Introduction

The Paidiea Academy currently serves St. Louis City families with children in grades kindergarten through eighth. The Academy actively seeks racial, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity in its student body. The Paideia Academy is a nonsectarian establishment.

The meaning of the ancient Greek word Paideia (pie-day-uh): “the upbringing of a child. In an extended sense, the equivalent of the Latin humanitus (from which ‘the humanities’), signifying the general learning that should be the possession of all human beings.” In this use, it reflects the conscious pursuit of a series of intense, specialized educational goals by a community and conveys the concept of a child’s total education: intellectual, artistic, and social.

We encourage all interested families to find out more about The Paideia Academy by attending a prospective parent meeting and by asking questions. The Paideia Academy is different from most other schools and cannot be accurately categorized by a single philosophy or approach. We hope you are interested and we welcome your scrutiny.

Our Philosophy

Central to this philosophy are several assumptions: children learn best when they are drawn rather than pushed to learning. Their experiences encompass structured group interactions as well as teacher-directed activities, free-play, physical skill development, problem-solving and socialization, all across broad curricula. Yet, even with the range of activities that take place within and without the walls of The Paideia Academy, each experience is thought out with respect to individual differences among students. Children are drawn to learning because they are neither asked to do things for which they are not ready, nor are they held back when they are able to move ahead.

Children will be comfortable at The Paideia Academy. The overall atmosphere shall be caring, encouraging and conducive to the development of self-esteem. Students, parents and teachers shall recognize that individuals develop along diverse pathways and at different rates. Children have different styles of learning, different backgrounds, different interests and different aspirations. Respect for these differences shall be paramount at The Paideia Academy. It is a respect that shall supersede simple expediency and that will guide the entire planning process at The Academy. It is, finally, a respect that shall permeate The Paideia community of children, parents and teachers.

Children will be challenged at The Paideia Academy. A favorable classroom teacher-student ratio will allow teachers to address individual differences effectively. Beginning in Early Learning and continuing through Middle and Upper Learning, teachers will encourage students to set and attain high standards of achievement. Teachers shall assist students in developing problem-solving skills. The whole program at The Paideia Academy is crafted to bring children to accept responsibility for their actions, their freedoms and their learning for life. The Paideia Academy is many things. It is a place, an idea, a process, a student body and a faculty. It is all of these things together and more. The Paideia Academy is a community of learners, doers and thinkers.