Mission
“To learn our powers and be answerable for their use.”
In 2018-19, Wheeler’s 130th school year, the Board of Trustees approved a new school mission, drawn from the precepts of School Founder Mary Colman Wheeler: “To learn our powers and be answerable for their use.” This new mission replaces the last iteration from 1993 and accompanies a strategic vision and design to carry the School forward through 2023.
To amplify and incorporate our new School Mission based on our founder’s precept, our community of students, faculty, alumni and parents gathered in groups small and large to create the following Vision statement:
Through exploration of Wheeler’s transformative curriculum—which actively cultivates voice, social conscience, passion, and interest—students will unlock their powers of mind, body, heart, and spirit. While all our paths of discovery are unique, each of us will develop the empathy, knowledge, and skills needed to lead a life of joy, meaning, and impact as ethical, engaged, and creative citizens of our school, community, and world.
How we will fulfill our Mission
Wheeler’s vision is to expand our capacity for every student to fulfill this mission. That is, through social, athletic, artistic, and academic endeavors, all Wheeler students are challenged to discover their “powers” of mind, body, and heart — and to develop the skills, empathy, and knowledge necessary “for their use” as each student prepares for a meaningful and productive life as a creative and engaged citizen of the world. To fulfill our vision, Wheeler community members will continue to commit to create and embrace opportunities, continually seek understanding and knowledge, learn from commonalities and differences, and strive to be the best version of themselves.
Strategic Design for 2023
The three directions that we have chosen to fulfill this purpose are explained in our Strategic Design for 2023 which you can download below. We hope you join us in celebrating an important step that we have made in establishing a powerful and motivational framework for growth and innovation. Within the plan, each direction sets our path to fulfill our purpose.
- One Wheeler — leverage our strengths to build the next generation Wheeler experience for all students
- Within and a Part of the World — engage our local and global communities as critical resources for learning, experience, and impact
- Organizing to Learn — organize for a culture of growth and learning to ensure stability, dynamism, and innovation into the near and distant future
Aligning Our School Mission For An Anti-Racist Future
Wheeler is committing to increase our work to look critically at ourselves, analyze what we see, and to take courageous and bold action in days, months, and years to come. We seek to accelerate and broaden our approach and to reconcile with our past. As a result, in June 2020, our Board of Trustees and Head of School created an Equity Task Force.
