From our Head of School, Maura Farrell:
Even as our small and mighty community has worked through the challenges of the pandemic over the past 15 months, we've kept our sights on the future. In June, we will graduate our 250th student. In September, we will celebrate our 20th anniversary. The time is right to create a platform for the next 20 years.
Throughout this academic year, a Task Force of Trustees and staff led a process to craft Sophia Academy’s first Vision Statement, reconsider our Mission Statement, and refine our Guiding Principles, seeking input from faculty, staff, alumnae, and parents along the way.
Our Vision Statement describes the world we want to see, the world in which we imagine our graduates thriving, and the world we are working to help create.
Our Mission Statement conveys our core purpose. It helps us to make decisions about how we will use resources and measure impact. It should engage all members of our community – students, faculty, families, volunteers, trustees, donors, and the larger community. It should evoke the vibrancy of the school and the agency of our students. It should be aspirational, hopeful, and inspiring.
Our Guiding Principles provide a common understanding of social justice, the idea on which our school was founded, and unify our curriculum, classrooms, professional development, and programs.
Our community engaged in deep, robust conversations about these essential statements. I’m grateful to all who participated for their passion and thoughtfulness. These dialogues have yielded a tremendous result while reconfirming our vital purpose.
I am pleased to share Sophia Academy’s Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles:
OUR VISION
An equitable world where girls and women
are seeking fulfillment, realizing their dreams,
and inspiring others.
OUR MISSION
Sophia Academy engages girls from low-income families
on a joyful quest for self-discovery and opportunity
through a middle school education grounded in social justice.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Sophia Academy was founded on the idea of social justice, which informs every aspect of the school. We define social justice as equity in education, wealth distribution, opportunity, access, and privilege.
We teach through a social justice lens: In all disciplines, we value multiple perspectives; we discern whose voice is heard and whose voice is silent; and we address the systems that cause injustice and inequity.
We create a safe space for girls: Through social/emotional learning, wellness, and restorative justice, we create a safe, culturally responsive community.
We practice resilience: We understand that adversity is a part of life; we teach and model the tools and habits to name, process, and grow from challenge.
We are student centered: It is our responsibility to help each student draw forth her inherent wisdom, entrusting her to embrace her own intellectual growth.
We are gender responsive: As a girls’ school, we form deep relationships and affirm each student’s unique identity and voice.
We have an intellectually engaging and holistic curriculum: We employ research-based best practices in middle school education that encourage meaningful reflection and prepare our graduates for the world.
We cultivate leadership: We help our students advocate for themselves, for one another, and for a just society, and we provide them with opportunities to lead within the school and community.
We engender lifelong learning: We deliver a wide array of on- and off-campus experiences which promote active learning, and inspire our community to engage as learners and teachers.