Academic Model

Tapestry is designed to break away from the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to education. We don’t believe in classifying students as either “general education” or “special education.” Instead, Tapestry recognizes and celebrates the diverse learning profiles and needs of all of our students. Our model is simple: we value all of our students for their uniqueness and believe that each one deserves to feel included in all aspects of the learning process. Tapestry’s fully inclusive academic model supports this belief and creates a platform for all of our students to succeed.

Full inclusion is an educational model where all students benefit from the availability of academic resources within their respective classrooms. Inclusive schools embrace diversity by rejecting the separation of students with disabilities from students without disabilities so that all students learn side-by-side in the same classroom. Moreover, full inclusion means full membership: all members of the school community are equally valued and respected. Following the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) philosophy, Tapestry creates a framework for differentiating instruction and providing curriculum access for all of our students. 

Tapestry’s charter allows us to take a non-traditional approach to inclusive learning. A core feature of this approach is our co-teaching model. Our highly qualified, mission-aligned teachers are innovative, positive, flexible, nurturing, and dedicated to the education of all our students. Each core class at Tapestry is co-taught by a general education teacher and a special education teacher who work collaboratively together to optimize learning for all students. This provides a unique opportunity for our school to offer academic rigor as well as academic support to those students who need it within the same classroom. Instead of one educator teaching a classroom of students, our co-taught model accommodates the varied learning styles of our students. The result? An effective practice of highly differentiated instruction.

Our strong focus on technology affords each of our students access to digital learning. Also, each student is loaned a personal Chromebook to use each school year, enabling teachers to connect to students electronically, track their progress remotely, and ensure students have access to the resources they need to be successful in the classroom. This functionally is particularly helpful when the school has to be closed and Tapestry can host Virtual Days, or school work from home.

Early in our creation, Tapestry’s founders stressed the importance of the arts as integral to every child’s education. With each new year, our school has continued to develop its strong arts curriculum through music, art, and drama programming, which have evolved to become key components of our school model. Thanks to our key partnerships with the Alliance Theatre, SENSE Theatre (Vanderbilt University), Atlanta Symphony, and the High Museum, our arts programming is significantly enhanced and affords students an opportunity to take a deeper dive into these areas of interest both in the classroom and in a variety of extracurricular activities.