Akron Life January 2023

EDUCATION

L E T T E R S F R O M T H E M A I N O F F I C E

OUR LADY OF THE ELMS

SETON CATHOLIC SCHOOL

SPRING GARDEN WALDORF SCHOOL Waldorf education upholds the principles of freedom in education by offering a developmentally appropriate, experiential and academically rigorous approach integrated with the arts, allowing teachers to generate inner enthusiasm for learning within every child. Students can develop their unique capacities and engage with the world as clear and creative thinkers with compassion, moral strength and courage. FROM DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION AMY HECKY: Waldorf education offers an innovative and inspiring approach to learning, addressing the whole child — cogni tive, social and creative — and meets students’ needs through a challenging and multisensory environment. Our school offers a warm introduc tory experience in our caregiver-child classes. In our play-based preschool and kindergarten programs, teachers focus on fostering imagination, creativ ity and pre-academic skills through storytelling and artistic activities. Our elementary school students prog ress into the challenging and experien tial curriculum where testing, grading and homework are minimized. It inspires the artistic, creative and imagi native life of the child while providing academics through hands-on lessons. Middle school students develop a strong foundation for creative, con ceptual and abstract thinking through our robust liberal arts curriculum. Experiential learning is still key in these years as we set high standards. People of any race, ancestry, nation ality, socioeconomic background, family structure, age, religion, belief system, gender, sexual orientation and appearance are welcome, should feel respected and celebrated and should see themselves reflected in the culture, curriculum and policy. Our school has no tolerance for intolerance, bigotry and oppres sion. Our community welcomes all.

Elms girls become confident leaders, accomplished professionals and advocates for justice and the common good. Prepared to succeed in life, they possess a spiritual, educational, global and experiential foundation shaped at the Elms. FROM ACADEMIC DEAN KEVIN KELLY: The Elms is the only all-girls, faith-based school for first through 12th grades with a coed preschool and kindergar ten in the Diocese of Cleveland. Our mission is to educate girls and young women to live their lives boldly with purpose, con fidence, kindness, resilience, justice and faith. Ranked as one of the top pri vate schools in Summit County, we are known for our academic excellence, caring atmosphere and strong community spirit. We strive for every girl to become an inquiring lifelong learner, a compassionate and engaged global citizen and a confident and caring leader. Every girl is inspired to reach her full potential. By the very nature of our mis sion, the Elms is an individual ized educational experience. Because we endeavor to inspire each girl to reach her full poten tial, there are as many different versions of that as there are girls in the school. That said, girls who are curious, open-minded and hard-working will thrive at the Elms and in our community.

Inspired by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and rooted in Catholic faith, Seton Catholic School fosters spiritual development, academic excellence, responsibility to self and service to others. FROM PRINCIPAL KAREN ALESTOCK: Seton Catholic School, which has pre-K through eighth grade, is a community of educators and families committed to the common goal of providing a rich, faith-filled school experi ence for students. It was founded by families with a clear vision to create a strong, independent, cultur ally and spiritually rich home for their children and future students. Seton Catholic School provides a faith-based education in which academic excellence, citizenship and service define the experience for every student. Our comprehensive curriculum engages students in active, per sonal learning with an emphasis on problem-solving, creativity and discovery that fosters a life long love of learning. Immersed in the humanities, arts and sciences, foreign lan guages, mathematics and envi ronmental education, students are nurtured in a setting of con structive and personalized learn ing. Innovation and tradition unite with guided responsible use of technology, successfully integrated with time-honored instruction.

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