Elementary School 

The Greek American Institute provides a well-rounded, high quality education. The kindergarten through fourth grade Curriculum is currently aligned to the New York State Common Core Learning Standards. Students are offered classes such as English, Math, Science, Social Studies, History, Greek Language, Greek Dance, Religion, Art, Music, Technology, and Physical education. 

The English Language Arts program is based on lessons from Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop, grammar, and phonics. Teachers also use a combination of Reading Wonders, Wilson Fundations, and chapter books. Each classroom has a guided reading series, Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy. The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System is used to record reading behaviors and interpret data to determine instructional and independent reading.  

The mathematics curriculum involves rigorous instruction in strategies, explanations, solutions, practices, and test prep. Lessons are taught from the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, GO Math series. 

Science and social studies is taught through independent material such as Scholastic News and Let’s Find Out magazines, as well as lessons from Scott Foresman Science and Harcourt Social Studies: Our Communities textbooks. Teachers incorporate many hands on experiments to develop student curiosity to explore, such as with STEM. It is an interdisciplinary approach to learning by involving science, math, technology, and engineering.  

Annual achievement assessments are administered. The TerraNova Standardized Test is administered to Kindergarten through Second grade. It measures achievement in all subjects. New York State English Language Arts and Mathematics Exams are administered to third and fourth Grade and New York State Science Test is also administered to fourth grade.  

The latest technology is integrated in all classrooms. Every classroom is equipped with an individual WiFi network an a Smart Board, to connect teachers and students to countless online resources.  Kindergarten students also have access to iPads for individualized learning during center time.