The Common School’s Mission

Our Mission • Our Philosophy • Alumni Voices

The mission of The Common School is to engage students in a transformative, progressive education that cultivates a love of learning, critical thinking, compassion for others, and a deep commitment to social justice and the environment.

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Philosophy Behind the Practice

Classrooms in The Common School are thoughtfully designed to support both group and individual exploration, encourage self-initiated activity, and spark children’s natural curiosity. Teachers nurture children’s interests, self-regulation, and confidence as they challenge themselves socially, physically, and cognitively. Typical daily options include blocks, easel painting, reading, drawing, writing, puzzles, sensory play, dramatic play, and makerspace activities. Teachers also develop curriculum based on children’s emerging interests to deepen engagement and thinking.

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A joyful Common School student stretches their arms wide outdoors on a sunny day, surrounded by trees and open fields on 140 acres of conservation land in Amherst, MA, where children learn, play and explore the natural world.

Inclusion & Community

The Pioneer Valley has long been home to people who pushed for change, from Sojourner Truth at the abolitionist community in Florence, to Mary Lyon, who opened Mount Holyoke to women in 1837, to Emily Dickinson writing poems in Amherst. The Common School takes up the torch of those before us by teaching children to ask hard questions, speak up for what is fair, and care for the land and people around them.

Rooted in the core values of being safe, kind, and fair, The Common School’s close-knit community is a place where students don’t just attend class—they belong to a transformative movement. Our diverse, mixed-age classrooms serve as the heart of this experience, fostering deep bonds across ages and inspiring a unique confidence as students learn to lead and support one another. Here, education is an active pursuit of social and environmental justice; whether our students are taking to the streets in marches for freedom, researching the root causes of food insecurity through local farmworker advocacy, or engaging with our gender-inclusive middle school puberty curriculum, they are empowered to be "upstanders" in a complex world. By blending rigorous academics with a mission-driven focus on equity, we ensure that every child is seen and valued, turning the classroom into a launchpad for compassionate, creative thinkers who are ready to shape a more just future.

Children in colorful winter clothing hold signs during a snowy outdoor nature walk.

The Common School Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Background

Oppression has been interwoven in the fabric of our nation and continues to shape how societal structures, including our schools, function in the United States today. Given this history, The Common School recognizes that as a school community, we exist within this context. It is for that reason we strive to center diversity, equity, and inclusion in our mission.

Commitments

The Common School is committed to being an inclusive school that aligns with our values of equity and justice. The Common School believes in each individual’s autonomous right to identify and portray their social identities. These include but are not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, religion, nationality, and age.  

As an inclusive private school we:

  • Strive to understand how social identities, and social inequities, impact all of us;

  • Recognize misconceptions and stereotypes, stop their spread, and strive to reeducate ourselves and others; 

  • Support the right to self-reflect and self-identify in ways that affirm a positive sense of self;

  • Teach and model empathy, compassion and respect;

  • Design an intentionally inclusive, justice-focused curriculum;

  • Teach students, faculty, and staff to be allies and upstanders;

  • Engage our wider community in social justice learning;

  • Empower everyone to be part of positive change at the school.

Adult reading a picture book to five children seated on the carpet in a library surrounded by bookshelves
Two children balance on a rustic log structure in a wooded outdoor play area.
Group of children gathered and playing together in a classroom
Adult and child doing a hands-on activity together in a classroom or homeschool setting.
Young girl sitting on a wooden platform in a sunny park with picnic tables and autumn foliage.
Person in a gray Adidas hoodie sitting on the floor and drawing in a sketchbook.
Children playing and climbing on a wooden outdoor playground obstacle course surrounded by trees
Smiling child giving a thumbs-up in front of a shingled house

Call to Action

The Common School is a place and space of ongoing growth and learning. All who join The Common School community are expected to join us in sharing our values of equity and justice. We know that this is life-long work and that we are all on a journey of continual learning, un-learning, and re-learning. We will assume good intentions, seek to understand alternative perspectives, and take responsibility for our impact as we strive to more fully embody our values through our actions.

Our Alumni

  • Black teenager with hair pulled back and brown eyes, body turned away from the camera face turned toward camera, smiling, sitting on top of a mountain with phone in their hand

    Paloma, 2018

    Middle/High School: The Academy at Charlemont

    “I remember when we measured different chemicals in the local river and researched an aquatic animal. This was one of my first exposures to the field of science and I have loved the subject ever since. Now I hope to pursue a track of environmental science or ecology with a focus on aquatic biology”

  • White young adult with long brown hair, brown eyes smiling at the camera, wearing tie-dye shirt

    Orlee, 2013

    Education: Williston Northampton, Deerfield Academy, Harvard University ‘23

    “The School created a supportive environment full of intellectual engagement and curiosity, that allowed me to discover my passion for the Classics, scientific research, and history. And the incredible mentorship I experienced at The Common School didn’t end at graduation; my teachers continue to serve as mentors today.”

  • White young adult with long brown hair, brown eyes, smiling at the camera, wearing a suit jacket, white button-up shirt, purple, gray, and white striped tie

    Ben, 2012

    Education: Pioneer Valley School for the Performing Arts, Amherst College ‘23

    “I always felt like my ideas mattered, and I learned how to express my thoughts and how to listen to the ideas of others. I learned what it felt like to participate in a focused academic community. Just as importantly, the School helped me to build deep social values, and I left with an understanding of the importance of kindness and fairness that I still cherish.”

  • white young adult with short brown hair and brown eyes, smiling at the camera, wearing red shirt

    Caleb, 2012

    Education: Amherst Regional Middle School, Tufts University

    “The Common School instilled in me a curiosity for the world alongside a supportive, close-knit community. Every day at CS was partially spent outside and in the library. A curiosity in the workings of the natural world and the surrounding community has absolutely influenced my college studies and interests.”

  • Black young adult with black dreadlocks and brown eyes smiling at the camera, wearing gray shirt with spiderman and gold hoop earings, posed in front of book case

    Thandiwe-Wanjiru, 2018

    Education: Williston Northampton, Homeschooling, NYU, Tisch School for the Arts ‘24.

    “The Common School taught me that we are all born with a love of learning, a love of touching, discovering, feeling, and creating. Thank you for shaping me into someone who is ready to take on the challenges of the world in a fresh, curious, and artistic way.”