Mission
The mission of Charleston Collegiate School is to have a positive impact on our students, so that they may positively impact the world around them. The School prepares students in a progressive learning environment to face life’s challenges with confidence, strong problem-solving skills, and a solid ethical foundation. Charleston Collegiate is a community of cultural and economic diversity which fosters compassion, social awareness, and respect for community and environment.
Charleston Collegiate School is a progressive, nonsectarian, independent day school which strives to recognize, nurture, and challenge each of its students. The mission of CCS is to have a positive impact on the lives of all of our students so that they may, in turn, positively impact the world around them. We provide a comprehensive learning experience which includes college preparatory academics, arts, athletics, and community service. We are dedicated to preparing students to face the challenges of the 21st century with creativity, strong problem-solving skills, respect for community and environment, and a solid ethical foundation.
The essential elements of this mission include the following:
- CCS is dedicated to providing active, experiential learning that stimulates students to learn by constructing concepts and solutions themselves, rather than passively receiving them from a teacher. This learning promotes critical thinking and problem-solving. In all learning, CCS emphasizes student self-motivation and individual responsibility. Throughout, CCS will strive to help each student to find fulfillment in learning and exploration, and a sense of achievement in doing their best.
- Because children have differing interests and learning styles, and because they progress at different rates, the CCS faculty looks to the needs of each student for guidance in how they are educated. The CCS faculty is sensitive to each individual's interests and capabilities. Moreover, they encourage each student to have a voice in their own course of study.
- CCS intends to recruit and sustain a student body diverse in ethnicity, socioeconomic background, interests, and capabilities. Recognition of the differences that exist between individuals benefits everyone at the school. Each individual is stimulated to reassess their personal preconceptions and to think more critically about their own circumstances and beliefs. With this in mind, the school intends to maintain a level of diversity at least equal to the recommendation of the NAIS. Moreover, the school will continue to seek funding to support those who might otherwise be excluded because of economic barriers.
- The school provides a variety of co-curricular activities which encourage students to broaden and deepen their individual talents and interests. CCS programs are integrated with various opportunities in visual and performing arts, athletics, community outreach, outdoor education, and travel. These are all components of experiential learning and reinforce intellectual development.
- CCS will continue to include a philosophical and ethical dimension in its programs of study. CCS emphasizes personal responsibility in all decision-making, and the importance of leading socially useful and constructive lives. The culture at CCS encourages compassion and respect for community and the environment, as well as a broader sense of fairness and social justice.
- CCS recognizes that attitudes and skills cannot be taught by discussion and exercise alone. These attributes must also be modeled by the Faculty and Administration in their day to day interactions with our students. Moreover, the faculty must demonstrate their own commitment to learning through ongoing professional development and continual reexamination and improvement of the curriculum.
- CCS can only achieve its goals through a shared vision and an active partnership with the CCS families. The school will work to keep all parents informed and will seek their help in reinforcing and supporting institutional goals.
Coalition of Essential Schools
Charleston Collegiate School became an affiliate school of the Coalition of Essential Schools in 2007. Essential schools share a commitment to the Coalition’s Common Principles, a set of beliefs about the purpose and practice of schooling. The Coalition’s Common Principles (abbreviated) are:
- Learning to use one's mind well
- Less is more, depth over coverage
- Goals apply to all students
- Personalization
- Student-as-worker, teacher-as-coach
- Demonstration of mastery
- A tone of decency and trust
- Commitment to the entire school
- Resources dedicated to teaching and learning
- Democracy and equity
Charleston Collegiate School believes these Common Principles fit the mission and vision for our school and will help to provide structure and definition to the continued growth of our educational program.
