The Stony Lane School has a cherished place for generations of families who filled its classrooms for over half a century.  So strong is this bond that parents, grandparents, and former students spontaneously stop in to say hello and share memories of their experiences at Stony Lane.  This strong sense of allegiance is the outgrowth of a sense of family that exists both within the school and also with the extended family of Paramus.

Children are revered at Stony Lane.  They are nurtured to give them the confidence they need to take risks and grow from both their successes and their failures.  They are encouraged to participate in activities, which develop empathy for others and a realization that in our shrinking world, we need to support those who are less fortunate.  Their input and participation in school life is valued and embedded in our school’s belief system.

Above all, however, we are a learning community, and the bedrock of our belief system is that all children can and will learn and that learning is enhanced by knowledge, exploration, and application.  Sometimes learning is a solitary activity, bur frequently it is collaborative or resulting from interactions with others.  Each of our teachers has experienced the “teachable moment,” but we don’t believe we should wait for it to occur; rather we should be proactive and engage children in rigorous activities which cause them to ponder, question, and become motivated by the challenge. 

Since we know that the classroom teacher is the single most predictable indicator for student success in school, we recognize the traits of a good teacher and broadly articulate these expectations.  The school is driven by a thirst for focused professional growth with the goal of teachers becoming expert.  Professional opportunities for growth are provided, recognizing that the avenues of acquiring knowledge are no different for adults than they are for children.  We recognize that the creation of parallel models can simultaneously benefit both the enabler and the enabled.  

The third but equal partner in the educational triad is the parent, whose knowledge of the child and daily guidance supports school learning.  The strength of the triad is only realized when communication with the home is effective and the school provides opportunities for parents to learn about what is being taught and how we are teaching it.

What embraces this triad is the Stony Lane culture that shares a common vision, has high expectations, recognizes the importance of an integration of learning, values difference and a differentiated approach to learning, and looks at itself using qualitative and quantitative data.  Like the children, we grow out of our reflective practice, our successes, and our failures.   

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 Stony Lane Elementary School     ♦     W. 110 Ridgewood, Paramus, NJ 07652     ♦     201-261-7800 x8712