School Culture

From the moment you walk into a school, you can tell whether the adults care about the kids, whether the kids love being there and whether everyone is focused on achieving common goals. That is what we call school culture. The foundations of our culture are closely linked to our shared values.

We believe…

…that every child can graduate from college

Our schools are focused on ensuring our scholars will graduate from highly selective colleges. So, college is a hallmark of our culture and is infused throughout our schools. We begin by referring to our classrooms using the year the scholars will graduate from college. They will forever remember that they are the class of 2025, 2026, and so on. We also refer to their classrooms by the college from which their teacher graduated. Some teachers even teach their scholars the school song from their alma mater.

…in going Beyond Z

In the timeless children's book, On Beyond Zebra, Dr. Seuss urges his young readers to constantly find new limits—to discover and achieve more than they previously thought possible. The story explores what letters might exist beyond the letter “Z.”

Our scholars know we have high expectations because we ask them and our entire community to go "Beyond Z" each and every day. They're asked to work harder today than they did yesterday, think creatively and never stop at what immediately meets the eye. Take just a few steps down one of our hallways and you will see bulletin boards, posters and student artwork that all bring “Beyond Z” to life.

…in taking ACTION

How do you know if you are going Beyond Z? If you embody the ACTION Values! We teach our scholars to take responsibility for their own actions, to always ask questions, to always give their best, to be honest and trustworthy, to be a nice and thoughtful member of their community and to never look for the easy way out. Our teachers celebrate and reward scholars who demonstrate these values—a crown to wear for the day, a badge to proudly display on their uniform or a special “shout-out” during morning meeting.