Our Shared Values
Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Stewardship
Instilled with the Quaker values of the SPICES, Scattergood students are set to grow not just academically, but to thrive personally, with many adventures along their dynamic journey. Committed to environmental education and stewardship, students take college-preparatory courses with experiential, hands-on learning, and more individualized, self-reflective assessment, utilizing the school’s farm, pond, and restored prairie as outdoor classrooms. Though our students and staff are persons with diverse identities, cultures, belief systems, and backgrounds, we share the commitment to live out these Quaker testimonies in community life.
Simplicity The Quaker underpinnings of mindfulness and reflection help our students navigate a modern world, providing an antidote to our technology-focused society. Every morning we convene as a community for 20 minutes to start the day in silence; once a week we have a longer gathering to allow for deeper thought and introspection.
Peace Scattergood’s natural surroundings, including our pond, prairie, and organic farm, provide a tranquil backdrop for Scattergood students to experience their education in a peaceful setting. Students participate in our farm-to-table program, learning the value of living in peace with the land and animals, while helping to reduce waste through our compost program. Scattergood is also committed to advocacy for non-violent solutions to conflict in our local and global communities.
Integrity We pride ourselves on our college-prep academic program and our graduates’ 100% college acceptance rate. All Scattergood students have the opportunity to create their own independent courses to dive deep into a topic of their choosing, with staff support and guidance. A profoundly important part of our integrity is the focus on restorative justice, rather than punitive discipline. Through our Dean’s Advisory Council, composed of students and faculty, we show our students that we care about their growth, not just consequences for their actions, encouraging mutual learning and accountability.
Community Our community strives to be one that is engaged—one that gives a voice and platform for each member. Anyone at Scattergood can bring a topic forward for consideration, whether at Staff Meeting, Student Meeting, or our all-Community Meeting. Students clerk the Community meeting, creating the agenda and running the assembly. To engage our students, we provide many forms of social enrichment. Whether it be Town Trips, Open Mic Nights, or our weekly Saturday Night Activity we pride ourselves on fostering a culture that promotes the exploration of joy.
Equality Scattergood is committed to creating a learning community where all are welcomed. In recent years we have made great strides to be a gender-inclusive campus and allow our LGBTQIA+ students to truly be themselves. We value DEI in all of its forms, whether that comes from our need-blind admissions policy, a generous tuition assistance program, and anti-racist teachings in the classroom.
Stewardship Scattergood’s Crew program and community service requirements are a huge part of how we teach our students the value of stewardship. Every day after lunch, students and staff work together on work crews to manage the upkeep of our campus. Students learn practical skills to help prepare them for life after graduation. Additionally, all of our students must perform 30 hours of community service a year in order to graduate.
