Mission

It is the mission of the Ambleside administration and faculty to provide a “living education,” centered on Christ, where each child is guided and empowered to author a full and free life, a life rich in relationship to God, self, others, ideas, and all of creation.

Thus, our primary concern is the kind of student each child is becoming, not the mastery of particular data or technique, for we are confident that the student who masters the art of learning will attain his full potential for mastering data and technique. Students who master the art of relating well to God, self, others, ideas, and creation will attain the fullness of life for which they were created.

In order to fulfill this mission, Ambleside seeks the consistent application of the pedagogical insights of the British educator, Charlotte Mason (1840-1923).

Our Vision

We intend to carry out our mission and fulfill our motto in such a way that impacts the children in our classrooms, our wider community of families, and the world, by training and equipping those interested in bringing this living education to their communities.

The Ambleside School of Boerne classroom is a peaceful place of learning, where a love of learning is fostered by excellent “living” books and materials in an atmosphere that is free from manipulation and pride; where students are trained in habits that give them freedom to live, learn, and grow into the persons God intends them to be. Our primary concern is the kind of person each child is becoming. ASB will equip them to be thinking, open-minded individuals of character, who are able to form healthy relationships, to mature in the art of living well and to ideally emulate the Biblical example of leadership modeled by Jesus.

The Ambleside Boerne student, faculty, staff, and board community will pursue “living well,” as defined by pursuing optimal ways of relating to God, self, others, ideas, creation, work, and leisure; a growing knowledge of and love for Jesus; a humble, proactive servant love of all persons; the habits of excellent work, sweet thoughts and self-mastery; and growing in a rich intellectual life filled with inspirational ideas, great works of science, literature, history, art, music, mathematics, nature, craft, and life-long sports. Parents are invited and encouraged to join in this pursuit.

While the primary commitment of Ambleside is to our children and their families, our vision extends beyond that of simply being a local school. Ambleside seeks to be a vehicle for the training and equipping of parents and teachers who seek to benefit from the insights of Charlotte Mason as they are given living expression at Ambleside.  To this end, Ambleside Boerne partners with Ambleside Schools International in hosting training events, including Internships, Summer Institutes, Principals’ Conferences, and Apprenticeships.

The Ambleside Commitment

It is the mission of the Ambleside administration and faculty to provide a “living education,” where each child is guided and empowered to author a full and free life, a life rich in relationship to God, self, others, ideas, and all of creation. To fulfill this mission, Ambleside seeks the consistent application of the pedagogical insights of the British educator, Charlotte Mason (1840-1923), according to the method established by Ambleside Schools International. Based upon this pedagogy and method, Ambleside School makes the following commitments to its students and their parents: 

To maintain an optimal atmosphere for the cultivating of the hearts and minds of students. 

• Ambleside will be characterized by:
  • Reverence for God, confidence in His loving presence, and a commitment to obedience, according to the principles of Jesus Christ.
  • Kindness and respect for all with the proper submission to authority.
  • Learning and growth in a multitude of spheres, intellectual, spiritual, physical, and relational.
  • Ideas that engage the mind.
  • Work that is fruitful, satisfying, and harmonizes into a daily rhythm.
  • Neatness, beauty, and general good order.

• Ambleside will not be characterized by:
  • Exclusive relationships or cliques.
  • Sarcasm, base humor, or demeaning language or conduct.
  • Artificial incentives (stars, candy, grades, awards, etc.) and manipulative techniques (shame, wrongly expressed anger, excessive praise, and other forms of emotional manipulation).
  • Labeling students in a way that limits or creates a false sense of inferiority or superiority.
  • Trivial work, meaningless tasks, or superficial amusements.

To foster good habits regarding work, thought, self, and others. 

•  Ambleside will hold students to a high standard in their academic work. 
•  All students will be supported in the habit of doing good work: work that is completed punctually, accurate, neat, and demonstrates a high level of academic thought, mastery, and skillfulness. 
• If a student’s work indicates lack of carefulness, focus, or effort, then teachers will use inspirational ideas and natural consequences to motivate the student towards the formation of the necessary habits.
• If a student’s work indicates lack of comprehension, teachers will be available after school to provide additional assistance.
• If regular after-school work proves insufficient to bring the student to needed mastery, the teacher and administration will work with students and parents to develop and implement a plan to foster the necessary habits, skills, and knowledge.
• Ambleside will hold students to a high standard of self-management and interpersonal relationships.
  • All students will be supported in mastering the habits of:
    • Focused attention;
    • Self-control of speech, hands, and posture;
    • Kindness and respect towards others; and
    • Appropriate submission to authority (teachers, administrators, and school policies – including the dress code)
  • If any student fails in one of the above, Ambleside staff will use inspirational ideas, and natural consequences as the primary means for promoting student growth.
  • If a severe lapse or a persistent pattern of lesser failures occurs, the teacher and administration will work with students and parents to develop and implement a plan to foster the necessary personal and interpersonal habits.

To engage and nurture the students’ minds through a rigorous and rich curriculum. 

• The Ambleside curriculum will consist of “living books”, the best books, written in fine literary style by the best minds, rather than traditional textbooks.
• The Ambleside curriculum will provide a broad array of foods for the mind, including, the Bible, math, science, history, literature, music, art, a second language, grammar, nature study, picture study, composer study, leadership, poetry, handwork, drama, and physical exercise.
• At Ambleside, students will be given the opportunity to grow in knowledge and skill through worthy work and worthy thought.