OUR CAMPUS
Our South Berkeley campus houses both the toddler/preschool and the elementary school program. It is conveniently located at the intersection of MLK and Alcatraz Avenue, in South Berkeley, at the Oakland/Berkeley/Emeryville border, just minutes from Highway 24 and two blocks from the South Berkeley Bart station.
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Each classroom is a spacious, inviting place, with bright laminate flooring and lots of windows letting in natural light into every room. We equip our classrooms with a full range of high-quality Montessori materials, displayed beautifully on low wooden shelves and easily accessible to our students. Classrooms include child-sized tables and chairs made from natural wood, friendly classroom pets, and beautiful plants.
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Our campus offers two large play yards, one for elementary school students and one for toddlers and preschool children. Each yard has age-appropriate play structures, and plenty of space for children to run around, garden, or develop motor skills by riding tricycles, playing ball, and jumping rope. Older children can develop their motor skills and creativity by building with our new builder's boards, or by creating their own physical challenges with materials such as wooden blocks.
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OUR COMMUNITY
AIM requires each family to contribute 5 volunteer hours per child per year—but many families choose to do more because of the joy they gain from being involved in their child’s school experience with other highly engaged parents.
Our parents tend to be very involved in their children’s education, and dedicated to high standards of personal and educational achievement. As a result, AIM’s parent community is a very active one. Led by our Parent-Teacher Association, the parents at AIM make many contributions to the school and also organize many community-building activities. Here’s a list of the recent things the AIM parent community organized:
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At school events. The PTO organizes events every 4-6 weeks to bring the families to AIM and contribute funds to projects, such as the school library and the outside improvement initiative. Events range from an annual waffle breakfast to a school carnival, from a book fair to a game day.
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Weekend & evening events. Under parent leadership, AIM is lucky to have a play date once a month, where parents get together for casual playtime and often a potluck at a local park. AIM parents have also organized community bike rides, mom’s nights out, poker nights, class potlucks, and other fun opportunities to mingle and meet other families at school.
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Support for school events and initiatives. AIM families often volunteer for school events, from chaperoning field trips to helping with building furniture or sawing wood for the new builder boards in the elementary yard. Parents also help with things like cataloging our library of books, providing snacks and flowers for the classroom, or assisting with a variety of office tasks.