Contact us at 608-366-3453

Principal, Paul Fischer and the staff welcome you to Cataract Elementary School.  Cataract Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through third grade students.  We have a strong sense of community and have created a learning community among all the students in the school.

"We believe that all students can learn."

Our school is founded on The Responsive Classroom approach to teaching that helps build a strong social curriculum and appropriate academic content.  Responsive Classroom strategies weave through the fabric of daily school life, creating a learning community that is both academically challenging and socially responsible.  These methods enhance academic performance, increase social skills, and reduce problem behaviors. 

We begin our day with "Morning Meeting" a deliberate way to start the day.  The children greet each other, share news of interest to the class, do a short activity together and learn about the events of the day.

Our discipline strategies are based on The Responsive Classroom approach where we are respectful of children and help them take responsibility for their actions.  The primary goal of logical consequences is to help children develop inner control by looking closely at their own behavior and learning from their mistakes.

Academic Choice Time is a time for all children to take control of their own learning in some meaningful way, both individually or cooperatively.  Children learn best when given choices about what they are learning and plenty opportunities to explore, to make decisions, to take risks, and to make mistakes.

Guided Discovery is a focused, purposeful, technique teachers use to introduce materials, areas, or activities to students.  This practice is used heavily in the fall when new routines are learned and they reappear through the school year whenever necessary.

We look at assessment as a way of improving our instruction and report to parents with a quick visit before or after school.  Assessment and reporting to parents is an ever evolving process of mutual communication and understanding.