Community Impact Report

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Since 1929, The School in Rose Valley has been an integral part of the borough of Rose Valley. Founded in part by families who originally came to the area at the turn of the century to be part of the Arts and Crafts community, the School has deep historical ties to this beautiful place we all call home. Looking for a place to educate their children that was different from the then "factory model" of schooling, those Rose Valley parents, after consulting with Swarthmore College, created a progressive school based on the practices of renowned educator, John Dewey. Today, we continue to offer families a strikingly different approach to preschool, kindergarten, and elementary education. We are viewed nationally as a model in the independent school community.

As the following lists demonstrate, our school community is linked to the local Rose Valley and Delaware County communities, to the natural environment, and to the larger communities of Pennsylvania and the United States.

The School in Rose Valley. . .

  • belongs to the National Association of Independent Schools, the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools.
  • is accredited through the Pennsylvania Association of Private Academic Schools.
  • employs 37 full- and part-time staff members primarily from Delaware County.
  • employs workers on a contract basis from a variety of local companies including Outer Spaces Landscaping, Donald Duck Plumbing, Sharkey Pool Service, and Generation III Cleaning.
  • serves over 90 families from primarily the Rose Valley, Moylan, Media, Swarthmore, and Wallingford communities in addition to some families from Springfield, Malvern, Berwyn, Havertown, Brookhaven, Newtown Square, Drexel Hill, Glen Mills, Wynnewood, West Chester, Morton and Phoenixville.
  • provides lunch daily to approximately 170 students and staff members and is committed to buying its food products locally at places such as Trader Joe's, Buono's Bakery, Custom Bagels, Linvilla Orchards, the Swarthmore Coop, and Martindale's.
  • has an annual operating budget of approximately $1.8 million, including over $1 million in salaries and benefits.
  • has given out over $400,000 in financial aid to approximately 70 families over the past four years.
  • in 2005 and 2006 hosted a progressive education symposium attended by over 130 teachers and administrators from public and private elementary, middle, and high schools from throughout the United States.
  • has partnered with many local institutions over the past five years including Hedgerow Theatre, Chester East Side Ministries, Swarthmore College, Red Hill Farm, Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Russell Byars Charter School, Chester-Ridley-Crum Creek Watershed Association, Pennsylvania Resources Council, and others.
  • operates a summer camp that employs over 40 people (many of them local college students and residents) and serves over 150 local families, primarily from Wallingford, Swarthmore and Media.
  • in 2000 received a $500,000 grant from the Palmer Family Trust - the largest grant ever awarded to a private elementary school in Delaware County.

At The School in Rose Valley, the decisions we make always take into consideration our impact on both our local and global community:

  • We take pride in educating prospective families about the historical significance of the Borough of Rose Valley.
  • We have had a school-wide recycling and composting program in place for several years and recycle all paper, plastic, metal, cardboard and glass.
  • There is a 600 square foot Organic Garden and Learning Center on our campus where our students grow tomatoes, herbs, beans, cucumbers, strawberries, lettuces, spinach, peppers, and other vegetables used in our lunch program.
  • All construction and renovation projects on our campus over the past several years have incorporated 'green' design techniques such as using recycled or salvaged materials, low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, environmentally-friendly materials such as cork and linoleum, energy efficient lighting, and water-efficient plumbing fixtures. We have recycled all demolition materials whenever possible.
  • We are committed to relying more on electronic communication with as many constituencies as possible in order to reduce our paper usage.
  • Students regularly pick up litter in The Saul Nature Preserve that borders our campus.
  • Students partner with the Chester-Ridley-Crum Creek Watershed Association and have learned how to test the water in the Ridley Creek as well as work on creek restoration projects such as removing invasive species of plants and planting native species of plants.
  • Students also partner with Red Hill Farm, a community supported agriculture (CSA) project near Neumann College, where they have learned about organic farming, soil composting, and the history of agriculture while doing service projects such as planting and harvesting crops.
  • We recently planted 6 apple trees on our campus (which was previously an apple orchard) and two American Yellowwood trees. Our Master Landscaping Plan was thoughtfully composed by professionals and volunteers to ensure we are planting native trees, shrubs and perennials on an ongoing basis.
  • In all of our teaching practices, we are committed to teaching children about their impact on the earth and are preparing them to be responsible community members and active citizens.

Our students:

  • There are currently 135 students from preschool through sixth grade enrolled at The School in Rose Valley.
  • Approximately 25% of our student body are students of color.
  • After graduation from The School in Rose Valley, students attend many different local public and private schools such as Strath Haven Middle School, Springton Lane Middle School, E.T. Richardson Middle School, The Baldwin School, Friends' Central School, Westtown School, Wilmington Friends School, The Crefeld School, Delaware Valley Friends School, Media-Providence Friends School, The Philadelphia School, Radnor Middle School, home school, the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, and others.
  • They also attend many different colleges and universities including Harvard University, Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania, Guilford College, Bennington College, Carnegie Mellon University, Bucknell University, Smith College, Pennsylvania State University, Cornell University, Goucher College, Philadelphia College of Textile and Science, Drexel University and others.

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20 School Lane : Rose Valley, PA 19063 : 610.566.1088 : office@theschoolinrosevalley.org