Students need more

If you have concerns about your child finding joy after several years of the COVID-19 pandemic, you aren’t alone. At Waynflete, we want every child to love school and are committed to meeting every child where they are. We are doing what we have always done: more. More challenging, engaging, hands-on learning in small classes. More individual attention and personalized instruction from trusted teachers. And more time to connect and build friendships.

The past three years have been heavy ones, and even young children have felt the weight. Lifting it has been a focus across all Waynflete divisions. We take social-emotional development seriously, and work hard to ensure that Waynflete is a place where students who are motivated, engaged, and curious thrive. We meet children where they are—right now—and work closely with them to get where they need to be.

The blended classrooms in Early Childhood and Lower School support a holistic approach. The two-year age range means children are always surrounded by friends working at their growth edges. “Seeing everyone progress at a different rate is more reassuring,” explains Lower School Director Anne Hopkins. “And seeing the collective effort everyone is making to master new skills is more inspiring.”

“I think we are also able to offer more understanding,” adds Middle School Director Divya Muralidhara. “We have more awareness of what different students have experienced through this pandemic—disruptions and stress at home, anxiety about vulnerable family members, social isolation, or academic disconnection. We are not just looking at where a child is…we want to understand why. This is a community where students can be recognized for who they are and what they have overcome.”

This total commitment to student-centered learning and personalized instruction continues in the Upper School, where there is an additional adult—the advisor—whose entire purpose is to get to know individual children holistically, to help them connect to peers, and to serve as an advocate and guide through all the experiences that come their way.  “Students get to choose, and they often do choose, to stay with the same advisor for all four years,” says Upper School Director Asra Ahmed. “The deep and robust student-advisor relationship that forms over that time is significant. The continuity of care this provides to our students is often identified by students as integral to their feelings of recognition and success in our community.”

Our small class sizes support the most powerful element of a Waynflete education: personalized learning. If your child felt lost or left behind during the pandemic, they will feel seen and supported at Waynflete. “Smaller classrooms are absolutely essential to the way we teach at Waynflete,” says Divya. “We make sure our teachers have the time to work with all their students one-on-one and design learning experiences around their students’ strengths and interests.”

Our teachers are given lots of time to truly get to know their students and the resources to design experiential learning experiences around their strengths and interests. This approach built trust between students and teachers and kept students engaged with their classes and in close contact with their instructors.

“When you can spend more time working with students, they make more progress,” Divya explains. “When concepts, lessons, and projects are configured around their needs and aptitudes, they get it faster and want to go further.”At Waynflete, our students know they will struggle sometimes to overcome challenges or reach goals. They also know they will always have personalized support.

Waynflete offers challenging, engaging, hands-on learning in small classes. More individual attention and personalized instruction from trusted teachers. And more time to connect with a diverse group of friends. If you are looking for more for your child, take a look at Waynflete. To learn more, contact our Admission department by email or at 207.274.5224.