Meadowridge School

Meadowridge inspires students to see life from multiple perspectives; to be both participant in, and observer of, a complex, information-rich world; to have the audacity and flexibility to grasp opportunities; and the generosity to share their understanding.

Our school is an International Baccalaureate (IB) Continuum World School, accredited through multiple organizations. We celebrate teaching and learning through the most balanced, demanding, and international curriculum in the world, and have built a culture which enables it: a community of families who believe that children best learn in a culture of conscious caring, academic challenge, clear and high expectation, constant communication, intercultural understanding, collaboration with families, creative teaching, and inviting and open facilities. We live what we teach, and model what we believe – and we do it together with our families.

This allows a process of learning through inquiry, learning through experience, learning which becomes personalized, and learning about ourselves, our community, and our world. It develops young adults who, as leaders, understand that the way to excellence involves understanding and working with and for others, and who have developed the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to be able to engage with complex issues in intercultural settings, with a foundation of fairness and just treatment of all.

To become people who are knowledgeable and fair and balanced requires that their school continually models a commitment to knowledge, fairness, and balance. To become adults who know how to work alongside others from many cultures requires that, in their school, they learn and live within an intercultural community. Our school is designed to help families encourage children to aspire to become the leaders of tomorrow, to be people who love complexity, who insist upon excellence, and who live in kindness and understanding towards others.

As you first encounter our school, I want to encourage you to speak with our children, teachers, staff, and families. Ask about the ways in which we engage children, and the ways that we structure experiential learning. Inquire about the balance in our timetables of classroom time with time for athletics, arts, service, play, and social engagement. We are a school which values academic achievement, but also one which insists on our children living well, living balanced lives, and flourishing within a community.

Students must learn to care for others, as an increasingly interdependent society can fragment and become dangerous if we do not share concerns for the welfare of all. That is why we value and insist upon a strong service component in our school, and that is why we have developed a strong travel program.

We have created a just community within the school – one that is shaped by caring and trust, and also clarity of expectation and rules. We have a commitment to supporting communities around the world, because we know that social justice depends upon communities becoming self-sufficient and educated. We want to build a just society.

People are drawn to our school from around the world. In the spirit of active collaboration with teachers, peers, and our community, we learn how to care for ourselves and for others. Knowing that change is the only certainty, we engage with challenging and complex questions effectively and creatively. Through outstanding teaching, programs, and facilities, Meadowridge develops in us the confidence not only to meet the future, but also to create it.

Our program challenges our students to find out more about their own beliefs, their own bodies, and society. When students graduate, they are equipped to deal with the complex realities of life, where critical thinking is at a premium. There are trained to question: how could this be better? Meadowridge offers a learning space unlike anywhere else; here, you’ll find a west-coast playground where students and teachers have over 27 acres designed for experiential learning, practical exploration, physical activity, and mental wellness.

Inquiry is developmental, and is tied in to more traditional learning – sometimes through rote, sometimes through practice, sometimes through listening. The difference is in the way that learning is framed. Inquiry learning is guided by larger questions, which frame the direct instruction. In every unit of instruction, the children have a guiding question which they seek to answer. At the younger grades, the question is generated by the teacher, and smaller questions arise from the students. In older grades, we expect students to generate their own questions, and to personalize their learning.

Students learn through creative expression: they learn to understand and to analyze, to problem solve and to self-express, and they learn about themselves and about the world around them. Our program is designed for students to get hands-on – to function both artist and learner of the arts – through a robust visual and performing arts program. At the heart of all we do at Meadowridge is our Mission Statement, learning to live well, with others and for others, in a just community. We have created a just community within the school – one that is shaped by caring and trust, and also clarity of expectation and rules. We teach our students how to care for themselves, because a balanced and happy life is critical to their future. Students also learn to care for others, because a successful future is one in which common welfare is shared by all.