Developing character: Living out our core values at Sayre

Character development is an important aspect of a well-rounded education. It goes beyond academic learning, equipping students with essential life skills that will serve them well long after they graduate. 

At Sayre School, we value students as individuals, working to foster their understanding of themselves and their roles in the larger community. Our core values of wisdom, integrity, respect, and compassion are woven throughout our curriculum and extracurricular activities. 

By embracing these core values, we believe that students will become equipped with the essential qualities needed to become ethical, compassionate leaders who can navigate challenges, make responsible decisions, and inspire positive change. Here’s how:

• Wisdom: Empowers students to analyze complex situations, make informed decisions, and find innovative solutions
• Integrity: Ensures that students act with honesty, build trust, and make choices that align with their moral compass
• Respect: Helps students develop a global perspective, understand different viewpoints, and treat others with compassion
• Compassion: Motivates students to care for others, contribute to their communities, and make a positive impact on the world

Core values in action

At Sayre School, we instill these core values through initiatives such as student mentoring, service learning, and cultural awareness.

Student mentoring

Pairing older and younger students gives older students a chance to develop leadership abilities while providing younger ones with positive role models. 

The Buddies program in the Lower School is a preschool 4 through 4th grade initiative to build community and individual student connections. In each pairing, a younger classroom works with an older classroom. 

Students come together each month to encourage and support each other. At each monthly meeting, students play games and learn new skills.

Outside of the visits, classes attend each other’s culminations and performances, and they greet each other in the Buttery and in the hallways. Our teachers say that the younger students love spending time with the older students, while the older students get a unique opportunity to be mentors at a relatively young age.

Service learning

Engaging students in volunteer work at all grade levels helps to foster responsibility and empathy. 

Lower and Middle School students participate in several community projects throughout the academic year. In the Upper School, each student is required to perform at least nine hours of service each year, which collectively amounts to more than 5,000 hours annually. 

Sayre students support various agencies and causes locally, nationally, and internationally through fund raisers, drives, and other activities. 

We also provide space and services for community groups. For example, Sayre collaborates with Lighthouse Ministries to serve holiday dinners for homeless people in the Thomas A. Grunwald Buttery. Students in each division bring in food for the dinner, and we collect socks to donate to our guests.

For Upper School students who are interested in sustained service opportunities, we offer the Service Learning Initiative. Through this program, our teachers challenge students to recognize concerns in the Sayre, local, national, and global communities and devote their time and talents to causes they care about.

To earn a Distinction in Service, students must complete two semesters of our Service in Society class. They should also demonstrate commitment, leadership, and regular participation in class and advisory service projects, as well as clubs and honor societies. To cap off their certificate, they complete a long-term project and give a presentation to their peers.

Cultural awareness

Starting in our youngest classrooms, we help students become aware of the world around them. Through some of our project-based learning units, for example, Sayre students explore other cultures, learning about foods, folklore, dances, music, and traditional festivals. 

At the Middle School level, students host such activities as International Night. Sponsored by the Multicultural Middle Schoolers (M&M) club, the event celebrates cultures represented by the student body with food, music, and games.

Through our Global Studies Initiative in the Upper School, we encourage students to pursue their interest in world cultures and international relations. Ultimately, we hope to inspire students to be responsive to the challenges and benefits of living in an interconnected society.

Students who participate in the Global Studies cohort may apply for a Distinction in Global Studies. The diploma requires four consecutive years of world language or a designated proficiency level along with three semesters of global studies/interdisciplinary electives.

Students also participate in cultural connection experiences, such as traveling, hosting an exchange student, or performing community service with Kentucky Refugee Ministries or another organization. They also engage in global cultural events in the community, such as talks, webinars, and movies. For their culminating event, students complete a long-term project and give a presentation to their peers and parent community.

By teaching our core values of wisdom, integrity, respect, and compassion, we aim to equip our students with the tools they need to thrive in a complex and ever-changing world. Through a combination of mentoring, service learning, and cultural awareness initiatives, we strive to nurture well-rounded individuals who are both academically accomplished and ethically grounded.