The Nueva School remains true to its mission: to cultivate and serve the intellectually and creatively gifted and talented child. In considering students for admission, we look for evidence of intellectual curiosity, independent thought and depth of ideas, creativity in approach to problem solving, and divergent thinking.

We seek motivated and passionate learners who will thrive in and contribute to our program. Our students bring a great deal of knowledge to the classroom and are active participants in the learning process. The students are self-empowered to be teachers as well as learners.

Characteristics that Nueva students exhibit include the following:

• Extremely curious
• Passionate learners
• Prefer complex challenges over simple tasks
• Perform academic subjects above grade level
• Possess a strong sense of justice
• Empathetic
• Abstract thinkers
• Highly verbal

Nueva teachers encourage intellectual depth and rigor, hold high expectations for students, and help each child grow to his or her potential. Student achievement and learning goals come directly from the school's mission statement and vision statement and its motto and serve as a guide for all aspects of the community, including the development of the program and the setting of student-achievement goals. The student-learning goals are put into practice in classrooms, on the playing fields, in the Forts, in the cafe, and in all areas of our community.

The Nueva School's student-learning goals include the following:

• Inspire a passion for lifelong learning
• Foster social and emotional acuity
• Develop a child's imaginative mind
• Enable children to learn how to make choices that will benefit the world
• Establish foundational skills in all subject areas
• Encourage strong habits of learning
• Learn research and design-thinking skills
• Help students reflect on their particular learning styles, strengths, and areas for growth
• Give students myriad opportunities to learn through hands-on exploration
• Support students as they develop resilience and intrinsic motivation