All children can learn and have the fundamental right to an environment for the best possible education.

Children learn best when there is an invested partnership between the home and school. Children should feel that their teacher(s) and parent(s) are fully supporting their academic efforts. The school must work closely with the parent(s) to ensure that the child is hearing the same message about his/her education. Educating a child is a full time responsibility that does not end when the child leaves the school house. This also means that the school team must listen carefully to the parent(s) to understand expectations in the home and ensure that the parent(s) understand and share the mission of the school team.

A classroom must foster constant student engagement, giving the child ample opportunity to learn using various modalities and intelligences. Children learn best when they are in group settings learning with and from one another.

Children learn best when they are actively involved in their own learning. Children need opportunities to manipulate their environment, explore alternatives and be challenged with interesting problems. They need to be actively engaged in making sense of the information before them. They cannot be passive receivers of information.

Children must learn the basics first: The ability to communicate (oral language, written language) and compute. They must then learn how to observe, consider and synthesize information using lifelong learning strategies. Such learning strategies include problem-solving skills, the ability to use critical and creative thinking skills, and the ability to access and use information. Once students have mastered the basics and internalized the learning strategies, they are ready for any learning in any envirmonment with any discipline.

In order to achieve all of these goals, the school must be an organization that fosters trust and belief in self, for the school team and parent(s) as well as for each student. Each member of the Bancroft community must have high expectations for success, for him / herself as well as for the rest of the community. The organization must be filled with growth-oriented staff constantly open for change in order to match the complexities and expectations of its community.