The curriculum at JCDS is designed to recognize each child as an individual with unique abilities, personality traits, learning styles, interests, needs, background and ways of responding to the world. Individual and group contexts are provided for children to study at their own level and pace. They develop personal strengths and self-esteem while being challenged to excel. Varied teaching strategies and methods are used and adapted to students' differing abilities and learning styles. Alternative approaches for structuring classrooms such as multi-age groupings, small teams, pairs and larger groups are used to maximize the opportunities for children to learn from each other, develop mutual respect, cooperate on various tasks and projects, and build a whole school community.

At JCDS children are empowered to develop responsibility and decision-making skills, to become self-directed, independent learners. The school respects the capabilities of children and builds on their own ideas and insights to foster their natural strengths and advance their learning and education in the broadest sense. Children are active participants in designing their own learning environment, making certain curriculum choices, setting goals and planning activities. The school stimulates students to develop initiative, maturity, resourcefulness, organizational capabilities and social and study skills that will enable them to excel in future educational settings and in adult endeavors.

The multi-age groupings used at JCDS contribute to children's social development. Through the use of cooperative learning in the multi-age classroom, children more easily acquire leadership, communication and conflict management skills. Younger students have a tendency to look up to older students, and when two students of different ages work together, the younger student's interest level, and therefore the amount of subject matter retained, is enhanced. Also, the older student has additional incentive to organize his/her thoughts and will be able to take pride in his/her and his younger partner's accomplishments. Children are stimulated socially and intellectually through interaction with children of different developmental levels and ages. Older children learn through teaching while younger children learn and are motivated through role modeling. In the multi-age situation, children experience a variety of roles: regardless of where a child fits chronologically in her/his one-year age cycle, that child will experience being a younger child in the classroom one year and then being one of the older students the following year. The multi-age classroom allows children to be grouped by developmental stage for some activities and according to cognitive ability for others.