San Francisco Day School (SFDS) is a kindergarten through eighth grade coeducation school. The SFDS mission is to educate, nurture and inspire girls and boys of diverse backgrounds to achieve their highest academic and creative potential, to embrace ethical values and to become active contributors to their communities. The School supports teachers to develop their skills continually through professional growth activities. Faculty develop innovative approaches to curriculum, based upon current educational research, best practices, and knowledge of state and national standards. To assure excellence, a rigorous curriculum review process incorporates outside consultants, visits to model programs in other schools, research and self-examination. Diversity is an important component of the academic excellence of the School. In a school committed to a diverse student body, students learn life lessons of understanding, acceptance, appreciation of differences and the common ground that unites all. Learning occurs both within and outside the confines of the School. Students learn to cooperate on the athletic fields, in classroom projects, and as leaders in the school community. They grow to understand their place in the broader community through a service learning program linked closely to the curriculum. They see their relationship with the natural world through an extensive outdoor education program.