Academics - St. Andrew's Schools - The Priory, The Prep, Queen Emma Preschool

Students at St. Andrew’s Schools experience a personalized education that only a smaller school can provide.

Students belong to a caring and compassionate learning community where they are known, understood and mentored by the faculty and staff. Relationships are at the heart of what we do, and we are proud of the strong connections between and amongst our students, our families, our teachers, and administrators. We would love to welcome you to campus and get you better acquainted with our schools!

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Aims & Guiding Principles
Educational Philosophy

Aims & Guiding Principles

Aims of a St. Andrew’s Education

Our students will develop strong, confident voices and a commitment to mastering, understanding and creating knowledge.
Our students will develop the intellectual capacity and habits of mind to be successful and thrive in college, the workforce, and beyond.
Our students will lead a life of purpose and service with integrity, respect, compassion, advocacy, and kindness.
Our students will appreciate diversity, understand our connectedness to each other and to Earth, and have the ability to work individually and collaboratively in our global community.
Our students will develop lifetime habits of physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional wellness so they can reach their promise and help others do the same.

Guiding Principles

Harnessing the Power of Each Child

We believe each child should be seen as an individual, and their unique talents cultivated so they can live a life of purpose.

Creating a Culture of Belonging

Our Episcopal foundation of inclusiveness, loving kindness, and spiritual growth give students the supportive environment they need to learn, take risks, and find their passion.

Perpetuating Queen Emma's Dream

We are stewards of Queen Emma's legacy, driving us to provide each child, regardless of background, the opportunity to flourish.

Educational Philosophy

We believe that all children can learn and that they need a teacher who

loves, cares for, and believes in them,
sets high expectations,
ignites their curiosity,
understands and implements what is known regarding the science of learning, and
crafts the curriculum and instruction so students can be successful in their learning.

To accomplish this,

We provide an engaging and challenging learning environment that is designed to meet the needs and aspirations of girls and boys using a single-gender coordinate educational system for students grades K - 12 and a coed, play-based program for our preschool students.
We foster well-being in mind, body, and spirit to ensure a child’s healthy growth and development.
We teach and model integrity, empathy, compassion, and loving-kindness, and call children to live an ethical life of purpose and service.
We create personalized learning experiences, so students can uncover their individual talents and passions and have voice and choice in their school work. They learn how to set goals, honestly assess their progress, and be both inspired and motivated to persevere.
We cultivate a culture of thinking, learning, leading, and doing that provides opportunities for deep inquiry, exploration, discovery and reflection.
We empower students to lead with courage and conviction by creating opportunities to collaborate, create, and communicate as a member of the local, national, and global community.
We are committed to lifelong learning and continued innovation in teaching and learning. By exploring and thoughtfully incorporating educational research (e.g. the neuroscience of learning) we work to create, design and implement a preschool – 12 curricular program which uses effective instructional and assessment strategies to enhance student learning.