Dear Visitor,

Welcome to our website and our learning community.

In 2006 the National Center on Education and the Economy published a dramatic report, Tough Choices or Tough Times. In that report, The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce concludes that the American educational system needs long-overdue reform in order to prepare our students for the work that will be required of the 21st Century mind. We are all familiar with the outsourcing phenomenon that has been occurring in our country for some time and the outlook, according to the report, is that we will continue to depend on the highly skilled, low wage workers of many foreign countries. In order to compete in the world market, the report suggests specifically that our schools need to produce creative, innovative students who can solve complex problems while working collaboratively. The GreenMount School is a school that has been graduating students with these important qualities for many years.

The experiential, thematic approach to learning at GMS offers students choice and the opportunity to explore their personal learning styles and their special talents. A constructivist approach to learning offers students at GreenMount a unique exploratory approach that stimulates their imaginations and encourages creative applications of the curriculum. And while students at GMS are developing their personal learning styles, they work in cooperative groups for a good portion of each day. Students at GMS have the experience of creating culminating theme activities that are designed to showcase the learning and skill acquisition of the entire student body in grades 1 ­ 8. In this way, students work, as they have for the duration of the theme, with their “buddies” from another grade, helping each other and celebrating the collective success of our school community.

As the curriculum and our approach to learning offer students the opportunity to develop their creativity and ingenuity, they are also the catalyst for relationship building and an appreciation of the uniqueness of everyone here at GMS. The small, intimate climate of the school provides the basis for friendships that will last a lifetime. The students are very kind to one another and an atmosphere of helping and celebrating success is obvious to any visitor in our school.

Parents are a key to the success of our school. Indeed, they are the reason GMS exists. Parents participate in many of the school’s functions and provide invaluable support to the everyday operation and support of the school. GreenMount School is truly a learning community. The staff is also part of this learning community as we refine our ability to use our collective inquiry and collaborative adult learning to constantly assess students’ success and determine best practices for instruction.

I hope that as a visitor to our website you have gained a sense of the innovative approach to learning that GMS offers children. As our graduates continue to move on to premier city magnet high schools and prestigious independent schools, we continue to build the legacy of 21st Century learning here at the GreenMount School. For a personal look at what our schools offers our future leaders, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for visiting our website.