The Tidewater School embraces a belief system of empowerment and responsibility regarding human behavior.  The staff understands that as human beings we use our behavior to belong within a community.   When children are experiencing developmental or emotional disequilibrium, they demonstrate their frustrations through misbehavior, some more overt than others. Through observation of the child and consultation between parents and teachers, the child's goal can be identified and the child's feelings (not behavior) can be validated.  We believe in logical consequences as the effective means to guide the child toward resolution.  As such, we do not believe in punishment, especially physical actions against a child.  Logical consequences mean that a child might need to remove her/himself from an activity until s/he has gained insight and control of one's self.  We believe that children can achieve internal regulation toward community behavior when validated as able individuals.

The Tidewater School seeks to empower parents also with understanding motivations of children through the STEP (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) Program.  This series of seminars is offered each winter for our parents.  We also encourage our parents to enjoy and benefit from the excellent reading materials available in our Parent Library.