|  | The Founding of Beauvoir.....
From September 1933, the National Cathedral Elementary School was presided over by Miss Mabel Turner, the NCS headmistress who created "this school for little children." As a coeducational primary school, it prepared its young students for continued education at the National Cathedral School or St. Albans by offering them “good instruction and instilling in them proper work habits.” From the moment its doors opened, the School was a resounding success. By 1934-35 school year, it was filled to capacity with 74 students and turning away qualified applicants.
In 1939, the Cathedral Chapter established Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School, as a “separate and independent school in the Cathedral system.” From the beginning, its new headmistress Mrs. Elizabeth Glascock Taylor and her faculty were motivated to do more than just instruct in memorization and recitation—the prescribed mode of education for many schools up to that time. Their mission was to make children’s education exciting so that their students would be inspired to learn. Mrs. Taylor’s goal for her students was that they might “learn the joy of work well done.”
Out of that rejection of the rigid traditional schooling methods of the 19th century grew
many of the Beauvoir traditions students still enjoy today:
• hands-on, active experience with their subjects
• movement in the classroom
• the encouragement of classroom discussion
• recognition of different learning styles among children
• work balanced individually and in groups
• an emphasis on developing community values and individual character
• the concept of resources in art studios, science labs, gardens, gymnasiums and performing spaces as places of learning
• and at the heart of it all--the continuing emphasis on joy as the basis of many educational innovations developed at Beauvoir and as a central tenet of its mission to this day.
Fun Fact!
In the 1930s, Beauvoir was one of the first elementary schools to introduce a reading readiness and math program for pre-schoolers.
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