What We Believe
What is Purposeful Education?
Purposeful education means there is more to teaching than straight academics. Our goal is to prepare your children to be successful adults. And we believe the best way to do that is through purposeful education with our 6 Pillars – Connection, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Problem Solving.
Choosing a school for your child is one of the many important aspects of being a parent...read more
Collaboration
Teaching collaboration creates a framework for success in middle school, high school, and beyond.
Critical thinking
Discovery-based critical thinking is the foundation to success in life.
Who we are
Leadership
Debbie Elder, Director
My goal is to provide the academic and life skills that enable students to thrive.
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Teachers
Our teachers are specialists and provide a passion in their subject area that is contagious.
Read more...How we do it
No child is the same, and no child learns in the same way. At Shady Oaks private primary school in Richmond, we use a combination of methodologies to provide a high quality, skills-based education to our students that includes child-centered learning, play-based education, and participatory learning.
Participatory
Participatory learning encourages students to take control of the learning experience with teacher assistance.
Skills-focused
With our focus on skills learning, students develop autonomy, critical thinking, team building, and collaboration capabilities.
Play-based
Play-based learning is a key tool in educational engagement for our students.
What Every Cool Kid Deserves To Know... About Your Inner Coach
By Summer Success Students 2018
For the 3rd summer in a row now, students of the Summer Success Summit wrote, produced, and published their own book. This summer they wrote about how every kid deserves to know how to be their own inner coach! This is a great book, not only for students, but for all ages, whether it's for a toddler being read to before bedtime or a fifth grader relaxing on the couch. Children of all ages can enjoy, learn, and grow from this book.
What Every Cool Kid Deserves To Know... About Happiness!
By Summer Success Students 2017
This is the second book written by the Summer Success Summit Kids for kids on how to be successful and happy in every day life. This encouraging book takes a child on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Each of the twelve authors share their success tips and strategies with the reader on how to have a happier life. It is the writing team's intention to help other children improve their self-confidence and self-esteem through taking personal responsibility for their own happiness.
What Every Cool Kid Deserves To Know
By Summer Success Students 2016
This is a book on how to be successful in life, written by kids for kids. This encouraging book takes a child on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Each of the eight authors share their success tips and strategies with the reader. It is the writing team's intention to help other children improve their self-confidence and self-esteem through personal responsibility.