The de Paul School
Philosophy Statement
October 7, 1999

The de Paul School is unified by a philosophy which is shared by the members of its community. These beliefs and values serve as our guiding principles, giving us clarity of focus as we strive to meet our mission. The philosophy, mission, and expertise of our school, combined with research in the field of education, are the foundation of our programs, policies, curriculum, instruction, and professional conduct.

The school recognizes the following beliefs and values as our guiding principles:

1. We believe in the potential of our students.

de Paul students are intelligent, creative individuals with the ability to learn challenging material, when taught in ways which address their needs and learning styles. While these students experience -- and may always experience -- difficulties with particular skills, such as decoding, they are indeed capable of learning concepts, such as science and social studies content, and applying high-level thinking skills. As long as a student is enrolled in The de Paul School, it is the teachers' and administrators' duty to find the means which enable that student to reach such potential.

2. We believe that our students need an educational program with specific features in order to reach their potential.

Environment: The de Paul student learns best in an organized, carefully-constructed learning environment. Classes should be calm, interesting, and purposeful, with an ever-present focus on learning. The environment must be structured to allow for a variety of experiences, such as small group interactions, hands-on activities, and classroom dialogue, so that students are actively engaged in the learning process. The setting must support individualized assessment and diagnostic instruction.

Academic emphasis: For our students, the educational focus should be primarily on remediation, with accommodations considered as needed. The "basic" literacies -- reading, writing, mathematics, and student skills -- are the main stumbling blocks which prevent our students from academic success. Therefore, the majority of instruction should focus on these. With equal enthusiasm, however, we must teach other literacies which are vital to success in school and life, including social studies, science, social skills, social values, computer technology, and physical education.

Curriculum: The de Paul student learns best from an ordered and incremental presentation of concepts and skills. Concepts should be taught sequentially for mastery, rather than through spiral or exposure approaches. The difficult balance of remediation and preparatory instruction must fit each class's unique profile. The curriculum must be designed so that the teacher can diagnose and address individual learning needs.

Instruction: de Paul students learn best through explicit instruction; they do not necessarily construct understanding from exposure. This explicit instruction must include open-ended questions, student exploration, hypothesis, and other higher-order thinking experiences in order to teach and foster independent learning. Four key components of instruction -- structure, student attention, involvement of multiple modalities and intelligences, and practice / review -- must be in place for optimal learning to occur.

3. We believe in the individuality and dignity of our students.

We must be responsive to each student's individual learning needs, interests, and skills. We must return the dignity of "capable learner" to our students through success-oriented instruction. Interactions with students must reflect back to them their dignity and worth. Corrective interactions must show respect, and must strive to utilize the power of influence with students, rather than the influence of power over students.

While we focus on academics as an essential component of the child's fundamental needs, we recognize that a child's fulfillment as a whole person will be enhanced through achievement in non-academic areas, as well. We encourage families to pursue opportunities which address a variety of talents and interests, and we dedicate ourselves to integrating various interests and intelligences into our lessons for the purpose of better academic learning.

4. We believe our role as educators is to empower our students.

Our task goes far beyond the instruction of basic information and skills; it is to teach students how to use these basics as the tools for grander things: expressing ideas and opinions effectively, making wise choices, managing conflict, reaching his/her own conclusions, understanding self and others, and committing to lifelong learning.

5. We believe the support of family is crucial to education.

Experience has taught us that involvement and support from the family is central to the child's success. When families take an active role in the school community, children recognize the importance of school and invest more energy and pride toward their progress. We must commit ourselves to communicating effectively with families and to finding avenues for their involvement.

We believe that our support for families is equally important for the child's success. Families need to understand the characteristics of children with learning differences in order to support, teach, guide, help develop, accept, and advocate for their children. The school should assist parents in gaining this understanding.

6. We believe that learning is living.

We believe that the ultimate purpose of education is not only to prepare our students for living in the future, but to involve them in living in the present. We believe that learning is as vital to life as breathing and eating. We commit ourselves to building an enthusiasm and love for learning in our students, both to help them to better connect with their own lives and to ensure continued development throughout their lives. We believe, therefore, that learning is more than memorization or the accumulation of skills; it is a developmental process in which thinking and independence are cultivated.

7. We believe in the duty and demand of our profession.

We are called to constant self evaluation, as individual educators and as a school. As professionals, we are accountable for always increasing our knowledge of the field and of best practices. This commitment requires ongoing collaboration with colleagues.

We are compelled to demonstrate professionalism in word and action, whether in a work setting or in talking to others about our work. It is our duty to speak tactfully, knowledgeably, and fairly.

We believe that as professionals, we must commit ourselves to selfless service of our profession. We strive to use each minute of the school day as purposeful instructional time. We always put the needs of our students first in any school matter, and put the needs of our colleagues on par with our own.

8. We believe that each person has the responsibility to build our community.

It is everyone's responsibility -- school staff, child, and family -- to make school a safe domain for all aspects of a child's being: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Each student and adult should feel a sense of belonging and ownership in this school culture. We commit ourselves to vigilance in creating and maintaining such a nurturing community.

All members of the community should be respected and accepted for who they are, and where they are in their development as individuals, while being challenged to learn about themselves and to reach greater potential. We commit ourselves to extending respect and support for each student and each adult in our school.

We recognize that the appearance of our school environment plays a crucial role in creating a personal, emotional connection to the school. Therefore, our responsibility extends to designing our classrooms and maintaining our facility to this end.

9. The following attributes are at the core of our beliefs: