Elgin Academy's mission is clear, we are "Inspiring students to become our creative, courageous, and compassionate future". Elgin Academy is the Fox River Valley’s preschool through grade 12 independent school where taking learning personally defines the collective ethos and covenant that unites all students and teachers, parents and staff members, administrators and trustees. Within intentionally small-scaled classrooms, Elgin Academy students learn to be secure in themselves, disciplined in their thinking, creative in their collaboration, compassionate toward others, and dedicated in their efforts as they contribute as thinkers and doers in school and the community. Families from across Chicago’s northwestern suburbs and exurbs find at Elgin Academy a cherished oasis from the perceived impersonality and over-scaled local public schools. Elgin Academy students in every division pursue active learning, testing new ideas and securing trust with each other and their teachers as they try out new pursuits, assume leadership roles, and take calculated intellectual risks to see what resonates and moves them toward mastery. Elgin Academy graduates make discerning college choices based on not only prestige, but also personal fit, and enroll at a diverse array of colleges and universities nationwide and worldwide, equipped with the know-how and self-confidence that stems from coming of age in this individually attuned community. They go forth as productive, conscientious, and mindful young people who continue to hone their understanding of world and self— a lifelong process that stands as the abiding gift of their Elgin Academy education