Independence Mission Schools
About Independence Mission Schools
Independence Mission Schools is an independent network of 15 Catholic schools that provides a transformative Catholic education that develops students intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually and that provides children of all faiths across the city of Philadelphia the opportunity to learn in a college preparatory environment and grow in a culture of love, setting them on the path to a promising future.
Independence Mission Schools believe that:
- The cornerstone of a Catholic education is a culture of love that values and embraces the unique gifts of every child and that treats all people with dignity.
- It is possible to build unity in diversity, for differences neither restrain nor divide us, but allow us to look more deeply [Pope Francis]
- We treat students as God’s children by assuming the best of them, holding them to high expectations for behavior, growth and academic achievement and guiding their development into respectful, faithful adults. [from IMS Core]
- Our students come to us full of promise and we are charged with helping them achieve their God-given potential, so that they leave us with choices in the pursuit of college and career, based on confidence in their own intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aptitudes. [from IMS academic mission]
- Community is at the heart of our work. Our existence makes our communities stronger; the community makes our schools stronger; and we are preparing students to be contributing members of their communities.
Profile of Our Graduates:
The students of Independence Mission Schools will leave our care having been formed intellectually, emotionally and spiritually by our Catholic example. They will be prepared academically through daily exposure to rich content, challenging problems, and student-centered instruction. All students will develop habits of mind and spiritual commitments as they pursue passions and interests within our learning community. We know that they will be able to make their own choices in pursuit of college and career opportunities because they are meeting grade-level expectations and are enrolled in a high quality, college preparatory secondary school.
Graduates will model Catholic values by…
- Recognizing that every person is a child of God and treating other staff, students and families as such by demonstrating care for one another through words and actions.
- Respecting diversity in all forms – religious, racial, cultural and economic.
- Making connections between their learning and their faith.
- Serving their school, family, community and the greater world with humility and respect.
Graduates will exhibit academic ownership by…
- Acknowledging their gifts from God and holding themselves to high expectations to use those gifts through learning and to serve their community.
- Approaching joy in learning as a form of praise and thanksgiving.
- Engaging tools of critical awareness, to participate in their communities as rigorous thinkers and deliberate communicators.
Independence Mission Schools is a Pennsylvania nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.