SCDS, an independent school accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, is distinguished by four qualities:
- A coherent point of view, by which I mean we control our teaching practices, classroom materials, and educational goals. No public or religious authority dictates our curriculum, testing, or methodologies; no outside entity sets our budgets, cuts programs, or establishes priorities. SCDS is free to innovate.
- Ethical intervention, meaning that we intercede with students to achieve standards of behavior and dress, provide guidance, and teach principles such as honesty and compassion. SCDS tolerates individuality within a framework of principled conduct.
- Selectivity, meaning we can choose the students we enroll. Classes are made up of children who have the ability and maturity to keep up with an accelerated curriculum and whose families understand the value of education. We want SCDS to be a good fit for every family and every student.
- Relationship, meaning we promise to know your child and to create a bond of trust and respect that lasts long after graduation. Students here are not isolated or invisible.
At SCDS we have a vision of what education can be. We assume students will fall in love with learning, and we encourage them to become independent and admirable human beings. I invite you to sign up for a tour to discover if our vision matches yours. Click Monday Assembly to see SCDS this week, and read "Autumn Inaugural," written by poet Dana Gioia to celebrate the opening of this campus. He writes of our promise to "care and cultivate," and to "dream of a future so fitting and so just that our desire will bring it into being."
Philip C. Nix
Founding Headmaster
