St. Johns Country Day School

What sets St. Johns apart?

Many things, certainly, but above all it's our family atmosphere and future-facing curriculum that prepares students not just for college, but for life. We hear it again and again from our graduates-- when they got to college they not only "survived," they thrived. They had the skills they needed to excel in their coursework, understood self-leadership and motivation, and managed campus life with aplomb.

At St. Johns, our mission is to provide a superior college preparatory program with a diverse curriculum that stresses academic accomplishment, artistic expression, and athletic participation in a supportive family atmosphere that fosters self-reliance and ethical responsibility.

What was the problem?

We needed a live, easily accessed curricular collection that could be searched effectively and could generate a variety of reports for various stakeholders. We also wanted it to facilitate meaningful conversations and collaborations among the faculty to strengthen and unify our academic program. Our highly qualified, experienced, and innovative teachers enjoy a great deal of autonomy to design courses and learning experiences that best meet the needs of our students. This is one of our great strengths, but it also creates challenges when it comes to documentation, communication, and visibility.

How did Atlas help?

We have moved slowly in a systematic way to build our curriculum in Atlas. Our goal is to avoid falling into the trap of filling in information to "get it done," ensure that what we put in is authentic, and empower our teachers design dynamic curriculum as a natural part of their routine at school. Graham is a key resource I keep going back to as we deal with different challenges and requests. I truly rely on his expertise and support. It is truly our map, not a cookie cutter template we have tried to fit our program into. Almost every request we make is either done or is put to the tech team to figure out how to make it happen. It is always gratifying to check out the "What's new in Atlas" tab.

What were the outcomes?

Our teachers curated and wrote the original lists of learning objectives, and it is clear they are engaging with them much more frequently and meaningfully since we adopted Atlas, as evidenced by the many changes they have requested to make to them in the past two years. Teachers also report they are much more mindful about them as they design assessments.

Testimony