Lower School Portrait of a Learner

At Bancroft School, we believe that learning is about more than mastering academic content—it’s about developing essential skills and dispositions that will serve students throughout their lives. By focusing on how students think, communicate, collaborate, and problem-solve, we prepare them not just for school but for the world beyond. Cultivating these abilities helps students become adaptable, resilient, and engaged learners who can thrive in any setting. In our classrooms, students develop the critical thinking, communication, and social-emotional skills they need to navigate complex situations and make meaningful contributions, both now and in the future. We believe so much in these skills and dispositions that we intentionally teach them across the curriculum.

CRITICAL THINKERS

• Ask questions about how or why things happen

• Obtain, evaluate, and analyze information from a variety of sources

• Communicate using evidence based argumentation

• Make reasoned judgments and reach informed conclusions

COLLABORATIVE LEARNERS

• Work productively with others to meet common goals

• Respectfully and supportively respond to the input, strengths, and talents of others

• Identify questions, complete tasks, and solve problems together

• Teach and learn from their peers with supportive attitudes and an openness to new ideas

SELF ADVOCATES

• Know themselves as students and people

• Make informed decisions and choices

• Demonstrate resilience, maintain balance, and take risks to challenge themselves

• Seek access and support for self care and use a growth mindset to become better versions of themselves

CREATIVE DESIGNERS & PROBLEM SOLVERS

• Use knowledge and skills to create something new and imaginative

• Look for ways to use resources to solve problems

• Make connections between ideas and generate new questions to ask

• Draw on interests and passions to express themselves through areas such as art, music, performance, writing, design, or scientific pursuits

CONFIDENT COMMUNICATORS

• Listen to, engage in, and learn from conversations with others

• Appreciate and understand diverse, intercultural perspectives

• Seek out and are receptive to feedback

• Demonstrate confidence in voicing their opinions and sharing expertise

• Use sophisticated methods to connect with a variety of audiences

ENGAGED CITIZENS

• Seek to understand and positively impact their communities

• Recognize, respect, and embrace the common humanity of all people

• Build empathy through knowledge, observation, inquiry, and practice

• Address issues, participate, and take action within their communities