What makes JOY unique
What makes JOY unique
What Makes JOY Unique
Imagine a school where children read, write, and engage in math concepts at or beyond their level, while also freely playing, walking barefoot outside, resting as needed, and thoroughly enjoying school. Imagine a school where children meditate, solve their conflicts independently, learn about the world around them and are committed to impact their community from a young age. When you visit our school, you'll see focused, engaged, and passionate children, deeply connected to their learning because it's relevant and meaningful to their real life.
Who are we?
Joy Holistic Education got its start in San Antonio in 2020 by Adriana Becerra. We decided to do things differently and redesign education to provide a truly holistic and meaningful experience for children.
Adriana Becerra began her career fifteen years ago as a Bilingual Teacher in Head Start and the San Antonio Independent School District. Then she was part of the leadership team that opened Pre-K 4 SA and was instrumental in making it one of the best early childhood programs in Texas in only 4 years.
In her last role before JOY, she supported school districts in Texas in their journey to strengthen leadership and transform their talent development systems as a consultant at The Holdsworth Center. In every role she has played, she has been passionate about challenging the status quo and reshaping the focus of education.
Throughout her career, Adriana envisioned JOY but it was not until she became a mom that she felt the urgency to materialize it. Inspired by what could be, she brought JOY to the world in 2020 during the pandemic. JOY represents everything she has learned and wishes for her sons Joaquín and Mariano, for her inner child and teacher, and for every person: A holistic education in which people feel safe and loved for who they are, they learn with joy and grow equipped and committed to create a better world.
JOY
The purest definition of happiness. It is not something that you find in the external world, but an inner feeling that emerges from deep in the heart. We treasure the joy in every aspect of our life.
CREATIVITY
The power to create something new through skill and imagination. We ignore the pressures of society and embrace a creative mindset to tackle the challenges in life.
WISDOM
The ability to use knowledge, experience, and intuition. We use wisdom as our inner compass to think, feel and act.
HONOR
The awareness to recognize and appreciate the individuality of all things. We honor the light, love and beauty in ourselves, others and the world around us.
BEST PRACTICES + INNOVATIONS
Our Perspective on Children
We believe each child is infinitely capable, creative and intelligent. We celebrate each child’s identity and treasure their inner joy. Children have hundreds of different ways of learning and we support their ability to do so in many different ways. By prioritizing our focus on the here and now we are able to preserve the sacredness of childhood. By instilling in them the belief that they can make the world better, we ensure they grow up equipped and committed to do just that. Our approach, evident in our daily rhythm, seamlessly blends structured activities with free play and children-driven experiences.
Our Role as Teachers
Teachers act as partners in your child's learning journey, prioritizing an understanding of each child's unique essence to foster curiosity and collaboration. Our Teachers are responsible for creating an environment where children lead their own educational experience. Their expertise in child development, state standards, and JOY's pedagogical framework, are key to supporting children navigating their learning journey with confidence and purpose while encouraging emotional wellbeing, decision-making and problem solving.
Our Intentional Learning Environment
At JOY, there are three teachers of children: adults, other children and their environment. That's why we have intentionally designed our indoor and outdoor learning environments with diverse areas and materials to encourage collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Beautiful and organized spaces create a sense of wonder, stimulate imagination and bring joy into learning. Children learn to honor the space and interact with a variety of sensory rich, natural and culturally diverse materials.
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We’d love to send you a FREE Parent Package, full of helpful information about JOY Holistic Education…
Mixed-Age class communities are one of our superpowers
We believe that mixed-age classes offer numerous benefits for children's social, emotional, and academic development. This is because they can provide a more natural and diverse social environment, mirroring the real world where individuals interact with people of various ages. In settings such as JOY, older children often take on leadership roles, fostering a sense of responsibility and empathy as they mentor and support their younger peers. Younger children, in turn, benefit from exposure to more advanced concepts and behaviors modeled by older students, leading to accelerated learning and increased motivation.
Our class communities promote collaboration and cooperation, as students learn to work together regardless of age differences, fostering a sense of community and mutual respect. It also allows for more personalized learning experiences, as our teachers can tailor support to individual students' needs and abilities, rather than adhering to a one-size-fits-all approach.
Our class communities promote collaboration and cooperation, as students learn to work together regardless of age differences, fostering a sense of community and mutual respect. It also allows for more personalized learning experiences, as our teachers can tailor support to individual students' needs and abilities, rather than adhering to a one-size-fits-all approach. At JOY our class communities setup promotes holistic development, encouraging social-emotional growth, academic achievement, and a positive sense of belonging among our students.
The power of our School Community
At JOY Holistic Education, we believe that the relationship between our school and families is absolutely key. We work with families to create an environment that will support children and provide a home away from home feeling.
Expect to know what your child is doing every day, teachers will send pictures and anecdotal notes so we can bridge home and school experiences.
In addition, creating a strong school culture is part of the magic of a small school. We have an open door policy for families to come and engage in our day to day routine. We facilitate City Explorations or a family event once a month to fall in love with San Antonio, enrich our culture and create a strong sense of school community. Here are some examples:
• City Explorations to parks, museums or different landmarks
• Volunteer opportunities in the community
• “Noche de Altares” - Our celebration of Dia de Muertos
• “El Poder de ser Bilingüe” - December recital
• Gracias San Antonio Art Exhibit
• Picnic de Primavera
We are here to partner with you in raising healthier, happier and kinder children
Now families can have it all, including a Bilingual Education
We are proud to offer a bilingual education program that follows the Two-Way Dual Language model, intentionally composed of both Spanish and English speakers from Preschool to Elementary. Our vision is to create a learning environment where children, regardless of their native language, achieve proficiency in both languages while nurturing cultural competence and academic excellence.
Bilingual strategies are seamlessly integrated into all school projects and activities, enriching the daily learning experience for all children. Beginning with a stronger emphasis on Spanish and gradually transitioning to a balanced 50-50 distribution, our model ensures comprehensive language development.
What Makes JOY Unique
Mixed age groups are one of our superpowers. The younger kids learn from the big ones while the older ones act as role models and cultivate empathy.
Outdoor Learning: We prioritize time spent learning and playing outside for the well-being of our children. Also, we strongly believe that if we want our children to take care of the world, they must learn to love
it first.
Best educational practices: We are committed to continue embracing play, project-based learning, conflict resolution, self-learning, planning and time management, creative thinking, forming opinions, and making decisions.
Family Style Meals: We serve homemade food. Mealtimes are never rushed, and conversations are highly encouraged. This is a time to get to know each other better and build community; “la sobre mesa” is something that we enjoy here!
Family engagement: We have an open-door policy for dads who want to read, moms who want to come and play, or grandparents who want to share their wisdom. We also have one event or City Exploration every month to strengthen our community.
We assess children in a natural way: We use the GOLD Assessment to assess children formally twice a year through observations in their natural setting. This enables teachers and parents to focus on what kids can do and inform us on how to support them to reach the next level.
We know how hard it can be to choose the perfect place for your little ones to learn and grow. We have made it simple for you to find out exactly what to look for when choosing the perfect preschool. Get your copy now…
Arrange a Tour at JOY Holistic Education
The best way to discover what makes JOY special is to see it firsthand. We can provide engaging and interactive tours at our San Antonio location daily. We look forward to meeting you soon and getting to know you and your child more!
