Our teachers know our kids…really know them. When all 475 students walk through the door every morning or through the halls during the day, they are greeted by name. As basic as this might seem, it’s actually not. In order to thrive, students must feel the deep security that comes when everyone around them—teachers and fellow classmates—recognizes and embraces what makes them who they are and knows them as people and learners. We know which student likes baseball and also needs some extra help around transitions at school. We know which student loves to paint and really gets pre-Algebra and needs extensions. We know who lost a pet over the weekend and needs extra TLC on Monday morning.

Teachers know each other, too, not just as colleagues who work together, but as thought partners, mentors and first-rate brainstormers. Our faculty and staff are able to deliver their best and enhance their craft because the atmosphere at school is one of respect and collaboration.

We promote and nourish a culture in which each individual feels a deep, tight interconnectedness. Every person belongs not only to the larger community, but to many smaller communities from band to havurah, Shabbat Shira to basketball, a specific grade to the LGBTQ club, the Parent Association to the alumni network. Belonging means that the people around you know what is important to you and why. It means doing life together. Our families share milestones, volunteer work, celebrations, playdates, a morning walk and coffee. It means having people who swell up around you when you need help or have experienced loss. It means feeling that sense of togetherness that can be hard to put into words, but clearly and palpably feels like the warmth of being at home.

School is often seen as preparation for high school and adult life. That’s true, of course, but we believe school is not only a building block for the future, but for real life. Right now. “What do I care about as a student? What am I trying to solve? How do I address things I care about?” “How do I do this?” We foster an environment that is interdisciplinary and hands-on in which students are present and future thinkers, doers, problem-solvers, philosophers, changemakers, partners and debaters. Persevering and puzzling through dilemmas and big questions, rather than just following a set of procedures, reinforces engagement and ownership.

From day one, our students are treated and respected as sophisticated, capable citizens of their classroom, the school community and the world. By harnessing children’s natural empathy and curiosity, alongside curriculum and programming designed to broaden their perspective and awareness of real world issues, they quickly develop a fire in their hearts and minds to take on responsibility and figure out what they want to do and how they will take action. We want our students to wrestle with the question, “What does this mean to me and why?” then be able to answer it with an inspired and profound sense of personal involvement and hope.

We set our students up to be successful navigating life’s twists and turns, joys and hurdles, relationships and logistics, choices and transitions. We know that the best way to do this is to give students the opportunity to practice the portable skills they will use throughout their lives. By focusing on partnership-style hevruta (learning in partnership), our students learn to lean into complexity, to listen deeply to another person and consider others’ perspectives and to disagree respectfully. Students develop a reservoir of overarching skills they use every day at school and which will serve them through high school, college and their careers. Having an organized locker, being a self-advocate or moving from one classroom to another, prepares students for today and beyond.