Mission & Diversity

Through our social studies-centered curriculum, children gain an understanding of themselves and the world across time and place, peoples and cultures. We teach subject matter in depth with a strong interdisciplinary focus. Our students acquire substantial knowledge along with the ability to make connections between various areas of learning. 

We challenge students to reach their full potential for cognitive, social, emotional and physical growth. Our teaching offers a rich, deliberate blend of learning experiences nurturing insightful thinking and deductive reasoning, artistry and craftsmanship. Our students encounter hands-on, project-based learning as well as direct instruction, repetition, review and reinforcement. 

Children learn in different ways. We believe it is essential to offer multiple pathways to mastery. To grasp an idea, students may need to write about it, build it, act it out, graph it, contact an expert in it, debate and test it, paint it or explore it through other activities that tap into their talents. 

We empower students to take intellectual risks that discipline and stretch their minds. Our students learn how to learn, not only from teachers, but also from each other. We encourage questioning of assumptions, lively discourse, and creative, collaborative problem solving. 

Ours is a community where people care for and respect one another. We actively listen to children and allow them to express their emotions. We help our students develop the ability to make ethical choices, to appreciate each other and each other’s work and to understand the consequences of their behavior. 

Our children cultivate the empathy, kindness, resilience and self-discipline needed for lasting happiness and success. A VCS graduate has developed the skills for meeting challenges, a deep sense of social responsibility and the ability to enjoy the beauty and drama of life.