Children learn best when…

• They are trusted, valued and well known by their teachers, whom they see as allies.
• Their developmental timetables are respected.
• They experience diversity as a natural and positive dynamic in their classrooms and in the school community.
• They enjoy learning for its own sake rather than being motivated through competition or rewards.
• Their original, creative work is valued and nurtured.
• Their own wonderful ideas influence the curriculum.
• Their need for play is dignified as authentic learning.
• Their social connections and emotional lives are an integral part of their school experience.
• They find security in understandable and reasonable rules.
• They have close connections to the natural world.

Teaching is most effective when…

• Teachers have a deep understanding of child development.
• There is an awareness of and appreciation for students’ diverse backgrounds.
• Teachers practice their craft as both a science informed by current research, and as an art.
• There is an emphasis on conceptual level understanding and the interconnectedness of subjects.
• Assessment is done through observation and work samples rather than through tests and grades.
• Academic challenges are matched to each child’s demonstrated cognitive growth.
• Young children learn through discovery and direct experience.
• Older children learn academics in a meaningful context with a purpose that matters to them.
• Oldest children are guided to develop an authentic voice as well as skills needed when they outgrow the school.

Our community thrives when…

• Diversity is valued and celebrated.
• Communication is respectful between all members of the community.
• Children feel ownership of the campus as their special place.
• Teachers and staff are respected as professionals dedicated to a form of education that is responsive, not predetermined, and thereby more demanding than traditional methodologies.
• There is a sense of partnership between parents and teachers.
• All members understand the values and methods of progressive education
• Students develop as independent thinkers capable of influencing the world in which they live.