Academics

Academics at Viewlands

The academic program at Viewlands Elementary School uses district-adpated curriculum, in addition to supplemental learning to support the whole child and learning in our community, which includes are garden in the outdoor classroom and Carkeek Park. We embrace our vision of “Every child known, valued, and empowered,” and this is the lens we use to teach students in our community.

Students need to feel safe to learn, and by knowing every child, we better understand their interests, learning strengths and challenges, which allows us to inspire and offer curriculum and intellectual demand designed to challenge them at their own level. Teachers use a variety of effective instructional strategies to engage all students and facilitate student learning.

If you visit any of our classrooms, you will see students working together in partners, small and large groups, working independently, or interacting with tools to support their learning. We believe learning occurs beyond the classroom walls and feel very fortunate that Carkeek Park borders our school and is considered part of our campus.

Curriculum at Viewlands

For English Language Arts, which includes reading and writing, we use Emerge. This is a new ELA curriculum for elementary that launches during the 2026-2027 school year.

The Math curriculum is Math In Focus.

For PE/Health, we have a full time teacher who has a dynamic program called“Five for Life” that enables our students to learn habits and skills that will keep them healthy throughout their lifetime.

The Fine Arts Program, includes visual arts and music. Students receive an aligned curriculum in art and our art teacher works with staff on integrating art into every content area. Our music program currently offers instrumental music to fourth/fifth graders.

Every student has unique learning strengths and needs. Viewlands seeks to know every student’s unique learning profile, which includes their learning assets and their learning needs. The goal is to help students grow in all areas. Viewlands uses tiered instructional practices connected to strong high quality core instruction to support individual learning needs. Teaching teams discuss student learning needs as part of our MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) framework. As a staff, we are focusing on growing our Universal Design for Learning practices to support every student being able to learn and grow their skills across academic content and social-emotional learning.

We believe social and emotional development is critical for student to be positive community members. Our school wide guiding principles are: Safe, Kind, and Responsible.

Having a common language around how to treat one another is a powerful tool, and you will hear these principles frequently referenced not only in conversations between staff and students but also between students.

We utilize the district provided 2^nd Step curriculum to support learning.

We focus on repair and restorative actions when conflicts arise.

We use Dream Box, an interactive math computer program that allows students to work on any gaps in their math learning or expand their competency in math skills. Students can work on Dream Box at home as well as at school.

Students also have access to Reading A-Z and Raz-Kids, computer programs aimed at improving reading skills that can be used both at school and at home.

Viewlands is proud of their free, multi-day Kindergarten Jump Start camp offered each August. The camp prepares incoming Kindergartners, and their families, for what to expect when school starts. Students learn songs, tour the school, meet staff, and get acclimated to the Viewlands community. New families will receive communication with camp details in early summer.

Our curriculum is aligned with other elementary schools in Seattle Public Schools. Please select a subject below to learn more about Viewlands curriculum.