Lower School Mission Statement

Respect for children and trust in their inherent enthusiasm for learning are the tenets that determine the design of our educational processes and objectives. Our purpose is to cultivate independent thinking, protect children’s natural joy and ease in learning, and to preserve their sense of creativity, curiosity, and self-esteem. For children in a resource-rich and emotionally supportive environment, academic, intellectual, physical, and emotional growth is inevitable.

We happily acknowledge that every person in our school has something to teach as well as to learn; therefore, we encourage a variety of social learning formats. We assume that children, as well as adults, can meaningfully contribute to their world, solving problems, providing factual information, teaching skills to others, and generally offering insights; so we listen carefully to children’s ideas; and in turn, they willingly learn from us. At other times, children and adults can enjoy a peer relationship in studying or discovering things new to each. Most important though, we celebrate and honor the notion that children can successfully teach themselves and one another.

We value both formal and informal learning and teaching styles, and group and tutorial approaches; but, it is our belief that self-initiated learning enables a child to study with the most enthusiasm and commitment, leading to more sustained interest and grasp of a subject than can be externally assigned. And the level of mastery achieved when a child is self-motivated, as well as the degree of retention, can be powerful. Self-initiated study, however, requires the use of fundamental skills that are ordinarily acquired through focused study with a coach, whether peer or adult, in a small group, or one-on-one. For this reason, We choose
organized, but not solely traditional ways of presenting the fundamentals of reading, writing, and computation.

Once a child shows readiness and interest, a teaching approach is selected that best matches the child’s own learning style. New material is usually introduced in individual tutoring, and progress is determined by the child’s pace.