Our Philosophy: Pioneering Schools for a Global Future
Green Ivy International Schools develop future-facing schools and programs that prioritize sustainability, innovation, and world citizenship in and across our curriculum and holistic programs.
Our program of instruction encourages curiosity, supports student agency, and is rooted in our students' experiences of the global world. These pedagogical traits, coupled with our integration of technology, prepared our students and our entire learning community exceptionally well for Remote Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learning with us is always joyful, relevant, and purposeful, for students as well as teachers and parents. We are adaptive to the ever-changing horizon of our modern era, and we celebrate digital natives and the unlimited potential they have for disrupting and transforming the world around them for the better. We are also the only organization in New York City that offers community-wide programming to everyone in and beyond our schools.
Green Ivy Schools was founded by Dr. Jennifer Jones in New York City in 2012 to serve as a foundational network of schools representing best practices in education worldwide.
What gives our schools the quality you feel the moment you enter are the “pillars” of belief that support them. There are eight core beliefs on which everything centers at our schools. Here they are in depth:
Pillar 1: Experiential Learning
An environment that is authentic, nurturing, warm, and ultimately transformative.
A child’s natural excitement for learning is a precious opportunity. All too often it can be stifled. Engaged, experiential learning is an active experience that motivates children through their own desire to learn, explore, and grow. We help children connect with their surroundings in new ways, so they discover what is meaningful to them in the moment and in the future. Experiential learning ignites the child’s natural desire to learn with an environment that is authentic, nurturing, warm and ultimately transformative.
Pillar 2: Community
We encourage peer to peer interaction to enhance each child's unique learning path.
A child’s educational success in large part depends on families, educators, peers and relevant members of the community. Learning is accelerated when students can interact directly with the broader community to understand the relevance of what they are learning. Green Ivy draws families into the learning process since they are the child’s most immediate community.
Pillar 3: Collaboration
A feeling of connectedness, resulting in deeper, more memorable learning experiences.
Sharing new experiences and solving problems with others leads to a greater sense of connectedness – as well as deeper and more meaningful learning experiences. Through collaboration, students also learn to acknowledge, respect and advocate each others’ point of view, value one another’s contribution and recognize there is power in interdependency. Collaboration extends not only to students but also to educators, as they work across traditional subjects which have been artificially separated, to encourage learning across disciplines.
Pillar 4: Global Stewardship
Teaching children to consider their impact on others.
There is a global connection in almost everything we do today. We promote an environment that teaches children to consider their impact on others, think globally and contribute to larger solutions. This awareness and respect for other cultures is enhanced by learning new languages, through which children learn how to listen and communicate with others in a meaningful way.
Pillar 5: Exploration
Curiosity leads children to look for what lies beyond the predictable.
Children are natural explorers and instinctively take risks. Their curiosity leads them to look for what lies beyond the predictable. Exploration involved risk and uncertainty, and we strive to create a leanring environment where this exploration is encouraged and safe.
Pillar 6: Proven Models
Green Ivy Schools embrace best practices and enhance them with a unique delivery.
Several important learning models have been developed, refined and proven by educators around the world. Green Ivy embraces these models and enhances them with our own unique delivery. The Montessori Method and the International Baccalaureate represent world-recognized best practices in educational development.
Pillar 7: Human Connection
Deeper learning happens through tangible connections and real-world experiences with others.
The human connection must be a key component of learning. Shared interests and experiences help children broaden their views and knowledge of the world. A deeper quality of learning, self-discovery and stewardship develops when there is a genuine, personal connection and real world understanding of the experiences of others.
Pillar 8: Inspired Educators
Our teachers create an exploration-based, engaged learning experience.
Inspired, passionate educators are fundamental to our vision. They guide students throughout their daily activities with a clear focus on providing an engaged learning experience. Green Ivy is committed to only hiring those with a passion for helping others learn, whose beliefs and teaching styles fit into our educational philosophy.