Mission & Philosophy
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Mission Statement of the School
St. Matthew’s Parish School, an Episcopal day school, is an integral part of the Parish of St. Matthew, serving children and families of the parish and larger community. The school provides an excellent education through a challenging, caring and balanced program. Our purpose is to affirm that we are all children of God and to nurture intellectual, creative, spiritual and ethical individuals who serve, lead and flourish in an ever-changing world. Diversity and Inclusion Statement St. Matthew’s Parish School strives to be a welcoming and inclusive community that values diversity in all senses of the word. We respect the dignity of all people and are committed to making each member of the community feel acknowledged and supported, knowing their contribution and presence are appreciated. We believe that diversity and inclusivity are essential to our mission, our goals to serve, lead, flourish, and the five principles of our Character Covenant: respect, responsibility, empathy, honesty, and fairness. Building and sustaining an inclusive community will create the most potent and effective learning environment and help us learn and work as global citizens. |
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Serve - Lead - Flourish
The School’s motto states simply our desire to have each student at St. Matthew’s be a person who serves others, both within the school and the larger community. This goes beyond the formal service learning, although this is one important component, to mean often considering the needs of others before our own needs. Leadership is developed from the earliest grade levels where students are given the opportunity to work collaboratively with classmates and to take turns being in a leadership role. And from this work of service and leadership, we hope each will flourish and enjoy a fulfilling life. Individual classes and school-wide programs foster all of this.
Because we are a small school by design, St. Matthew's teachers and students have the opportunity to enjoy working closely together and have easy access to one another. We are a student body of approximately 350 in the preschool through eighth grade, with fewer than eleven students for every teacher. Programs such as the 8th Grade-Kindergarten Buddies and other cross-grade level activities provide rich opportunities to build community throughout the student body. As a parish school, we not only nurture and care for each other, but the entire community values how we, the adults, treat children and how we insist children treat one another.
Every student in the school community, PS-8th grade, discusses and signs a Character Covenant that articulates our expectations on how we expect to be treated and will treat, care for, and support others in our community. The Covenant and our daily work at school promote the school’s motto – Serve Lead Flourish – through emphasizing the following five principles: Empathy, Honesty, Fairness, Respect, Responsibility.
Since its founding in 1949, the school has consistently sought to develop and challenge the best that is in its students. To accomplish this, the school provides a challenging and traditional academic program supported by a nurturing environment. Teachers are dedicated to a view of the whole child and are thus responsive to children as people. We believe, therefore, that education works best through a program, which stresses intellectual, aesthetic, and spiritual and physical development; social involvement and responsibility; and moral understanding and maturity. Our vitality as a school and our success with each student depends upon our ability to help each child recognize, appreciate, and develop to the fullest of his or her potential.
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