The cornerstone of our teaching philosophy is student-centered learning. Our dedicated faculty are extremely thoughtful and knowledgeable professionals who care deeply about both content and process. They seek to challenge, inspire, encourage and stretch their students. Our teachers and coaches continually research and evaluate curriculum and teaching practices to ensure the quality, relevance and effectiveness of all aspects of their work with students. They develop a “growth mindset” — a willingness to work hard, take risks, learn from mistakes and constantly seek improvement.
For our coaches, the classroom is the field or the gym. Developing skills like teamwork, leadership, athleticism, and positive attitude is central to our mission of nurturing the whole child — academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Our student-teacher ratio for Lower School and Middle School is about 7:1. We’re able to keep our ratio so low thanks to small class sizes (about 20 students) and a team of staff supporting our lead teachers. In Lower School, there are two teachers in every homeroom, enabling our lead teachers to focus less on classroom management and more on instruction and engaging with students.
Sure, we have two teachers in every Lower School homeroom, but that’s really just the start! We also have a team of learning specialists and additional support staff for Lower and Middle School. Learning specialists are subject matter experts who support our lead teachers and help deliver personalized instruction to students. Specialists help us meet each child where they are, teaching to a student’s individual strengths and struggles.
We also provide additional staff that goes beyond academics. Advisors and counselors work with each child to help them develop a positive self-image, take personal responsibility, and procure skills that enable them to be academically, socially, and emotionally successful. And as students progress through the Middle School, our Director of High School Placement partners with each family to find the ideal fit for the next level.
Instructional Support Specialist, Suzi Herrington, talks about our specialists, subject matter experts who support our lead teachers and students.
"The student-teacher ratio makes it seem as if the school was able to customize a learning plan for our children specifically. The collaborative and interactive learning environment at Trinity has helped our kids gain confidence in both academics and social settings."
— Trinity Parent
111
Faculty
includes specialists and fellows
45%
Faculty with Post-Grad Degrees
5% with doctorates
7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
an integral support team keeps the ratio low
13
Specialists
support literacy, math, technology, etc.
8
Coaches
support daily PE and 11 sports
22
Male Teachers & Coaches
20% of all faculty
If we're not constantly improving as educators, we're not serving our students properly. Along with supporting our financial assistance program, our spring fundraising event ensures that our faculty and staff have access to the best professional development opportunities. In a typical year, we carve out more than $250,000 for programs, activities and conferences that will help our teachers, coaches and staff stay on the leading edge of education.
Our teachers are lifelong learners with a growth mindset! Middle School Academic Dean Dr. Karyn Rayburn explains why professional development is so central to our culture and mission.
