Mission, Purpose and Objectives

Mission Statement
Saint Ann’s exists to nurture the wonder of children. Unfettered by grades, teachers and students embark on journeys of discovery in which the arts are central. Through an ambitious curriculum and a culture of inquiry, we question the world. We invite each other to take risks, pursue knowledge for its own sake, and celebrate growth. We seek to create a community rooted in trust and equity. Here, every subject is an art and every child is an artist.

Statement of Purpose and Objectives
A Saint Ann’s education imparts the best of human traditions and discoveries while nurturing intellectual adventure. Our students are given great freedom — certainly to achieve, also to trust themselves and to find deep satisfaction in learning for its own sake. In anecdotal reports, the classroom, at sports events, or on stage, we hold central the celebration of our students.

Teachers at Saint Ann’s are chosen for their strong intellectual and artistic interests and their commitment to the education of our children. Faculty are given the opportunity to communicate their enthusiasm, to use whatever they find practical in an effort to draw out the most authentic and exceptional work from their students. Our teachers’ leadership in the classroom and out arises from their intellect, accomplishment, and profound sense of humanity.

Our curriculum is a realm of possibilities where we meet our students. It is a substantive and dynamic means to engage every child. It is flexible and responsive, so that whenever feasible, our students undertake accelerated or specialized work in subject areas ranging from music to calculus to Chinese, based upon talents and interests rather than age or grade.

We are a genuine community, operating seven days a week, constantly reinvented as our members move from role to role, sustained by a commitment to each other and to the ongoing symposium that is our school. The growth and success of Saint Ann’s owe much to the faithfulness with which we adhere to our educational philosophy: that education is, in the last analysis, a celebration of life and that life is wondrous, ephemeral, and for those reasons, sacred.