About Our School
Highlands Mission Statement
Highlands mission is to educate children in a safe, cooperative, and innovative environment while building long-term, collaborative relationships with families.
Belief Statement
We value everyone's right to learn, to have fun and to belong. We take care of ourselves, each other and our environment. Each of us strives to be the best person that we can be.
School Facts
Highlands Elementary School is one of six elementary public schools within the Edina School District. All of the Edina Schools are excellent and each has its own individual personality. Highlands Elementary is a K-5 school with an enrollment of 550 students. We have two programs at Highlands, Continuous Progress and Discovery.
Kindergarten
- Half-day program.
- Self-contained classes.
- Emphasis on social interaction.
- Reading/writing readiness.
Continuous Progress Program
- District-wide alternative program
- Multi-age and multi-grade classes
- 2 classrooms form a "family".
- Students stay in a "family" for elementary years.
- Nurtures parent/teacher relationships.
- Family activities and parent involvement.
- Yearly attendance at an environmental learning center.
Discovery Program
- Single grade level classes.
- Looping, with the same teacher and students for 2 years, 1st-2nd and 3rd-4th.
- Classes go to environmental camp in second, fourth and fifth grade.
- Nurtures parent/teacher relationships
- Family activities and parent involvement.
Highlands Learning Environment
Two words, which would capture learning at Highlands, are active and varied. Different students have different talents and learning styles. However, the learning environment at Highlands is grounded in some shared philosophical beliefs.
Cooperative Learning
The ability to work effectively and cooperatively with others is a necessity in family, work, and community throughout life. In cooperative learning groups, students work together to achieve social and academic goals. Structured cooperative groups enhance learning, increase motivation to achieve, encourage positive social relationships and improve psychological health.
Choice Theory and the Five Basic Needs
We believe that all people have five basic needs. They are love & belonging, fun, freedom, success, and survival. People choose to behave in ways to meet those needs. By understanding our basic needs we can make positive choices and better understand the behavior of others.
Lifeskills
Life skills are dispositions, attitudes or habits that will enhance students' success, academically and socially throughout life. The list of life skills guides our behavior as we learn and interact with others. They also provide us with a common language to be intentional about creating a safe and respectful environment. These skills are taught, modeled and practiced at Highlands.
| integrity | initiative | flexibility |
| perseverance | organization | sense of humor |
| effort | common sense | problem solving |
| responsibility | patience | friendship |
| curiosity | cooperation | caring |
Conflict Resolution
Since conflict is a natural part of life, it is necessary that we learn how to interact effectively and peacefully with each other. Therefore everyone at Highlands learns a step-by-step process called Conflict Resolution to help us solve interpersonal conflicts.