The strong academic culture is evident in our students’
achievements in traditional assessments and in other areas, such as
National Geographic’ s Annual Geography Bee, the town-wide math league,
Math Counts for 7th and 8th grade students and our school’s service
learning projects where students learn about the needs and circumstances
of others. Students then use their knowledge to help those
organizations which support the various identified needs. Our students
have a number of varying service learning experiences. “Hope Found” (3rd
grade annual Shattuck Shelter project), Half-Way Day contributions to
Brookline New Pathways Halfway House (led by 5th graders), the Barakat
organization - a program supporting Afghan Women’s Literacy (our sixth
graders lead this effort) and the Walk for Hunger (a 7th grade project)
are some examples of the programs made possible through a strong
community service and service learning focus. Students participate
enthusiastically in growing numbers each year.
Collaboration
among staff is highly valued and is facilitated on a daily basis by the
school’s physical layout. Pierce School is situated in a campus-like
setting, with classrooms in two separate buildings. The historical
building, a more traditional school structure, houses all of our
kindergarten classes, a first and second grade class, and most of our
7th and 8th grade classes. The main building, completed in 1974, is an
open structure that reflects the open classroom philosophy. Our
three-story school library serves as a hub for teaching and learning, as
it is surrounded by most of our open classroom spaces.
Our
active parent community allows students and families to experience a
variety of extra-curricular programming at Pierce School. The Performing
Arts program presents two musicals each year, one for grades 3-6 and
another for grades 7 and 8. The PTO also sponsors a range of school-wide
activities, such as performances arranged through the Brookline Arts
Council, the quarterly Principal’s Forums, the annual Book Fair, Skate
Night at Larz Anderson and the annual Pierce Picnic, to name a few.
Pierce
graduates experience a smooth transition to our large high school
campus of three buildings, having become accustomed to a multiple
building setting at Pierce. Over the years, students have frequently
returned to Pierce as interns and staff as a result of our close-knit
and caring community of teachers, students and parents.
In 2005, the Pierce School celebrated its 150th anniversary year (1855-2005), making it one of the oldest schools in Brookline.
As part of a system-wide effort, Pierce students in grades 3, 5 and
7 participated in a bullying survery in May, 2011. System results, we
well as the bullying prevention and intervention program currently being
implemented throughout our schools, can be found in the "District
Announcements" section (front page) of the Public Schools of Brookline
website.