Living our Mission

Last week, a note was passed along to me by our admission director. He recently polled a group of Lower School parents to find out what types of marketing messages are most appealing to them and what parts of Darlington’s program are most valuable to them as parents. One of these parents said the following, and it’s just so darn positive that I wanted to share it with all of you.

 

“Beth Smith's pre-K class is a wonderful place to learn and build a child's self-esteem. When I attended a parent/teacher conference two years ago, I remember telling her how much confidence my child had. She felt as if she could conquer the world. Beth said that for the rest of their lives they would be in competitive environments where they may not be good enough to make the basketball team, or may not score high enough on this test, and that the messages conveyed on television and in the media often say you are not good enough. Anyway, Beth said that she felt like if she helped give the children a thick, protective shell that there would be more to be chipped away before it got down to the heart of the child. She not only teaches the children pre-K skills, but how to be good citizens at school. ‘Smith Smarties bring each other up. They never bring each other down.’ It is wonderful to watch.”

 

This speaks to the importance of the student-teacher relationship – which is really the backbone of our program here at Darlington – and beautifully illustrates just one of the ways that our teachers educate the whole child. One of our marketing tag lines states, “We do more than prepare students for college; we prepare them for life.” That’s the absolute truth. It’s happening every day, at every division, in every classroom … and that’s the true value of a Darlington education.

 

This sort of feedback is so important as we live the mission of our school – to learn with passion, act with integrity and serve with respect. We hope you will share your experiences with us as well.

 

Tom