This is a preview from the features section of the Fall 2025 issue of Independent School magazine.
The ability of independent schools to chart their own course—and their ability to preserve that independence over time—is essential to the experience they provide. It’s one of the primary reasons families are drawn to independent schools. The breadth of schools, their focus on students, their capacity to be nimble, the way their mission and values can align with parents––these qualities are appealing to families and are what make independent schools a necessary and valuable part of the education landscape.
And as that landscape continues to evolve, talking about and demonstrating the value of independent schools and the education they provide has never been more important. To help bring that narrative to life and to showcase the breadth and depth of the independent school community in the Fall 2025 issue of Independent School magazine, we solicited stories from schools that capture a moment or experience that sits at the heart of their value proposition, something that truly represents the spirit of their school community. We have already featured vignettes from two schools on the Independent Ideas blog, and what follows here are two more.
Pinewood Preparatory School (SC)
Headship is so much more than simply paying lip service to your school’s mission and core values. All of our schools have appealing value propositions and marketing slogans that showcase our respective communities, but when push comes to shove, are our actions in alignment with our words?
When I assumed the head of school role at Pinewood Preparatory School in 2018, I was delighted to inherit a long-standing Honor Code that spoke to our school’s culture of integrity and accountability. The fact that character development was nonnegotiable resonated with my leadership philosophy. In my second year at the helm, we decided to truly lean into this meaningful differentiator—in a slightly unconventional way.
I believe students benefit from clear, visual, and tangible artifacts or symbols that reflect a school’s priorities. In that vein, we created a display for the Honor Code located in the foyer of the main entrance. In a cardholder etched with the statement Character Is Everything sits a crisp $100 bill. Each morning, a student places the currency in the display. The money is accessible to all passersby; however, the same bill has remained untainted and untarnished for the past six years. Neither a trick nor a gimmick, it has become a physical manifestation of our values and a point of pride throughout the Pinewood community.
Leadership takes courage, conviction, and yes—a bit of risk. Our independent schools continue to serve as beacons of hope and light in this world. As the $100 bill stands the test of time, I remain humbled and inspired by the character-driven nature of our respective communities.
— Daniel Seiden, head of school
Mountain Academy (WY)
It’s an early morning at Mountain Academy. A group of early childhood students gather in the meadow, magnifying glasses and sketchpads in hand. Just beyond them, a middle school group loads backpacks into a bus for a multiday Journey into the Teton backcountry. Though these students are years apart in age and experience, they’re connected by something deeply intentional, learning that lives beyond the classroom, grounded in place and purpose.
At Mountain Academy, Journeys are a cornerstone of the curriculum: immersive, early childhood through middle school opportunities to connect with the natural world and the local community. While the scope and distance of each Journey grow with age, the core remains the same: inquiry, reflection, and meaningful connection to place.
For younger learners, a Journey might be a walk to a nearby creek to study water flow, guided by the question, “Where does the stream begin?” Students use watercolor to capture what they see and sit quietly to listen for the sounds of birdsong. The experience is slow and intentional, designed to build early awareness of ecological systems and foster a sense of wonder.
Meanwhile, a group of middle schoolers is several miles up a trail near the Gros Ventre River, navigating a ridgeline hike that blends science, leadership, and resilience. This particular Journey might ask students to explore how landscapes change over time and how people adapt alongside them. As students journal about fire succession in the forest or debate the ethics of land use, they’re also learning how to cook their meals, read maps, and collaborate through challenge.
These aren’t isolated moments; they’re the nexus of lesson plans, community-building, and personal growth. Every Journey is carefully designed by faculty to extend classroom learning into the world students inhabit every day, offering authentic, place-based opportunities to make meaning from experience. And at the heart of each Journey is a commitment to reflection. What did you notice? What challenged you? How did your thinking change? Whether it’s a 5-year-old wondering why ants build hills or a sixth grader realizing she’s capable of leading her peers through a rainstorm, these moments are where the deepest learning lives.
Ask a Mountain Academy student what they love most about school, and they’ll almost always mention a Journey, muddy boots, quiet moments on the trail, and the feeling of being trusted to lead. Ask a parent what they value, and they’ll say the same: confidence, curiosity, and a deep sense of place that can’t be taught from a desk.
At Mountain Academy, our tagline, Discover the Difference, is an invitation to families to see how learning rooted in community, nature, and inquiry shapes students who are not only academically prepared but deeply aware of themselves and the world around them.
— Elsa Rall, marketing and communications coordinator