Core Values, Mission and Statement of Respect

Esse Quam Videri, “To Be Rather Than To Seem,” has inspired our community since Garrison Forest School’s founding in 1910.

 

Today, it inspires our Core Values:

• Be Authentic.
• Be Brave.
• Be Compassionate.
• Be Curious.
• Be Spirited.

 

These five Core Values, created by the GFS community in 2015, guide how we teach and learn, connect and collaborate, serve and succeed. Underscoring our Mission and Statement of Respect, these five values are a road map for every member of our community, adult and child, to be our best selves.

At Garrison Forest School, we prepare our students in and out of the classroom to thrive in a complex, changing world by:

• challenging them to strive for academic excellence and to grow into informed, independent and creative thinkers
• cultivating an authentic and resilient sense of self, grounded in respect and integrity
• creating a diverse and inclusive community built on a spirit of caring
• inspiring young women to lead and to serve with passion, purpose and joy

The Garrison Forest School community is deeply committed to equity, honesty, kindness and respect as part of the educational experience. To this end, we:

• celebrate diversity both within our community and our curriculum
• are concerned for the well-being of all people
• seek to build the self-esteem of all people
• aspire to promote the understanding of all people.

We recognize the dignity and worth of all individuals. To protect their rights we confront bias, prejudice and discrimination. Garrison Forest School does not condone any behavior which is inconsistent with these tenets. We believe that it is unacceptable for our spoken and written language and behavior to demean anyone’s physical characteristics, as well as anyone’s ethnic, gender, personal, racial, religious or sexual identities. We, as individuals, must take responsibility for our words and deeds and respect all people.