The Magnolia School’s mission is to help form confident, flexible, responsible life-long learners who display positive attitudes and behaviors; excel at communication and problem solving; are at ease with numbers; know how to access, assess and manage information; and are comfortable working with others.

To accomplish its mission, the school has adopted a small,

safe, multi-age group setting and has built a supportive and involved family community with a strong sense of belonging. The approach we follow is child-directed and theme-based to emphasize motivation, creativity, research, and team work; it is hands-on to promote concrete understanding. We maintain a diverse student population, whom we guide in the areas of tolerance, respect, and flexibility.

The emphasis is on learning to think, not on learning facts, and on cultivating the joy of learning rather than the stress of testing. Scores, report cards, or standardized testing are not used. Thus our graduates do not leave school with FCAT scores; instead they leave school with a portfolio of work samples, confident and ready to thrive in their new school setting and beyond.

After 25 years of learning together, The Magnolia School is a community of hundreds of current and alumni families who are active participants in our school (and in the community!) sharing of time and talents.