At St. Luke’s, we recognize children’s great capacity to contribute to their learning environment, and encourage them to share ideas and make meaning in community. We cultivate active learners and thinkers, engaged in productive struggle with complex, developmentally-appropriate concepts. While we emphasize the process of learning rather than the product of knowledge, our students are prepared to read critically, write with purpose, and apply mathematical, scientific and engineering concepts with fluency. Through our child-centered instruction and individualized learning support, students learn perseverance, experience joy when learning, and find success in challenges. As they develop confidence their capacity to unearth answers and articulate their thinking, students move into the Upper School well prepared for new challenges.

At the core of our social and emotional program is the belief that children must develop a strong sense of self and the confidence to make connections with their peers. Through connection, they learn to problem solve together and be open to different experiences. We believe that emotions matter because they drive learning, decision-making, creativity, relationships, and health. Students participate in practices that help them become grounded and self aware. As students learn the nuances of emotional regulation and sound decision-making, they gain confidence to take academic risks, expand their thinking, and apply their learning in creative, innovative ways. Lower School classrooms are rooted in emotional intelligence, mindfulness, problem solving, and restorative practices, building empathetic and well-rounded citizens.