SUBMIT INQUIRY
Our Mission: The Raleigh School is a cooperative community of children, parents and teachers that fosters a love of learning in an atmosphere of challenge, inquiry and respect.

 

Community & Inclusion

From its inception, The Raleigh School has consciously sought to be an inclusive community, welcoming families who shared common goals of education.

Founded in the segregation era, the school shunned the concept and maintained open admissions from the start.

This moment from the early years illustrates the beliefs that the school has long held. In 1965, The Raleigh School was selected to partner with N.C. State University to conduct one of the first Head Start teacher training programs in the state. With the specific intent of normalizing the idea of integrated education, the training program was taught by the director of Raleigh Preschool, who was white, and the director of New Bern Avenue Preschool, who was black.

Together, they taught a series of teacher-training intensives for early childhood students. These sessions at Raleigh Preschool gave child development students the opportunity to observe and learn from two master teachers as they taught a class of sixteen low-income children that was balanced 50-50 white/black and 50-50 male/female.

The Raleigh School has continued its commitment to inclusion, welcoming children and families from a wide array of religious, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and family structures.

At the current time, the school is approximately 30 percent students of color, with students from many faiths and family backgrounds.

Diversity Statement

The Raleigh School is an inclusive, active partnership of parents, educators, and children built on a foundation of respect. As a school community, we honor the identities of all children and families and are committed to building a safe community where every member feels a strong sense of belonging. The Raleigh School is open to change and is committed to growth as we strive to prepare children to be active, culturally competent citizens. -Revised 2021

Interested in learning more about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in our classrooms? For the Preschool program, click here, and for the Elementary program, click here.


Teachers and parents thoughtfully partner to ensure each child's unique capacities and learning styles are recognized and encouraged ... Every morning our children literally ran to their classrooms, thrilled by the prospect of what each new day might bring!

Mark and May Bensen, alumni parents