A high-quality education is a vitally important factor in your children’s future success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the more education one has the higher their earning potential is in adulthood. Those are powerful statistics, and one of the many reasons that we promote the value of education. But private education likes to take this a step further. We’re not only interested in creating smart, successful adults, but in guiding our students to become responsible citizens.

There’s a lot of conversation these days about the ways in which generations differ. Our grandparents were part of The Greatest Generation, but how will our kids’ generation be known? What kind of impact will they have on the world? We believe that private schools have the power and the responsibility to shape the character of our students which is why we weave character development through our curriculum. Here are some other ways in which private schools help cultivate responsible citizens.

Encourage Them To Reach For More
When your child is one of a thousand or more children in her school, it’s virtually impossible for her to get the hands-on attention she deserves. This impacts children’s ability to thrive academically, but it also means that others may not have the motivation or encouragement to reach for in their lives. Often it takes just one adult to see a spark of creativity, an instinct for leadership, or a great scientific mind and our small classrooms provide the perfect intimate setting to make that possible. Our enrichment program provides opportunities for all our students to reach for their own kind of greatness.

Experience Their Community Up Close
Private schools are not separate from the communities they call home, but deeply entrenched in them. Our alumni and parents are community leaders and business owners and our children get to learn from them close up. At St. Barnabas, since we are located on the outskirts of downtown DeLand, our students take walking field trips to local places and learn the importance of engaging with local institutions like theaters, government buildings, museums, and more.

Teaching Them To Care About People
As Dr. Brene Brown says, “People are hard to hate close up.” And there’s no better way to get close to people than to all come together day in and day out in a classroom. Private education is an excellent tool for bringing people together with all of their differences so that they can learn to love one another. Not only do strong friendships help students develop into compassionate and kind students, but they carry these lessons with them throughout their lives and become compassionate and kind citizens.

At St. Barnabas we are in the business of developing strong learners who are also strong leaders, kind friends, and virtuous young men and women. If you’re looking for a school to help nurture your children and turn them into responsible citizens, you’ve come to the right place. Contact us today to set up a tour of campus and visualize how your family could fit into our community.