Thornton Academy sees itself as a high school in a time and place where rapid social, economic and technological change make prediction hazardous and planning difficult. At the heart of Thornton Academy's vision for the 21st century is the image of the student as life-long learner possessing the skills and attitudes necessary for this desirable and attainable goal. It is further understood that the idea of life-long learning is not a metaphor, neither is it a simple prescription for continuing formal education; rather, it is a concrete agenda, marked by certain measurable and attainable steps that the community of Thornton Academy hold important and worthwhile. Ideally, the students, staff and faculty are moved towards this goal by the Thornton experience.

The world today offers its youth few assurances that simple, hard work will necessarily lead to a comfortable livelihood. Enormous change is anticipated and acknowledged, but no one can predict what the changes, developments, and shifts occurring in the future will actually mean to our students. The only sure prediction is that there will be change. Therefore, it is change itself for which our students must be prepared. As life-long learners, students at Thornton Academy must possess specific skills and attitudes in order to succeed in, to continue to grow in, and to adapt to, an ever-changing, ever-challenging world.

The faculty and staff of Thornton Academy recognize that the realization of our vision is borne by the individual, and in furtherance of that recognition have identified certain qualities of mind and body that combined with specific skills and attitudes will help lead our students and ourselves to generate fruitful outcomes. These, then, are the sum and the parts of life-long learning.

Thornton Academy strives to be a community of:

• Readers, writers, listeners and speakers — in English and other languages who possess the communication skills required to foster interpersonal, geographical and cultural connections.
• Responsible citizens — whose voice in the democratic process carries with it certain liberties and duties.
• Healthy individuals — in mind, spirit and body who understand the interrelated nature of habit and wellness, leisure and recreation, collaboration and competition.
• Ethical persons — who consider the moral implications of their decisions and who practice a tolerance of difference that leads to respect of others and of self.
• Technologists — accessing all technical and informational resources and applying these skills to meet the demands of any situation.
• Creative and critical thinkers — who identify problems and recommend solutions both obvious and new.
• Discoverers — who have a curiosity about and an understanding of the mathematical, physical, biological and chemical makeup of the world.
• Aesthetically grounded people — who can thoughtfully and sensitively engage a wide range of creative and artistic experiences.
• Ecologically conscious individuals — who have a sense of the importance and implications of environmental issues.

Thornton Academy will increasingly be a community which celebrates and respects all people in all their diversity. Collectively, we will continue to grow as an organization of thinkers and doers, risk takers, dreamers, and practitioners. Emphasizing its role as a community resource in an age of rapid change, Thornton Academy will continue to serve the general populace, opening its resources to learners of all ages and especially to the community of Saco-Biddeford, one of its greatest resources.

As we approach an admittedly uncertain future, we will continue to review our efforts and to enhance our knowledge of methods and curriculum to cross all disciplines in sensible, meaningful and appropriate ways in order to make the work we do real, purposeful and supportive of genuine life-long learning.