Sweetwater Episcopal Academy - A great school!

By Christina Triano

“You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything.” – Henry David Thoreau

Each and every child has their own set of precious gifts and talents, as well as their own unique needs and struggles. A good education cannot follow a “one size fits all” solution. Finding the school that is the right fit may be one of the most important decisions we make as parents, yet each one of our children is made from a complicated recipe of individual capabilities, wants, interests and motivations. How do we find a single environment that brings out the best in them? While each personality may be distinctly different, a good school has qualities that can be identified.

Teachers make the biggest difference in the quality of a school. According to Peg Tyre, an award winning educational journalist and NY Times bestselling author, “excellent teachers not only teach more, but they can even accelerate the rate of learning among their students. And good schools champion great teachers.” Teacher development is important but so, too, is teacher autonomy. A teacher who has administrative support and is respected enough to be allowed to make the decisions in the classroom that are best for students can make the biggest difference in your child’s education. As parents, we each want our children to be positively motivated, to engage in meaningful learning on a daily basis and to receive the encouragement and support that can only be achieved when they have a solid mentoring relationship with their teacher.

A child’s educational journey needs to be led by a vision that goes beyond the walls of the school. Learning is a life-long process and a good education cannot be defined by a single event or curriculum. We want our children to enter the world not only with academic knowledge but with a sense of self esteem and self determination that enables them to be a driving force in their own success. We want them to have the tools and life skills to succeed in whatever they choose to do. The overall experience that a school offers a student shapes them in ways that are not always immediately obvious.

A great school gives children the opportunity to develop high expectations for themselves, the resilience to keep trying even when they initially fail and the confidence to believe that they can be successful in making their own choices, charting their own path and becoming a productive, happy and successful person on their own terms. The school that is the right fit for your child is one that shares your family’s values and supports you in reinforcing what is most important – the unique needs of your child. SEA aspires to create a sense of family and a loving environment that delivers academic and enrichment excellence. We want to work with you to find how your child learns best, to support their social and emotional growth and to maximize their potential. Our success is measured by the success of our students in becoming the people they are meant to be.