Academic Overview
Welcome to Barrie School.
Whether you've been part of our community for years or you're just discovering us, we're grateful you're here. Education matters now more than ever. We live in a time of rapid change: AI reshaping how we work and learn, constant information streams, and daily uncertainties that challenge how we prepare young people for meaningful lives.
What Is School For?
That question has guided us since Francis Seldin founded our school in 1932, influenced by thinkers like Maria Montessori, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget. The answer was clear then and is urgent now: School exists to prepare students for their actual future lives, not the world we left behind. We need thoughtful collaborators. We need creative problem-solvers comfortable with the unfamiliar. We need young people who know when to stand up and take action. Effective schools secure the lifeline of functioning democracies, and this work starts with how we educate children. Since our founding, Barrie has championed hands-on, student-centered, community-driven teaching and learning. We’ve stood as “a school for all nations,” committed to social justice, children's rights, and free expression. These principles are not historical artifacts; they are our living practice.
Barrie School students go to school to prepare for life and to contribute to the world. Ongoing learning, doing as learning, and learning through diversity have defined us since our founding. Our commitment has always been meeting each child where they are—now we're ensuring Barrie meets the world where it's going.
Active Learning is foundational to Barrie School’s approach to education. It is the common ground between Montessori and Project-Based Learning and—we believe—key to excellence and cultivating a love of learning.
We're Evolving Barrie to Meet the Moment
Barrie School is proud to be the first school in the United States to offer the full Global Impact Diploma, an innovative diploma pathway designed by a consortium of international school
At Barrie School, this begins at the earliest ages, when Montessori learners choose their own work, are challenged by teachers to explore new topics, and then reteach what they have mastered to their peers. As students grow, they are continually empowered to take charge of their own learning. Project-Based Learning emphasizes analysis, research, creation, and innovation of strategies and solutions.
At Barrie School active participation is the first step in understanding and mastering more and more complex concepts. We believe that active participation is fed by intrinsic motivation, and that the key to academic excellence is unlocking the self-motivation that every learner has inside.