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The Whitby Difference

 

 

The Whitby Difference  /  Whitby Education  /  The Whitby Experience  /  Our Team  /  Our Parent Community  /  Alumni Stories  /  Whitby Campus

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"An individual’s success in the 21st century will be entirely dependent on his or her ability to think critically and creatively about the challenges they face."

Academic Rigor, Redefined for the 21st Century

Schools that associate academic rigor with test taking, hours of homework and rote memorization of facts are preparing students for success in the last century.

Rigor at Whitby is much more expansive as we provide our students with opportunities to explore real-world concepts and issues, challenge assumptions, think critically, and acquire skills that they will need to apply throughout their educational and future professional journeys.

Triple Accreditation Puts Us In a Class of Our Own

Whitby is recognized by three accrediting bodies - the American Montessori Society, the International Baccalaureate Organization, and the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools.

All three accrediting bodies require an in-depth self-study that involves faculty, administration, and the Board of Trustees. and the parent community.

The commendations and recommendations of the self-study, when validated by the accrediting agencies, ensure we remain focused on our mission and progressive in our continued commitment to provide an exceptional learning continuum for our students.

 

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Your Child's Questions Will Change the World

Inquiry-based learning is the basis for how our children learn. Starting in the earliest years, our students are encouraged to post questions on their classroom's Wonder Board.

As they move up through the grades on their learning journey, their questions become the foundation of their inquiry and research into the world around them.

The genius part of this process is that the questions spark their curiosity and then their curiosity leads to more questions.

Students are more committed to finding answers for the ones they are asking,  instead of the ones being asked. 

Your Child, In the Driver's Seat of Their Education

We're happy to share the ingredients of our not-so-secret recipe for making your child into a lifelong learner.

  • First, give students the freedom to explore and inquire into the world around them.
  • Second, provide them with lots of opportunities for reflection as well as time for collaboration with their peers. Then, give them the tools to assess themselves as learners.
  • Next, give them the opportunity to present their learning in Student-led Parent-Teacher Conferences.
  • Finally, repeat these steps over-and-over for 12 years. If you followed this recipe then you will end up with children who take ownership of the learning process, have a vision to chart their own course and the strength to learn whatever, whenever needed.

Remember, students are far more committed to the outcome when they have a voice and a choice.

Academics are Just One Piece of the Puzzle

We all know academics are important, but only focusing on them is like watering one leaf of a plant.

This means that we provide opportunities to support our students' social, emotional, and physical needs along with their academic needs.

One highly visible example of how we achieve this is through our co-curricular program which provides students with opportunities to engage in a wide array of after-school classes that extend learning from the core subjects.

Some of the class titles that we offer include: Comic Creations, Global Video Game Developers, Kung Fu Tiger, Circuit Adventures, Beginner Crochet, Slimy - Scaly - Ooey - Gooey, Advanced Chinese, and 3D Printing.

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Our Teachers' Passion for Learning is Contagious.

You know your children have caught the "learning bug" if they can't wait for summer vacation to end so they can get back to school. 

At Whitby, we believe learning should continue throughout your whole life, and employees are constantly encouraged to pursue new growth opportunities. Teachers that find joy in the pursuit of their own professional growth translates into the kind of passion that inspires students to reach for new heights.

Differentiating Learning Through a Low Student-Teacher Ratio

Forget the "one-size fits all" approach to education where one teacher teaches a large group of students all at the same level. At Whitby, our multi-teacher classrooms allow us to differentiate the instruction on a small group or even individual basis.

Teachers observe, mentor, challenge and assess, while providing their students with the freedom needed to inquire, explore, and develop a deeper love of learning.

When we say multi-teacher classroom, we don't mean one teacher and one assistant.  Two to three fully certified teachers work in each classroom in the Lower School as well as the Children's House.

See the Whitby Difference in Person


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Diversity Shouldn't Just be Another Checkbox

Whitby’s population represents 17 countries, with more than 25 languages spoken. This means that our teachers don't have to look very far to find parents willing to come in to share stories of their heritage or life journeys.

We live it every day and so our students end up being the beneficiaries of a school culture where differences in perspective are valued and contribute to the development of empathy and critical thinking skills.

Need a global perspective? Talk to one of our students.

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Happiness Found in the Service of Others

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
-Mahatma Gandhi

We think Gandhi was so right when he said that the best way to find oneself is to lose oneself in the service of others. At Whitby, we make volunteerism a key part of our student's experience.

If you live locally, tou may have even seen our students around town volunteering at different organizations such as SoundWaters, The Sharing Shelf and Neighbot to Neighbor.

The best part of community service is that it is a win-win situation for the students who learn to develop empathy, humility and leadership skills, as well as the organizations the students are volunteering at as they get free labor. In turn, the people being helped by those same organizations receive the extra support.