At Wooster School we believe that:

1. In order to think, learn, and teach well, all members of our community must feel physically, emotionally and intellectually safe.
2. Strong and positive relationships, particularly between teacher and learner, are essential to education and human development.
3. Thinking, learning and feedback should be visible and individualized, so that over time, students can become more independent, and take greater ownership of their learning.

4. In order to develop core skills, dispositions, and knowledge, our curriculum must combine high expectations, hard work, curiosity, metacognition, reflection, deep thinking, and the frequent application of learning in authentic contexts.
5. Having fun, playing, and developing a sense of humor, including the ability to laugh at oneself, are fundamental to learning -- and to a life well-lived.
6. All teachers must be both independent and collaborative learners who look to apply new skills, dispositions, and knowledge within an ever-evolving educational landscape.
7. The development of a personal, moral and ethical framework, and the exploration of faith and the inner spirit, are essential to the development of the whole person.
8. Taking risks and building confidence through participation in team sports, theater, clubs and activities, leadership, and service are integral to building life and learning skills.
9. Students must learn to appreciate and create art, music, theater and literature -- which often express the best thinking and wisdom of human culture -- so that they can tell their own stories, and understand the stories of others.
10. Our community members must have the curiosity and courage to welcome all people and their ideas with equal and due consideration. Further, we can best pursue social justice, human rights, and global citizenship by taking responsibility for personal conduct that exhibits the equity, kindness, and generosity such welcome demands.
11. As humans we must think and act in ways which acknowledge that we live on a planet in space with limited and precious resources. We have nowhere else to go.
12. Community members must be empathetic and communicate clearly while taking responsibility for themselves, their actions, and the physical environment. The community, in turn, supports all of its members with reason and compassion. We call this Self-Help.