Mission & Values

At Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School, we provide an extraordinary early childhood education in a diverse community that values every individual. Beauvoir’s program encourages creative, courageous learners and builds an enduring foundation for a lifelong spirit of inquiry and joy in learning.

We hold a “beautiful view” of childhood. We embrace learning as a lifelong endeavor and are committed to building a community where every child grows, explores, questions, creates, and achieves–individually and together. We align our practices, decisions, and investments with our goal to be a child-centered, safe, and deeply engaging learning community.

Beauvoir’s Life Rules of kindness, respect, responsibility, and honesty are central to bringing the mission and vision of the School to life. All children, even our earliest learners, participate in daily discussions, stories, activities, and reflections to turn these abstract concepts into concrete choices that they make. The Life Rules are further reinforced in all-school community meetings, regular chapel programs, and school-wide service projects. The social curriculum at Beauvoir is as important as the academic curriculum. Good character education is not only taught but also modeled by the entire adult community at the School. At Beauvoir, students see adults following the Life Rules in their own interactions with each other. The result is a school community that is a safe place where children enjoy learning and where the development of their character is of the utmost importance.