. . . is an approach to living with others that places a high premium on personal relationships – the opposite of "one size fits all." Just as all the children in a family have different strengths, students in every grade level have very different abilities – and needs. It is our responsibility as SPS adults in partnership with parents to understand the important differences between our students, to know them well as individuals, to support them appropriately, and to understand what freedoms they can – and cannot – handle.

Allowing teenagers to live with such freedoms requires that adults take time to develop close ties with students. Freedom with responsibility succeeds because advisers build relationships from the start, working hard to understand and respond to the individual. For one student, proctored study hall may be a very counter-productive measure; for another, it could make all the difference.

Clear rules, consequences, moral standards, and an honor code govern our lives together; freedom does not mean we do not have rules. As a fully residential community where all the faculty live on the grounds, there is a strong adult presence. The responsibility to supervise and support our students is our most important challenge.

Our students and graduates often comment on how wonderful it is to be treated with respect and trust from the first day they arrive here until the day they depart. Perhaps this is why so many visitors comment on the warmth and friendliness of our students as they walk along the paths. Perhaps it suggests why our graduates easily handle the transition to college, where freedom is much greater.