1. To communicate effectively.

Language is the means by which all other subjects are pursued.

2. To acquire a core of essential knowledge.

Beyond a core of knowledge, students make connections across disciplines and through an integrated curriculum relate what they learn to life.

3. To be disciplined, motivated learners.

Students learn to gather and evaluate information, solve problems and develop the skills needed to study on their own.

4. To have a sense of well-being.

The goal is to give all children the support they need to be physically happy, socially confident and emotionally secure.

5. To live responsibly.

A commitment to good character sets the goal to assuring that each student becomes an ethically responsible person.

excerpt from The Basic School, by Ernest Boyer