Saint Mary's School - Simsbury, CT

As a pre-k to 8 school, one of the most important things St. Mary's does is to intentionally create a cohesive community where each person is valued and the school exists as a whole. Pride in oneself and in one's neighbor along with caring for students older and younger, builds confidence and a positive attitude towards learning and achieving.

The faculty fully embraces certain best practices that allow students to discover their gifts and talents and develop them while learning to appreciate the gifts and talents of others. The most critical best practices have been the implementation of Professional Learning Communities and differentiation of instruction in every grade. In the PLCs teachers carefully consider curriculum organization and successful teaching methods as they affect individual students.

Differentiation is a conscious decision every day to focus on the individual student. By working with parents and students the school is able to help the children learn to the very best of their ability. Through careful attention to grading practices, students are given ample opportunity to demonstrate their learning.

Finally, St. Mary’s School has embraced technology as a tool for learning in every grade. Seeing the iPad as a tool helps students understand that technology helps them learn and is not an end in itself. Expanding on technology, the school has also introduced coding to all of the students which has created an environment for 21st century skills of problem solving, creativity, and collaboration.