The Hopedale Memorial Elementary School has its roots in the traditions of our unique community.  Adin Ballou, the founder of Hopedale, believed that school must educate the whole child.  Today the Memorial Schoolcontinues that tradition.  We believe that intellectual curiosity and the search for new knowledge should be central to our mission to educate the whole child.  The general context within which we work is critical.  Children should find and contribute to a compassionate, nurturing, and positive atmosphere.  School should be a place of high expectations where there is a sincere quality to all relationships.

There should be recognition of the unique qualities and needs of the individual. Children should feel recognized and valued and they should have a strong belief in themselves.  They should know that their contributions as students, classmates, and friends are important.  The feeling of “Our School” should prevail.

All members of our school community should understand that they have come to a place of learning where “best” is the goal.

The adults who teach here must understand how each child best learns. They must provide the most favorable context in which teaching andf learning take place. The adults should teach children the essential skills, effective strategies, and necessary tools of learning and to do in such a way as to motivate all children to achieve beyond their potential.  This requires teachers to nurture, inspire, and celebrate all students’ achievements.

Our school should provide a rich and safe environment where children will have meaningful opportunities to explore, discover, and construct new knowledge.  Our school should provide an environment where each child is motivated by interest, sustained by involvement and will achieve by genuine effort.

Our school should provide a respectful and positive environment where parents are recognized as their child’s advocates and engaged members of our school community.