Philosophy of the Public Schools

The Philosophy of the Hamden Public Schools is based on the conviction that the dignity and worth of each child is of primary concern and on the belief that the aim of education is to help prepare young people to assume a meaningful and productive role in school and society. To achieve this goal, which is a responsibility shared by the Board of Education, staff, students, parents, and community, we subscribe to the following tenets:

1. that our obligation is to help students mature into independent, reasoning, and responsible individuals who can adapt constructively to an ever-changing, multi-cultural world;
2. that this obligation can be accomplished by challenging students and staff to perform at their highest capabilities;
3. that students will best attain these capabilities if their unique needs, interests, strengths, weaknesses, backgrounds, learning styles, and range of scholastic and creative abilities are acknowledged;
4. that students need to develop self-esteem, an appreciation of the worth of others, a joy in learning, and a desire and willingness to achieve a standard of excellence commensurate with their abilities;
5. that students need to develop a respect for the earth’s unique and diverse human and natural resources;
6. that the schools must convey to students the purpose of the educational program and help them to understand that they must share responsibility for its success, work collectively and collaboratively;
7. that the curriculum will provide comprehensive programs and a range of instructional strategies to meet the requirements of students with varied backgrounds, abilities, aspirations, and needs, and that this curriculum will be evaluated periodically to ensure that it does so;
8. that the schools actively will seek community support and involvement through close communication and cooperation;
9. that our educational aim will best be achieved in an atmosphere of mutual respect, concern, and support;
10. that in the final analysis, we are all to be accountable for the present and the future success of the Hamden Public Schools.

Policy adopted: December 9, 1997

HAMDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS    Hamden, Connecticut