Independent Stories
THE STONE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL BLOG
#ExploreEverywhere
The Stone Independent School is a progressive, interdisciplinary K-12 school which believes that all students learn best by doing.
Now Boarding: Priority Admissions ✈️
The start of this school year really has been a dream come true: this remarkable community, which began with 20 students in a small building on Lime Street, is now comprised of thirteen grade levels, 180 students, two campuses, and an entire community committed to the final words of our Mission: making the world a measurably better place.
As we open this extraordinary year, we’re writing to share a few adjustments we’re making to our Admissions process as Stone continues to grow and change in scope.
Priority Admissions is our first admissions window of the year, and it is designed for families who are particularly excited to join our community.
Away for the Day
A student scrolling between classes is not available for the unplanned hallway conversation, the awkward silence that turns into real connection, or the boredom that often precedes a genuinely original or creative idea.
All of which is to say: “Away for the Day” is a value position more than it is a management strategy.
This is simply our way of saying that our time together matters.
Rigor & Joy Are Not In Opposition: Notes On a Week of School Visits In California
Progressive education means designing with students in mind — being responsive to who they are right now, the world they currently inhabit, and the worlds they will enter when they are no longer in our care.
To See, Hear, and Connect with the Belizean Culture: A Reflection.
Our students understood that seven days or even seven years isn’t enough to fully understand these pre-Hispanic and modern societies.
I have to say, they used every bit of their energy to truly see, hear, and connect with Belizean culture.
I’ve worked with this group of students for a couple of years in the classroom, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with them outside of it. I saw them face new challenges every single day. As an immigrant myself, my students' perseverance, gratitude, empathy, sense of humor, and open-mindedness give me even more reason to keep believing in the next generation.
A Strategic Collaboration.
A Letter from the Head of School:
This evening, I’m writing to our entire community to share significant and exciting news — as of July 1, 2026, Solvit Academy, an innovative K–9 school located in downtown Lancaster, will officially become part of The Stone Independent School so that we may together form the only K-12 problem-based school in Pennsylvania.
This strategic collaboration is the product of long and thoughtful dialogue, one which has been grounded throughout by our belief that the earlier we can work with our students, the greater the impact they will have on the communities around them.