Our Mission, Vision, & Values

Sabot is a community with a continuing commitment to our shared core values. These values guide our philosophy, our programs, and our daily interactions.

Distilled to four words from wide-ranging discussion, our values should surprise no one. However, by naming them outright with confidence and clarity, Sabot’s path is decisive and committed; Sabot School is a space to Wonder, to Learn, to Care, and to Grow. Our teacher-researchers expect complex and difficult questions and use student interest and inquiry to engage learning in ways that are meaningful and relevant and which make use of the myriad learning spaces available–from the forest to the laboratory to the atelier. 


In a world where every path has complexity and challenge, in a world where paths can seem more like mazes, Sabot doubles down on those core things that make it a one-of-a-kind leader in our region and throughout this country.


Sabot is a space. . .Sabot is your space. . . Sabot is our space. . . and every day we set our sights to wonder, learn, care and grow in relationship with one another.

Our Mission

Sabot School is a school designed to sustain children’s quest for meaning and understanding, harness the power of their theories and ideas, and guide their inquiry and research. In an environment that supports co-construction, collaboration, and respectful exchange, we challenge our students to become effective communicators and disciplined thinkers, capable of solving problems in our increasingly complex world.

Our Commitment

As a school, we are committed to creating a setting where children and teachers have the resources and support to research, represent, and reflect in relationship. It is our goal to respect the intention of each individual in the community while encouraging certain dispositions and habits of mind.


  • The willingness and ability to find interesting and challenging problems by acting on one’s own curiosity, engaging in inquiry, and thinking creatively using invention and imagination.
  • The ability to express ideas and problems effectively by representing them through available media (print, clay, painting, music, etc.) and symbol systems (mathematics, verbal language, scientific modes of analysis, etc.).
  • Confidence in one’s own ability to express ideas through diverse media and symbol systems.
  • The ability to find solutions through inquiry, invention, and imagination.


We seek to foster intrinsically motivated learning, awareness of learning strengths, the courage to share limits, and a belief in the value of contributing to the learning of the group.


Sabot School also provides a welcoming and respectful environment for the students and families in our community who represent a range of racial, ethnic, religious, occupational, and socio-economic backgrounds.


Our Vision

  • PEOPLE

    Relationships and respect for our mutually-held values will continue to be core to our success as a learning community. We will prioritize initiatives and improvements that enhance accessibility, promote a welcoming environment, support faculty and family engagement and ensure a diverse, equitable and inclusive community.

    Meet our people

  • PROGRAMS

    Our program must continue to be constructed and delivered in a way that remains aligned with our mission, vision and values. This is illustrated by our well-defined curricular roots and how they develop for each child. We will prioritize enhancements to our program that emphasize a cohesive experience across all grade levels and will also invest in expanded offerings that are valued by our families. 


    Learn more about our programs

  • PLACE

    We will continue to honor the environment as the third teacher. We also believe our connection with the outdoors is a market differentiator. We will prioritize facilities and technology improvements that support authentic experiences and project-based learning.

    See our campus

  • POSITIONING

    To maximize our reach, our vibrancy and our sustainability, we must enhance our focus on our positioning in the marketplace. We will ensure that our strategic investments and initiatives magnify value to our teachers and families, improve awareness of Sabot, and enhance the reputation of the school. 


    Follow us on social media

The child is an active learner, seeking the meaning of the world from birth; a co-creator of knowledge, identity, culture and values; a citizen, the subject of rights, not needs; and born with 'a hundred languages'.

adapted from Loris Malaguzzi and the UNESCO Policy Brief on early childhood

Share by: