Our Beliefs and Values
The New School of San Francisco community members are courageous, curious, kind, and responsible. These values undergird all that we do, and we work our best to live them out in all we do. We also appreciate it’s not always easy to model our values — especially in times of challenge — and we rely on each other to help us see and understand when our values are not being upheld. As we teach our children, we approach challenges with an inquiry mindset by asking questions, seeking to understand, and collaborating to find a solution.
We are an anti-racist school
We are committed to breaking down systemic structures which contribute to deep inequities in education. Our goal is to prioritize our black/brown students, English Language Learners (ELL’s), and students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) by dismantling white supremacy. We continuously question our culture, climate, and curriculum to ensure all members of our community are committed to being racially literate and ultimately anti-racist change makers. We teach kids of all ages to think critically about how race has been constructed in the United States, to become aware of their own racial socialization, and we give them the skills and vocabulary to engage in productive conversations around race and racism.
We believe every child is unique
Each child enters the classroom with a unique set of strengths and needs. To address these, we design Individualized Learning Plans with differentiated goals and strategies, enabling each student to learn at the right pace with the right group to meet the learning objective. To help students become the best version of themselves, they explore their own identities, practice empathy, and learn from others.
We learn by doing
Our student-centered approach to learning allows students to dive into their own passions, collaborate with others and apply their knowledge through hands-on experiences. Our integrated units are built around an essential question that connects all content areas and draws on the Common Core standards. Projects and learning build over time, connecting the past, present and future.
We build community through partnerships
Families play an active role in their child’s learning, and school staff build long-term relationships to ensure students develop personally and academically.
In addition to family partnerships, we have strong relationships with local organizations:
To allow students to engage with the city and its rich resources as a living classroom.
To benefit families who receive support to thrive in an ever-changing city.
To benefit the community who learn alongside us as we iterate on and contribute to best practices in 21st century learning.