The staff of Shirley Lanham Elementary School endeavors to provide each student with a positive and effective learning environment that

• provides experiences which encourage self-esteem
• provides students with an opportunity to acquire and practice in all areas of the communicative and creative arts
• directs the student toward continued growth in mathematics, social and physical sciences, and physical fitness
• encourages students to use strategies which promote divergent, as well as convergent, thinking
• advocates the acquisition and practice of social responsibility and cooperative skills
• is appropriate to the individual needs of the students through the interaction of the classroom teacher and the Pupil Personnel Services
• provides services, through resource specialists, for diagnosing, remediation, and enriching special needs of the individual student
• encourages an awareness of, and an appreciation for, all cultures ~ especially that of our host nation
• develop those skills necessary to participate constructively in a school community and as a citizen of the world
• cooperates with the community through consideration of the concerns of parents and other interested citizens
• keep parents informed of the child's social and academic progress through written and oral communication.