Program Overview

The Benefits of a LEAD Education

Lead is a thriving and loving neighborhood school built upon the legacy of families who have attended Lead over the past three generations. Lead was originally founded as Albion H. Horrall School in 1953, named after a former San Mateo City School District Superintendent. Horrall was renamed Lead Elementary in 2015 to reflect a change in direction and a focus on the 21st century. Lead continues to serve the Shoreview neighborhood of San Mateo and provide our students and families with a community dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion for all.

Through partnerships with the San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation, San Mateo County Office of Education,  CuriOdyssey and local universities and corporations, Lead teachers explore, create and incorporate best teaching practices with a focus on literacy imbedded in all subject areas.  We are a staff dedicated to equity and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Students benefit from increased and expanded instructional strategies for teaching reading, writing, math, science, and social studies as well as increased use of technology with the Common Core  Standards curriculum.

Students also benefit from Chromebook-based learning opportunities enabling them  to learn at their own pace and  level – techniques proven to be especially helpful for English Language Learners.

Pioneering Change

The curriculum  and  instructional practices at Lead are aligned with Common Core  State  Standards, recommendations for quality schools  and  with the District’s Standards of Excellence, educating all students to achieve their potential through a rigorous program that builds  a solid academic foundation and  challenges students to think critically, communicate effectively, and be advocates for positive change.

Lead’s balanced literacy program of listening, speaking, reading, and writing is based on best practices of Early Literacy, Guided Reading, and the Readers’  and Writers’ Workshop model. Mathematics and  science instruction are activity and  communication-based and  promote investigation and high-level thinking skills.

The structured English Language Development of English Language Learners boasts a rich curriculum through Benchmark. Along with their dedication to academic excellence, the  Lead community believes in the development of active, well-rounded, socially responsible citizens who positively impact  today and the future.