About MCS
Radical love is at the heart of MCS, driving our mission from academic excellence to lifelong civic engagement and advocacy. This principle of radical love through action propels our work with powerful momentum. At MCS, the study of the social sciences, social activism, and working towards a more just world are expressions of radical love—love for people with diverse perspectives, identities, and lived experiences, as well as a deep love for our environment. Students acquire skills for community engagement, focusing on interconnectedness and environmental stewardship.
POWERED BY RADICAL LOVE
A SAFE SPACE
School life mirrors real life, with its complex emotions and interactions. Although learning is not always comfortable, we provide a safe space for students to nurture their identity, confidence, problem-solving skills, and voice. We encourage children to grapple with big ideas around equity and inclusion, emphasizing the importance of their voices in our shared mission to create a more just world. Students learn to embrace complexity, develop resilience and agency, and utilize tools such as mindfulness to navigate and engage with these challenges effectively.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE & Rigor
In the city and at our Farm, our school is a place of rich, complex academic and social-emotional curricula that empowers students to engage in a critical social justice approach. Here, students understand the world through a social science lens by analyzing, communicating, and creating meaning from data and the study of the humanities, while staying open to various perspectives. Students develop skills such as design thinking, problem-solving, debate, conflict resolution and group collaboration, as well as a STEAM identity through our groundbreaking Reimagining STEAM project in partnership with Teachers College, Columbia University.
FROM PLAY TO PERSEVERANCE
Pre-K to 8th is a critical developmental time, so we focus on these grades to build strong academic and social foundations. Play holds significance not only during early childhood, but also throughout the middle school years.
Our K-8 model extends childhood and preserves the period of innocence and play-based learning. Our program culminates in a middle-school class full of empathetic mentors and confident school leaders, positioned for success in high school and beyond.
ANTI-RACISM & social justice
Noticing and deconstructing systems that perpetuate social inequity is central to our founding. Children are taught to observe, question, engage in problem-solving, and challenge these systems. At our school, students of all races and backgrounds are uplifted as we work toward a future rooted in a critical social justice approach that blends social science theories and practice in a developmentally appropriate manner. Students learn to be active in their communities, focusing on equity through interconnectedness and understanding intersectional identities. We do not shy away from conversations about race; instead, we center these discussions in our commitment to social justice, empowering all students to challenge systems of inequity.
A Loving Curriculum
Educator, author, and MCS parent Chris Emdin illustrates the value of an MCS curriculum that not only respects a child's culture and interests, but also cultivates self-directed learners poised to achieve academic success as they grow.
My Children are Free
LGBTQ activist, community leader, and MCS Parent Ana Maria Archila gives testament to MCS as a safe and supportive space where her children are encouraged to embrace their own identities and expressions and honor those of others.