The Potomac School

What distinguishes a great school from a good school? A great school is a place with a deep commitment to student learning, where a faculty nourishes the intellectual, moral, emotional, and social growth of every student. It is a place where students, teachers, and parents embark together on an academic journey with clear and well-defined objectives. It is filled with the joy of discovery and the excitement of personal challenge and growth. It is a community unto itself, dedicated to developing strength of character and excellence in all dimensions of a student’s life. And it is a place that has a distinctive and lasting impact on students, developing who they are today and shaping who they will be in the years to come.

The Potomac School strives to be a great school. Our mission, simply put, is to prepare students to achieve academically and to live healthy, principled, and successful lives. The three dynamic women who founded our school set out with this mission in 1904, and it is still what makes Potomac one of the finest independent K-12 day schools in the nation today.

On behalf of our students, faculty, administration, and parents, I welcome you to The Potomac School. I hope you will spend some time getting to know us and learning about the extraordinary education we offer. In the Washington area, Potomac is unique as a coed K-12 school located on a single campus. Just three miles from downtown Washington, our modern campus is surrounded by 90 acres of woods and natural beauty.

Thanks to our talented faculty, we truly get to know each child, including their interests and passions and what lights their intellectual fire. We challenge students with a rigorous program of inquiry and study, and in turn ask that they challenge themselves to higher standards and reach for excellence in all aspects of their lives. We prepare our students intellectually, while developing a love of learning and sound judgment. Ultimately, we provide our graduates a framework for understanding the world and the skills and traits to succeed in it.

At The Potomac School, we believe that intellectual development, love of learning, and strength of character are complementary, and equally essential, educational goals. With a firm commitment to our core values and a rigorous academic program, we prepare students to lead lives of purpose, achievement, and generosity of spirit. We achieve The Potomac School’s mission through our educational philosophy and practice. At Potomac we:

• Foster a diverse, inclusive learning community where all voices and viewpoints are valued.
• Provide a balanced educational experience that integrates academics, athletics, and the arts.
• Empower our students to become independent thinkers and learners by emphasizing the rewards of inquiry, initiative, and reflection
• Emphasize appreciation for the natural world and each person’s responsibility for environmental stewardship.
• Call upon all members of our community to act with compassion, civic conscience, and a commitment to serving others

Since its founding, The Potomac School has steadfastly believed that developing a student’s character is as important as educating for intellectual growth. Informed by values, students learn to use their intellect and skills productively and in service to others. The school has identified the following five core values as the ethical and moral guideposts that enable all of us in the Potomac community to develop good judgment and live principled lives.

At Potomac, service learning connects our core values, curriculum, and service opportunities with identified community needs. It brings academics to life by creating meaningful experiences that empower students to think critically, use their creativity, and integrate learning with action.

Through service learning, students broaden their understanding of the world while using their talents and interests to effect positive change. We aspire to live Potomac's core values – courage, humility, integrity, perseverance, and respect – through service learning and to inspire a life-long commitment to service.

We strive for diversity and inclusion in the conviction that a learning community is intellectually and morally strengthened when many different voices, viewpoints, and backgrounds are engaged and learning from each other. Proactively and consistently, we are committed to challenging stereotypes, creating awareness, and cultivating empathy and respect.

Learning is not only a cognitive and social experience, but also an identity experience. We believe communities are stronger when everyone - students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni - can bring their entire identity to school/work and are valued for their contributions. We define cultivating a positive self-identity as getting to know who you are, what your values are, and loving and accepting what it is about you that makes you different.