Our Mission, Vision, & Values

Sabot is a community with a continuing commitment to our shared core values. These values guide our philosophy, our programs, and our daily interactions.

Distilled to four words from wide-ranging discussion, our values should surprise no one. However, by naming them outright with confidence and clarity, Sabot’s path is decisive and committed; Sabot School is a space to Wonder, to Learn, to Care, and to Grow. Our teacher-researchers expect complex and difficult questions and use student interest and inquiry to engage learning in ways that are meaningful and relevant and which make use of the myriad learning spaces available–from the forest to the laboratory to the atelier. 


In a world where every path has complexity and challenge, in a world where paths can seem more like mazes, Sabot doubles down on those core things that make it a one-of-a-kind leader in our region and throughout this country.


Sabot is a space. . .Sabot is your space. . . Sabot is our space. . . and every day we set our sights to wonder, learn, care and grow in relationship with one another.

Our Mission

Grounded in inquiry and empathy, Sabot School nurtures joyful learners – resilient individuals who grow as their authentic selves while meeting challenges with confidence.

Our Vision

We envision a world where all schools are daring ventures, founded on children's rights and in service of the common good.

Our Commitment

As a school, we are committed to creating a setting where children and teachers have the resources and support to research, represent, and reflect in relationship. It is our goal to respect the intention of each individual in the community while encouraging certain dispositions and habits of mind.


  • The willingness and ability to find interesting and challenging problems by acting on one’s own curiosity, engaging in inquiry, and thinking creatively using invention and imagination.
  • The ability to express ideas and problems effectively by representing them through available media (print, clay, painting, music, etc.) and symbol systems (mathematics, verbal language, scientific modes of analysis, etc.).
  • Confidence in one’s own ability to express ideas through diverse media and symbol systems.
  • The ability to find solutions through inquiry, invention, and imagination.


We seek to foster intrinsically motivated learning, awareness of learning strengths, the courage to share limits, and a belief in the value of contributing to the learning of the group.


Sabot School also provides a welcoming and respectful environment for the students and families in our community who represent a range of racial, ethnic, religious, occupational, and socio-economic backgrounds.


The child is an active learner, seeking the meaning of the world from birth; a co-creator of knowledge, identity, culture and values; a citizen, the subject of rights, not needs; and born with 'a hundred languages'.

adapted from Loris Malaguzzi and the UNESCO Policy Brief on early childhood