The Steward School Core Values

CORE VA LU E S

OUR MISSION is to prepare our students for college and for life in a community defined by robust academics, inspiration, engagement, and care.

OUR CORE VALUES are academic achievement, care & respect, civil discourse, individuality, innovation, and inspiration.

CORE VA LU E S

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT CARE AND RESPECT CIVIL DISCOURSE INDIVIDUALITY

INNOVATION

INSPIRATION

CORE VALUES The Steward School

TRUE TO OUR CORE The heart of Steward has remained steadfast since our founding in 1972, even as our school has grown and the world around us has evolved. Our school values, while first specified in the Compass 2028 strategic plan, are timeless. As Spartans, we have embodied these values for the past five decades, and maintaining that shared experience is vital to the endurance of our community.

The values of academic achievement, care & respect, civil discourse, individuality, innovation, and inspiration were identified and defined by a large and representative group of students, alumni, parents, faculty and staff, and volunteer leaders. This work was done as part of the Compass 2028 strategic plan. These values have strengthened the ties that bind us as a community and will continue to do so as we move into the future.

- Susan David

Core Values: THE STEWARD SCHOOL

“Your core values are a compass that keeps you moving in the right direction.”

CORE VALUES The Steward School

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT We recognize that there are as many ways to be smart as there are people, that setting and meeting goals for oneself is inclusive and respectful of the differences between us, that valuing growth over time for each student is essential, and that learning intentionally happens in and out of the classroom through our curricula, co-curricular experiences, and engagement with our school and the greater community.

We prioritize a culture of boundless creativity and excellence across all areas of one’s life, and help students to create, produce, and be confident in their authentic selves. By doing this, our students are not simply prepared for a future of accelerated change. Rather, they will play an active role in shaping what the future will be.

- Benjamin Franklin

Core Value: ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

CORE VALUES The Steward School

CARE AND RESPECT We begin by reminding ourselves that we are in a shared and intentional community. This obliges us to engage in these questions: Why are we here? What are our responsibilities to fellow community members?

We understand that our responsibilities include the need to exhibit compassion, kindness, acceptance, gratitude, and patience, paired with a desire to listen deeply and think carefully about the impact of our words and actions on others. As faculty and staff members of a JK-12 school community, we model care and respect and strive to lead by example.

We have chosen to be in the Steward community, and it is one that includes many different people and viewpoints by design, which can make care and respect feel challenging — uncomfortable even — but this is what community requires of us. By demonstrating care and respect, all people, despite their differences, can feel known and appreciated. They can find their place in our diverse community.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Core Value: CARE AND RESPECT

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”

CORE VALUES The Steward School

CIVIL DISCOURSE If we are to live into our shared value of respect for the individual and the community, then we must embrace the differences that make us unique. One important way this is expressed is through civil discourse. Living in a democratic, civil society is premised on the fact that we will not always agree.

Civil discourse is when individuals with different perspectives have respectful dialogue. It requires a real determination to listen and a willingness to examine, to truly consider, all points of view for validity. It does not always lead to resolution, but it always facilitates greater understanding, which is necessary to become fully educated. For this reason, difference is an inherent good, a resource to promote greater value for all.

If we hide our true thoughts and opinions, opting for polite over civil, we miss the opportunity to learn from one another.

Light cannot penetrate a closed mind; education is meant for illumination.

- Stephen R. Covey

Core Value: CIVIL DISCOURSE

“Do not listen with intent to reply, but with the intent to understand.”

CORE VALUES The Steward School

INDIVIDUALITY We celebrate the unique talents, abilities, interests, cultural backgrounds, and characteristics that contribute to the rich diversity of our community. Each person is unique. The importance of the individual — and treating each person with the dignity to which they are entitled — runs deep in Steward’s mission, history, and program.

Our students are in a time of great personal development.

A caring and respectful environment, where self-expression is encouraged, enables them to grow into the best version of themselves. Students should be met where they are and encouraged to progress in ways that suit their individuality.

- Socrates

Core Value: INDIVIDUALITY

“To find yourself, think for yourself.”

CORE VALUES The Steward School

INNOVATION As the world changes, so must we. Our goal is to prepare our students to play an active role in shaping the future; to meet it, we must foster an atmosphere of creativity and critical thinking.

Both faculty and students are given the opportunity to research, ideate, experiment, and build. Innovation thrives with this intentionality.

Our community members respond to world contexts in ways that are unique to Steward. Much is considered, including the way we approach issues, how we value and relate to one another, and the enhancement of academic achievement.

The results not only impact our students’ learning experiences today but also lead to the inspired thinking that will be necessary to continue moving the world forward.

- Maya Angelou

Core Value: INNOVATION

“You can’t use up creativity.

The more you use, the more you have.

CORE VALUES The Steward School

INSPIRATION Steward fosters an environment of curiosity and imagination, thereby sparking positive change within the individual and the community.

Our curriculum is rooted in foundational skills and paired with a shared exploration of topics that define our time.

But school is more than academics, and inspiration is not limited to the classroom. Connections among our JK-12 student body and faculty, as well as within the greater Richmond community, enrich our experience. We explore, we discover, and new ideas ignite.

Inspiration changes us. The Latin roots of the word “inspiration” mean “to breathe life into.” When we traverse the bounds of our creativity, together, we are moved to a new way of being.

- William James

Core Value: INSPIRATION

“Act as if what you do makes a difference.

It does.”

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