About Ashbrook
Character Education
The Secret Sauce that Allows our Young Critical Thinkers to Navigate an Increasingly Complex World.
Strong academics matter, but at Ashbrook, character is every bit as important as content knowledge. We believe that nurturing courteous, considerate, forward thinking, family focused, enterprising, self mastered, intentional, resourceful, self assured, brave and responsible citizens is a central purpose of an Ashbrook education.
Character education at Ashbrook is not a separate program or a bumper sticker slogan. It is embedded into everything we do, and the time we spend teaching the importance of embracing our 12 monthly themed character traits is as intentional as it is a lot of fun. Students are taught to own their actions, support their peers, and speak and act with integrity.
Explore Character Education Today
Through Student Council led all school assemblies featuring a skit highlighting the month’s character trait and a chance to reflect on it, our students assume an important role in educating their peers about these traits. They’re encouraged to embrace the making of mistakes, learning from them, and taking responsibility for how they show up in the world. Many of the lessons they learn come during advisory days, when students meet with their buddies, or during Student Council run all school assemblies.
Our expectations are clear and consistent: we expect students to be honest, kind, courageous, and accountable. But we also equip them with the tools to meet those expectations, through classroom conversations, role-modeling by adults, community service, and restorative practices that emphasize growth over punishment. Along with the emphasis we place on the teaching of critical thinking skills (teaching our students how to think, not what to think), we believe these foundations will serve our students well throughout their lives, allowing them to thoughtfully and responsibly navigate complex social, moral, and political questions they encounter as they mature.
Ashbrook graduates stand out not only for their academic readiness but also for their sense of purpose. They are good students and, maybe more importantly, good human beings developing the skills they will need to be productive and fulfilled citizens. Along with our parent partners, Ashbrook is proud to help our young Explorers to become the kind of young people who will lead, serve, and build communities of integrity wherever they go.