The New School emphasizes the development of each child as a whole person. The following goals form the foundation of New School life and define skills that are encouraged and developed in every student.

• To experience the joy of learning!
• To see the educational process, itself, as fun
• To see potential learning in every experience
• To nurture curiosity and ask questions
• To be willing to try without the guarantee of success
• To see learning as a challenge and not a chore
• To be cooperative, as opposed to competitive
• To work as a team and support others
• To be a problem solver
• To develop a good use of time
• To initiate and follow through
• To see education as an ongoing process that is not confined to school
• To be flexible
• To develop confidence in one’s abilities
• To learn good communication skills
• To measure success in terms of personal fulfillment and not in terms of power
• To develop a good self image
• To have a sense of humor
• To deal successfully with frustration and failures
• To be compassionate
• To be able to recognize and value cultural, religious and social family differences while maintaining one’s own beliefs
• To value others for their uniqueness
• To see others’ abilities as a resource rather than a threat
• To appreciate the uniqueness of The New School and value one’s time here
• To be empowered to make decisions and deal with the consequences
• To take responsibility for one’s own learning, behavior and environment
• To set goals that will challenge and extend one’s abilities
• To seek fulfillment of one’s own potential as a creative being

While our curriculum adapts to reflect the needs and interests of our students, the academic goals of The New School provide consistency and purpose. Because our academic goals are met as a part of an interesting and student-driven process, New School students retain information as a part of their life experience and not as isolated data. New School graduates repeatedly demonstrate their firm academic foundation as they transition into higher education.

Mathematics

• To enjoy math
• To see math as an integrated part of our everyday world
• To learn math concepts through exploration and practical experiences
• To extend math work into other aspects of the curriculum
• To develop an understanding of numbers and number relationship
• To use learned math skills in a practical and useful way
• To develop the ability to record math experiences in a variety of ways

Language

• To have a whole language approach to reading incorporating writing, listening and speaking
• To develop ease in expressing ideas, both oral and written
• To acquire a love of reading and words
• To learn to read at one’s own pace and in one’s own way
• To learn to read as a natural process through interest
• To be able to share reading pleasure by reading aloud to individuals or a group
• To comprehend written material and be able to apply the information
• To see writing as an important communication skill
• To learn writing, grammar, punctuation and spelling fundamentals through the writing process
• To use writing to document factual material
• To learn to use resource materials as an aid to research and writing

Science

• To have a wide variety of experiences in all aspects of the sciences
• To develop a practical approach to projects with an emphasis on scientific discovery and experimentation
• To learn the scientific method as an approach to problem solving
• To develop a basic understanding of our relationship to our environment
• To nurture awareness of our responsibility toward our environment
• To learn to record scientific data

Social Studies

• To have a wide variety of experiences within the class and school community
• To be aware of and to discuss different viewpoints
• To serve the community on a variety of levels
• To be aware of and to discuss local, state and world issues in a relevant context
• To be exposed to world culture through music, literature, art, food and personal interaction