Honor Statement

Although seemingly obvious, the next issue truly is at the crux of creating a school environment which permits each child to grow as a student. The issue: the need for your strong, consistent parental support of Portledge School. This solid support sends a very powerful message to your children that you, their parents, value education and value the job that Portledge is doing. Children sculpt their outlooks and attitudes by listening to the tone and content of the comments made by their parents. Positive, upbeat comments help reinforce children’s respect for the policies of their school, for their teachers, and for the process of education. Conversely, nothing undermines the students’ confidence in the school more than hearing a parent denigrate a faculty member or some aspect of the school. The Headmaster, in fact, may dismiss the children of parents who are deemed uncooperative.

Research over the years has shown that students who see their parents actively involved in the school (e.g. attending Back-to-school Nights, being members of the Parents Council, being on the sidelines at games, participating in special events at the school, etc.) are the students who work more effectively and with more devotion during their academic years.

Please be always supportive of Portledge, even when you may not necessarily agree with its stance on a particular issue. If you have issues about which you are concerned (or take exception to the school), please let us know at school so we can have an open conversation at the adult level. What is at stake here is nothing less than positive attitudes that your child will develop about school and schooling.

We are asking our parents to be generous: generous with their support of (and attitudes about) Portledge and its programs; generous with their time through volunteerism; and generous with even their financial resources in order to assure the finest possible education program for their own children and subsequent generations of Portledge students. In similar fashion, as we all work together to support the school’s philosophy, Portledge asks its faculty and staff to be generous with their time and talents in order to devote their best efforts to each child. Efforts like these surely will undergird and reinforce Portledge’s tradition of excellence in education.

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Lower School Honor Statement

Portledge expects its students to remember that academic honesty and responsibility for one’s own work and actions are a foundation-block to scholarship. Even our youngest students should be aware of their obligations to themselves and to their school. With assistance and explanations from teachers, all students from grades one through grade five will be asked to commit to this standard of excellence.

We expect parents to support this standard:

-by encouraging young children to do their own work when they are able.
-by assisting when appropriate.
-by living their own lives as Portledge expects its students to live theirs.

We expect teachers to support this standard:

-by discussing, during the first few weeks of school, with children of all grades the implications of taking responsibility for one’s own words, work and actions.
-by continuing to encourage children to do their own work when they are able.
-by assessing the successful implementation of this standard by carefully recording on grade reports the good citizenship of their students.
-by continuing to act as role models for their students.

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Middle/Upper School Honor Statement

Portledge expects its students to remember that academic honesty is a foundation-block to scholarship. To affirm and reinforce this fundamental tenet, we require that students, during their initial advisor's meeting each fall, sign the following statement:

I affirm that when I submit work for grading, or take tests or quizzes, the work will be my own work that I completed without the use of unauthorized help.

This signed statement will be kept on file. Then, for each piece of work that is submitted for grading, the student's signature on the work is an indication that the student has been faithful to the signed pledge.