Stories

One of the signature features of our school is its size. At around 400 students, we are not too small or large. In a school that is too large, children can be overlooked and even intimidated by the sheer number of other people on campus, especially when some of those people are high school students. In a school that is too small, social networks are limited, as are resources and curricular offerings. Size and scale matter, and at Prep our size is intentionally designed to provide children with the best possible experience.

I see the positive manifestation of our size every day. Students know and value each other, and the intimate scale of our school allows friendships to form across grade levels. Our BUDEE program fosters these connections and gives older students the opportunity to act as mentors and role models and younger students the chance to be known and appreciated by older students. This dynamic is a powerful part of the Prep culture.

Each Prep student is paired with an older or younger student to be their BUDEE for the year, meeting monthly to learn and play together and provide mentorship.

Our size also serves students very well in the classroom. Teachers truly know their students as learners and people, and this relationship is anchored in authentic and personal interactions. Students can also engage with each other in classroom learning that fosters a variety of perspectives yet allows all to participate. Our size also contributes to our school's comfortable and inclusive environment – students feel secure and safe, which is a precursor to optimal learning and personal development. 

We are large enough to field numerous sports teams but small enough to give all students the chance to play and learn the lessons that only athletics can teach. The same is true for participation in drama, music, and musicals; students can step into experiences that might not be available to them at larger schools, and they can discover talents that help shape who they are and will become.

Children need a particular and special environment, one that is geared to their needs and built to foster their development. Many qualities go into creating the Prep environment, but our size is one of the most notable. In this sense, we really are a goldilocks school: not too big or too small, but just the right size and scale for children.