With the amount of educational options in New York City, schools are on a mission to identify and distinguish themselves. They want you to feel that warm fuzzy click of belonging from the first visit to their website. They want to convince you that they are the best fit for your child and family. That, here, and nowhere else, your child’s full potential will be unlocked. While each school aims to depict  a unique educational experience, school websites can read as generic, almost interchangeable, declarations of commitment to your child’s overall development and success. School mission statements are, at best, abstractly inspiring, and, more often, just confounding. Parents often ask us, “What does it all even mean?”

Understanding a school’s promotional statements may require certain mental gymnastics, but there are truths behind the words, and we are here to simplify it for you. School “mission statements” (or “values” or “about” or “philosophy” or “why -,” or whatever they call it on their websites) are a mix of buzzwords (which are attached to genuine sentiments) that can be boiled down to three tenets:

• Educational philosophy 

• Academic excellence 

• Community   

We are dedicating a series of blog posts to unpacking the tangible implications of the abstract mission statement to help you understand what you can actually expect of your child’s educational experience. This post is “Pt 1: Understanding the Educational Philosphy of a School.” Make sure to also check out “Pt 2: What is Academic Excellence and how do I know if a school really has it?”  and “Pt 3: Community.”

Mission Statement Tenet #1: Educational Philosophy

Schools are all going to posit that they do something beyond hard academics (e.g.learning multiplication facts) that is tied to age appropriate development and, in short simple terms, educating your child to be a good, happy, person. Here is a breakdown of some of the ideas and phrases present and what they really mean. 

“Progressive” 

A lot of schools present themselves as “progressive” schools, which is frustratingly abstract. All this actually means is that they believe in developmentally appropriate education. If a school actually uses  “progressive” in their promotional materials and website, it likely points to the history of the school (it was one of the first of its kind) and less so a distinction in its current approach and pedagogy. However, you can expect schools that identify themselves as “progressive” to be more child-centered than your typical school in the lower grades. This generally means, more hands-on learning experiences, discussion, projects, play…and less direct instruction, worksheets, and tests.

Related Buzzword:

• Child-centered: This term is synonymous with “progressive.” 

“The Whole Child”

There are different words schools use to capture the sentiment of “learning beyond” the traditional academics. An emphasis on any of these terms may indicate that learning outside the “core curriculum” (math, history, reading, writing…) is particularly valued. These learning opportunities may occur  in the context of morning meetings or homerooms (for upper grades), or even as separate classes integrated Into the weekly schedule (e.g. social-emotional learning classes). 

Related Buzzwords: 

• Holistic: This is the same as “whole child” and simply refers to fostering all aspects of a child’s development - their social emotional growth, as well as their academic learning.

• Discover Passions : Typically attached to schools that provide enrichment opportunities (arts, sports, dance, etc). 

“Love of Learning”

There is another slew of terms that indicate how children are learning within the traditional academic subjects. Most of these paint the picture of capitalizing on children’s natural curiosity to foster deep question asking, active engagement, and, ultimately, this “love of learning.” Emphasis of any of the related terms below can give you insight into how your child is learning. 

Related Buzzwords: 

• Play based: If a school uses this word, they typically mean it. You can expect children (sometimes up to grade 2) to have significant time to play in the classroom and for the curriculum to be built around this play. Expect lots of block-building. 

• Project based: Again, schools that use this term usually mean it, and you can expect students to have more group work and hands-on experiences through the upper grades. 

• Inquiry based: This term is becoming increasingly common and carries less inherent weight in terms of understanding a school’s educational approach. Schools that emphasize “inquiry” may have more instruction tailored to students’ interests. In some cases part of the curriculum and learning is dictated by the particular questions students ask about a topic. 

“Active Citizens”

Schools will posit that students’ learning will extend beyond the classroom walls, and students will become engaged members of society. This paints the idea of schools inspiring the next generation of leaders. In practice, most of these terms relate to history and social studies learning. 

Related Buzzwords:

• Diverse Perspectives/ Voices: By including this sentiment, schools want to make it clear that they are remaining current and up-to-date on the educational materials (books, articles, etc) your child is learning from. Schools that particularly emphasize multiple perspectives, usually have a particular focus on social studies learning and students engaging with first-hand accounts of historical events. 

• Global citizens (really anything with “global” or “world”): Despite the image it conjures, use of this term does not necessarily mean that students are engaging in any more current events. In our opinion, it is just a way to capture the sentiment of a modern-day learning environment. 

• Socially responsive: A succinct way of saying “acting in a way that positively impacts the world around you.” 

The Philosophy Fluff 

“The Fluff” are those generic template terms and words that can be applied to virtually any educational institution, regardless of its unique strengths or challenges. While these words indicate sincere sentiments (the school really cares about your child being a full, happy, person!), they seldom indicate any hard facts about a school's program. 

• Lifelong learner 

• Fullest versions of self 

• Resilience 

• Engaged 

• Full potential 

• Courage

• Integrity 

• Critical thinking

Off the Walls and into the Halls

Some school statements will elicit a gut reaction eye-roll, others may resonate, and even inspire you. Above all else look for evidence of how schools are, to use a favorite cliche, taking their missions “off the walls and into the halls.” In other words, uncover how and what students learn by decoding which aspects of the educational experience are emphasized.

And remember, BetterEd is here to help take some of the pressure off. We can “read beyond the words” alongside you to come up with a school list that fits just right. You know your child. We know education. Sign up for a free 15 minute consultation below or contact us for more information.