at PS1, a child can experience being a younger student in his class one year and an older student the next.
Class placement is determined by the faculty and administration after receiving recommendations from classroom and specialist teachers. We assess all aspects of a child's development - academic, social, emotional, physical, artistic, personal, and interpersonal - in forging each year's class groupings. We seek to be responsive to the timing, learning style, and differences in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of each child. Out of our system, over a seven-year period, comes a whole child – competent, confident, and connected.
