Cohorts and Building Community

Using Cohorts to Build Community

Our community of parents, faculty, staff, and students sets us apart. At St. Anne’s, we know that relationships are foundational. By using the cohort model, we will be able to create small collaborative spaces where students can thrive both academically and socially.

Through our reopening planning, our commitment continues to focus on building communities that are inclusive and focused on our mission to educate minds, enrich hearts, and expand horizons.

Whether students opt to learn remotely or on campus, our true north remains, as always, on the well-being of children and the faculty/staff who care for them. The school will continue to meet the academic, physical, emotional, and social needs of each of our students.

Key features of both the Lower School cohorts and Middle School advisories include:

  • Student-centered groupings and spaces to create welcoming communities

  • Reimagined curriculum to promote critical and creative thinking

  • Strong student-teacher relationships with focused and individualized attention 

  • Deep and lasting friendships that develop out of care, empathy, and belonging

  • Growth both socially and academically with the support of peers and teachers

  • And, of course, play, laughter, and fun

Summer and ongoing professional development for our faculty has deepened our practices around::

  • Assessing and addressing social-emotional needs during times of stress

  • Classroom management and culture-building off- and online

  • Designing curricula that offer opportunities for self-advocacy and empathy-building

  • Teaching strategies that highlight student choice and voice

  • Centering justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity throughout the curriculum

  • Creating a challenging curriculum that sparks curiosity and engagement

  • Utilizing technology as a tool to enhance teaching and learning

  • Opportunities to engage with elements of the Portrait of St. Anne’s Graduate to bring understanding and action to social contributions

Additionally, our faculty are finding new ways to engage and teach students so that they can be effective in a classroom or virtual setting:

  • Creating more meaningful connection points with students virtually

  • Adjusting lesson plans to accommodate a balanced approach between screen time and other activities

  • Developing new ways to build community with not just the St. Anne’s community but our neighbors, family, and friends outside of school