About Canterbury
At Canterbury School, we believe that the ultimate purpose of education is to prepare students to become contributors to and leaders in an ever-changing world. To achieve that, our educational approach is unique.
Our PreK-8 structure concentrates on the learning needs and development of young children and middle school adolescents without the distractions that can come with a high school.
Our small size of about 40 in each grade means that each student is known, cared for, and loved.
We recognize the best education develops the whole child: mind, body, and spirit.
We are part of a long Episcopal school tradition of strong academics, an inquiry-based approach to learning, and a diverse environment.
Motto
To Learn, To Love, To Serve: To Live
Mission and Philosophy
Canterbury’s mission is to develop the whole child by challenging the mind and nourishing the spirit in a diverse community guided by Judeo-Christian values.
Consistent with the tradition and practice of the Episcopal Church, Canterbury gives a central place to both the life of reason and the life of faith. Canterbury’s philosophy is that the ideal education takes place in a faith community engaging in a comprehensive and challenging search for truth. Its philosophy further holds that the School should be broadly representative of its reachable community, for a school which serves all God’s children offers an enriched environment by virtue of the diversity of its students and teachers. The theology and philosophy of Canterbury’s commitment to creating a diverse community is outlined in “Social, Economic and Racial Mix in Episcopal Church Schools” promulgated by the National Association of Episcopal Schools
Canterbury provides an education that is traditional in its emphasis on classical as well as contemporary knowledge and open to the use of the best techniques of pedagogy presently developed. Academically, Canterbury strives to develop in each student basic learning skills and study habits within a caring atmosphere of individual attention and encouragement. Its program seeks to promote confidence, initiative, and to stimulate a life-long interest in learning. As an Episcopal school, Canterbury teaches that knowledge and service of God and human-kind form the basis of wisdom. Canterbury believes that a complete education must combine the academic and spiritual dimensions. By challenging the mind and nourishing the spirit Canterbury seeks to create in each child “an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and love God, and the gift of joy and wonder in all God’s works.”