Philosophy

St. Scholastica Academy is deeply committed to prioritizing the unique learning needs of girls. What sets SSA apart is its dedication to learning about the most advanced research and pedagogical practices for how girls learn best.

St. Scholastica Academy develops habits, skills, and mindsets that build student confidence academically, socially, and emotionally. SSA wholeheartedly embraces Carol Dweck’s philosophy of the growth mindset. Instructors incorporate this philosophy into their daily classroom regimes so that students learn that their abilities and intelligence are not fixed, but have capacity to grow and develop through effort, perseverance, and grit.

As a result, SSA students are known in the local and greater communities as the “gritty girls.” Classroom posters illustrate the characteristics of an SSA “gritty girl”: participating in challenging tasks; understanding that struggle is an important part of learning; working productively in the learning process; and practicing resilience and perseverance.

SSA adheres to the Physics First sequential model in which freshmen take a full year of physics before taking chemistry or biology. This re-sequencing provides our girls with a seamless storyline beginning with the concrete principles of the physical world while gradually progressing into the more abstract worlds of chemistry and biology. Exposing girls upfront to the scientific phenomena that govern their physical world provides them with a solid foundation in the core theories necessary for deeper understanding in future science coursework. In addition, taking physics in ninth grade parallels the goals of basic algebra and geometry reinforcing skills such as graphing, slope of a line, solving for unknown variables, and adding direction to a scalar quantity. This sequence also allows for students to take Biology closer to the time they graduate so that they can more easily transition into a freshman level Biology course.