A Parent's View
"The School I Want for My Child"

The school that I want for my child will give its students the tools and strength to confidently choose and create their own futures. The students will understand that nothing of value can be easily accomplished. They will have had the experience of achieving goals through sustained effort. They will have had hundreds of opportunities to process ideas completely and they will have experienced the complexities of subtleties and nuance. They will have been expected to separate knowledge from belief. They will have gained the ability to express their ideas articulately, accurately, thoroughly and powerfully. They will have worked alone and collaborated in teams and felt the pleasure and frustration of both. They will know that their school has the academic authority to evaluate their performance thoughtfully and compassionately, yet totally honestly, leaving them unexposed to the self-doubt inflicted by easy praise.

The school I want for my child will bring its students to consider their personal values. They will have been expected to behave civilly and honorably. They will have been exposed to thought about the core values embraced by all civilizations and they will have lived among examples of care, humility, compassion and respect. In the end, however, their values will be theirs alone to choose.

The school I want for my child will respect its students' individualities and will, in every moment, focus on empowering rather than molding, on freeing rather than controlling, and on reflecting rather than judging.

And because its students will have earned their successes, and because they will know how to strive and persist toward future goals, the school I want will give its students the one thing they will most need - quiet and thoughtful confidence.

I've found that school here.