Our Vision

“Every child is unique.” This idea frames and guides our approach to teaching. It reminds us education is not “one size fits all.” Nor should it be.

An Appamada School education starts with respect for students as individuals with singular needs, talents, and values.

Our aim is to cultivate these essential traits, so students can enter the world comfortable with, and confident in, themselves.

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To accomplish this, we accept there is no single, right way to learn. Mindful that different children learn in different ways, our faculty builds relationships with students rooted in trust. Once established, they enter the student’s academic and emotional space, offering the compassionate support young learners need to achieve their educational and personal goals.

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The Appamada Way

“Appamada School provides an environment where children learn to know and, perhaps most importantly, love themselves. Cultivating a sense of authenticity and integrity prepares children to create lives based on their own unique learning styles, personalities, and passions after their time at Appamada. Along the way, they are supported in their journeys toward self-discovery and given the tools necessary to choose experiences that honor and reflect their true selves.”

— Ariel Miller, Appamada School Founder

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We Have Unique Values

The following principles guide the faculty and staff of Appamada School:

  • To be effective, schools must adapt to students.

    Appamada molds itself to each student, rather than making students squash themselves into the mold of the school. The faculty enters the academic and emotional space the student occupies and supports them in moving forward.

  • Self-discovery is one of the most important subjects we teach.

    When a school shapes itself to individuals, students undergo a journey where they learn to find themselves in relation to their own inner architecture, creating a life based on their own learning style, personality, and passions. This internal architecture in turn informs their external lives.

  • When one’s guard is down, learning enters easily.

    Students should never have to be one thing at school and something else at home. Appamada students are supported in a vulnerable place of authenticity where they simply get to be who they are, and to engage dynamically with the subject matter.

  • Curiosity doesn't distract from the lesson; it is the lesson.

    Students are supported in asking questions and finding their own answers on their journey to become creative, out-of-the-box thinkers who know what makes them tick.

  • Striking a path teaches more than following one.

    Appamada students undergo a reflective process to determine their own paths, as there is no external educational route prescribed by grades, tracking, or standardized testing.

  • Facts, figures, and dates are knowledge, not understanding.

    We focus on vitally connecting each individual student with what they’re learning. Instead of employing memorize-and-forget education, Appamada School focuses on creating integrated learning that digs deep into students’ passions and guides them in creating strategies to build upon their weaknesses.

  • Learning is measured by mastery, not memory.

    We offer written evaluations based on mastery rather than performance, using the metrics of participation, effort, initiative, perseverance and mastery to determine how successfully each student participates in a class based on their own individual strengths, weaknesses, and learning style.