Sequoyah School is Synonymous with Stewardship

Choosing the right private school for your children is an important and involved decision. Here in a city like Pasadena, which offers so many choices, that process can feel overwhelming. Your children are the most important things in the world to you and choosing the right set of mentors to guide your children through their education is a weighty (and emotional) duty.

Of course, being well-informed is the best way to find the right place for your child. Josh Brody, Director at Sequoyah School, understands all too well the complex nature of this task at hand and what knowledge parents need.

“I grew up in Pasadena and have attended various schools in Pasadena,” Brody told Pasadena Now. “I think that there are a lot of great schools here.”

Brody told us that one of the most strengths of his Sequoyah School amid its peers is figuring out how each student best learns.

“We’re really interested in understanding each student as a learner; who they are, what motivates them, what are their challenges, their strengths. We really want to understand their social and emotional growth in addition to their intellectual growth,” Brody said.

A good relationship between teacher and student helps to accomplish this goal.

Sequoyah School’s practices differ from more traditional school structures, something certain types of students crave. After all, Brody reminded, finding the best school for your child is about finding out what makes them comfortable while still challenging them.

“In our junior high and elementary program We we don’t give letter grades and we have mixed-age group classrooms here. We try to provide a serious environment where students will be able to collaborate; where they’ll be able to not just look to the teacher as the person with the knowledge,” says Brody.

This is a school that wants to keep the students asking questions.

“We want to provide challenges for students so they’re not just following a prescription, but so that they are being presented with different types of problems and scenarios where they’re going to have to really understand, in-depth, and figure out how to creatively apply [solutions] in different situations,” Director Brody said.

The school teaches a basic set of tenets it calls “Habits of the Mind, “ which are Perspective, Inquiry, Communication, Collaboration, Application, Stewardship, Ownership, and Creativity. It is important at this school to be able to look at things from someone else’s perspective, a life lesson some adults still need help with occasionally.

The school wants students to go out into the world ready to tackle challenges responsibly. That emphasis on students taking responsibility for their own learning extends into Sequoyah’s new high school.

“Stewardship is a very central value here. It’s the idea that students are trying to make the world a better place for themselves and others. That relates to environmental stewardship and sustainability, but also social justice,” Director Brody said.

This school is truly dedicated to helping to mold your children into become respected and respectful members of society who will give back more than they have taken.

Sequoyah School, 535 S. Pasadena Ave., Pasadena, (626) 795-4351 or visit www.sequoyahschool.org.