About Us


Academically-Focused Early Childhood Education for Ages 6 Weeks to 5 Years

At The Gardner School, we have created a rich learning environment that will stimulate your child’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth. We believe each child should be provided with experiences that enhance self-esteem, which is essential in the adjusting, exploring, and growing stages of child development. This approach ensures that each child’s learning experience will be nurtured at the proper pace and will give them a strong educational foundation for a bright future.


Our Curriculum

Creative Curriculum

(for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos)

This comprehensive curriculum combines nurturing, consistent, and loving interactions with appropriately challenging learning experiences to help students under the age of three to grow and flourish through purposeful play and exploration, facilitated by the highly-intentional direction of teachers who encourage and cherish the child’s accomplishments. The Creative Curriculum rests on a firm foundation of early childhood educational research, implementing the works of Piaget, Maslow, Erikson, Smilansky, Vygotsky, and Gardner.

World of Wonders Curriculum

(for Preschool and Pre-K)

With the goal of building a strong foundation for early literacy, the World of Wonders (also referred to as WOW) curriculum provides developmentally appropriate instruction for early preschool and pre-K learners, ages 3 to 5, including cross-curricular activities, a focus on social-emotional development, and preparation for kindergarten and beyond.

Learning Without Tears

(for Pre-K and Kindergarten)

Using multi-sensory techniques, the Learning Without Tears curriculum promotes written communication success in the classroom for Pre-K and Kindergarteners. With this program, our teachers use instructional techniques and activities that for teaching Pre-K readiness, writing, literacy, and math, as well as developmentally appropriate, hands-on techniques for teaching handwriting, keyboarding, and digital citizenship for Kindergarteners.

Open Court Reading

(for private Kindergarten)

Delivering a 50-year history and legacy of success in improving reading skills for students, the Open Court Reading curriculum offers an explicit, systematic, research-based instruction approach that ensures active learning and participation by Kindergartners with the scaffolding needed to help them achieve independent reading. Continually evolving to meet the needs of today’s students and teachers, Open Court Reading curriculum helps build a solid foundation for lifelong learning.

Math Expressions

(for private Kindergarten)

Based on National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research, Math Expressions is a proven curriculum that helps Kindergarteners make sense of math by exploring, discussing, and demonstrating their understanding of key concepts. Students learn how to look deeper and choose their own path to the answers, which develops skills that will take them far beyond the classroom.

Child Assessments and Parent/Teacher Conferences

We place a high priority on routinely assessing students to ensure that they are progressing at a developmentally appropriate level and to tailor the child’s lessons in areas where he or she may need improvement. Through phone calls, scheduled meetings and parent/teacher conferences, TGS enables and encourages our parents to be an active part of their child’s educational experience.


“We love how detailed the daily updates are, as we like to incorporate learning into our evenings at home. Teachers give us detailed information on exactly what she did and learned each day.”

Meredith Strange, TGS Franklin Parent


Our Teachers

At The Gardner School, we take great pride in building a well-educated, well-trained, caring, and motivating team of support. We ensure that all teachers meet the qualifications set forth by each state, as well as passing stringent background screenings, health screenings, and a thorough review of personal references. With extensive training, orientation, and continuing education programs, we develop and train the total teacher, so that children are sharing their days with TGS-trained learning advocates. All lead teachers are required to have a four-year degree in early childhood education or a closely-related field, and they are carefully selected based on their education, previous teaching experience, and ability to bond and effectively communicate with their students. Above all, we choose faculty members who love the early childhood profession and have a strong, positive curiosity about life that sparks confidence and joy in those around them. This high standard is one of many that sets TGS apart. Each day, your child will interact with his or her lead teacher, who will stay with the classroom for continuity and consistency. With a faculty of teacher’s assistants and constant support from the school leadership team, kitchen manager, and enrichment program teachers, we have a large team of confident, capable faculty members to ensure that your child’s day progresses smoothly.

Our Philosophy

Educational Philosophy

Our unique learning atmosphere incorporates a careful blend of Traditional and Montessori styles of learning through structured play, child-directed activities, and curriculum-based lessons. We believe that an environment which fosters creativity, exploration, and acceptance will stimulate and nurture children’s growth and development, as well as building self-esteem. This enriched educational experience will provide a strong foundation for future success and a lifelong love of learning.

Teaching Philosophy

Our carefully balanced program features a full day of developmentally and age-appropriate activities. Understanding that each child is unique, our teachers create engaging, structured lessons and group activities, while remaining flexible enough to foster self-discovery and independence as each child explores and learns at his or her own pace. With our curricula, every class builds upon the previous age groups’ learning by reviewing and scaffolding concepts and making connections in new ways through hands-on experience. Teachers focus on open communication with parents to encourage their participation and the extension of lessons at home.