Let’s be honest. What are you looking for when you think about the school you will send your children to? Of course, we all want a safe, nurturing environment that will teach our children reading, writing, and arithmetic, but that’s only part of the picture. At St. Barnabas Episcopal School, we have decades of experience that show us that parents want educational results today, but they also want to see long-term effects in their children’s lives.

Parents want to know that their students are learning lessons in the classroom that will continue to develop them personally from now until adulthood. When you think about it that way, your choice of school is one of the most essential, foundational decisions you’ll make for your children. Within a private education environment, we see students intentionally nurtured to become successful students and successful individuals.

At St. Barnabas, we are known for being the top choice for K-8 private education in DeLand, Florida. We built that reputation because our students consistently parlay their academic successes into bright and fulfilling lives. Here are several of the non-academic ways that we can measure excellence in our student body.

The Ability to Persist Through Trials

We are committed to offering an academically rigorous curriculum at St. Barnabas. Not only does this help us nurture bright minds, but it also helps us to teach the lesson of persistence. The point of school is to challenge children so they can grow beyond what they thought possible. Without submitting ourselves to challenges, we never learn to persist through difficulty. When our students come back to campus after graduation and share with us the things they’ve done with their lives, we’re always amazed at how their successes in life today are fed, in part by their ability to persist through trials.

The Valuable Skill of Collaboration

Often in schools, students are graded by their ability to sit alone and pass the test. To some degree, there’s nothing we can do about that. Testing is often the best way to determine how well someone has mastered the subject matter. However, there are better ways to learn. In school and in life, some of the most miraculous discoveries are found through collaboration. Teams working together to solve a complex problem can do miraculous things like fusing atoms to create energy. We want your children to excel academically. We also want them to go out into the world with the ability to work collaboratively, play well on a team, and build relationships that will propel them personally and professionally.

An Empathetic Heart

The ability to imagine the feelings of another person or group is an essential trait for anyone who hopes to be a contributing member of a community. Anytime a person is put into a situation where they must work collaboratively with others, they are allowed to develop empathy. At St. Barnabas, our students exercise their empathy muscles through relationships with one another and through service to their communities. Our sincere hope is that they carry their learned empathy into their adult lives to improve the world around them.

A Foundation of Faith

One of the primary reasons families choose private education is its close link with their family’s preferred faith practice. We help our students build a foundation of faith upon which they will construct the rest of their lives. At. St. Barnabas, faith is not relegated to chapel, but it is woven through our curriculum and through our days. Nothing makes us more proud than to see our students move on to become devoted followers of their faith.

We know that we are the top private education institution around because our students excel academically and grow into incredible adults with deeply held values. If you want more from your children’s private education than the rote memorization of facts, our community may be the right palace for you. Contact our office to learn more.