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Mission & Principles

Our Mission  

Nurturing the Gifts of Mind, Body and Spirit

Our Guiding Principles

Our story began in 1914 with a group of intelligent, idealistic women, who have gone down in the school's history as "the Founding Mothers." The Founding Mothers had a dream of a more educationally progressive school than what existed at that time in St. Louis. They felt that the "rigid, formal approach" to education could and should be changed into an exciting adventure where wonder leads. They wrote Community School's ten Guiding Principles. 

More than 110 years later, our school proudly upholds a rich tradition of innovative education, still rooted in these principles.

View our Guiding Principles

A young boy reads a book with a woman in the foreground, while another person sits in the background amidst a leafy, outdoor setting.

 

Guiding Principle #1

The school should recognize the child as an individual with individual differences, and an inherent right to develop these differences.

See Our Principles in Action

We invite you to explore how our Guiding Principles continue to come to life through strong academics, outdoor education, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and more.