Shady Hill School

Shady Hill School wants children to be joyful, active learners who become confident and ethical citizens of the school community and the world beyond. We believe in the primacy of exploration and discovery, we advance the mastery of skills, and we help students shape meaning from knowledge. To accomplish these ends, the school:

• Knows and honors the individual character and spirit of each child
• Respects the pace of childhood and understands that true exploration takes time
• Creates a safe environment that allows children to be curious, take risks, and make mistakes
• Encourages children to be independent thinkers and doers
• Advocates learning through cooperation and collaboration
• Designs and uses Central Subject, an interdisciplinary curriculum with a deep focus on a single theme or year-long topic
• Emphasizes contact with primary sources and actual materials
• Values creative thinking and intellectual discipline
• Helps children discover the power of imagination
• Promotes the leadership of teachers and invests in their professional development
• Offers a stimulating teacher training course for those preparing to enter the profession
• Challenges prejudice, respects difference, and recognizes that multiple perspectives inform human experience
• Forges a lively, interdependent community of students, teachers, parents, alumni and administrators who work together to achieve the school's mission and sustain its values.