Authentic Relationships:

Our intentional school culture is anchored by positive relationships at every level – within student peer groups, between teachers and students, amongst our faculty and staff, in partnership with families and neighboring communities, as well as the broader global community. At every level, students and staff develop genuine trust in one another and feel encouraged to tackle challenges, take risks, and ask questions.

Deep Learning through Social Connections:

Research suggests that secure relationships, a sense of community, and collaboration can all positively impact learning. Relationships provide a buffer against traumatic life experiences, identity threats, or low self-efficacy. They also provide a greater sense of value and motivation. Similarly, working collaboratively leads to constructive emotions for learners but also supports meaningful encoding and lasting learning.

Daily Social Emotional Learning Activities:

We leverage a variety of Social Emotional Learning resources and activities to develop the whole person and support social emotional needs through our positive school environments that intentionally:

Encourage kind and empathic student relationships;
Foster strong, caring relationships with students;
Cultivate trust, kindness, and gratitude among school staff members;
Build relationships with families and local neighborhoods through kindness, empathy, and other prosocial qualities; and
Develop students' sense of care and responsibility for their world community.

Professional Learning Communities:

Our staff, teachers and principals recognize that we must work together maximize learning and streamline operations across our network. We have created, and continue to iterate on, structures to promote a collaborative culture. We are working through the initial phase of shifting from the traditional siloed parochial school to a systematic process in which teachers work together to analyze and improve their classroom practice. Our teachers work in teams and are developing greater trust in one another as we begin to engage cycles of questioning that promote deep team learning. This process, in turn, leads to higher levels of student achievement.

Our Defining Characteristics