Written by Vanessa Del Fabbro
My daughter Annabel will soon be joining her sisters at Sabot at Stony Point, a progressive school for preschool through 8th grade, situated next to beautiful Larus Park, just off Huguenot Road. Like a number of her preschool friends, Annabel cannot wait to start kindergarten. Avery, whose big brother Max is in first grade, is also excited. Her mother, Nikki, says, “Max has told her that you get to explore in the forest and work on projects with your best friends. The school trips into the city are exciting and PE is fun.”
While children may look forward to time in the forest and project work with friends, Sabot parents know that deeper learning is also going on. “The teachers know exactly how to inspire my daughters to think more deeply about questions and explore the community and world around them,” says Anne, mother to three Sabot lower-school students. “And I love that they are not only concerned with helping my children to become good learners but to become good people as well.”
Sabot teachers believe that children come to them with natural curiosity and creativity and that it is the teachers’ job to nurture these dispositions. Children learn by investigating and they acquire knowledge and understanding by developing, testing, and defining their own theories. Sabot teachers understand that when children play an active role in their own education they become lifelong learners.
With a more traditional approach to education, students can spend a lot of time memorizing facts and doing hours of busy work – even in kindergarten – instead of being actively engaged in the work, their environment, and their classroom community. Lila came to Sabot in first grade. “At Sabot, Lila has been celebrated for who she is in a supportive, rigorous, and evidence-based environment,” says her mother, April. “She is more authentically herself, more engaged in learning, and happier than we have ever seen her. Her learning comprehension is astounding, and, based on Sabot’s approach to teaching math and science, she is making huge progress in an area that she previously found frustrating. We are thrilled to have found this school, not only for our daughter but also for our family.”
As April notes, Sabot educates the whole child and the Sabot community includes the whole family. “On top of the great education,” adds Anne, “is this amazing community atmosphere. It takes a village to raise a child and this is exactly what we have at Sabot.”
Sabot at Stony Point
3400 Stony Point Road Richmond, VA 23235
(804) 272-1341
To find out more about Sabot at Stony Point, visit the Sabot Preschool Admissions page or contact Director of Admissions, Maggie Barrett, by phone (804) 272-1341 or email her with any questions.
This article was sponsored by Sabot at Stony Point
