Welcome to the SNU Lab School located in Bethany, Oklahoma. As a university lab school we embrace research-based best practices for student learning. We recognize student needs differ, so we create flexible learning environments where students are able to learn both independently and collaboratively.

Our long-term commitment to teacher training has been a staple in our school since 1972. We believe it is our responsibility to pass the torch to future generations of educators. This includes supporting career teachers and administrators with high-quality undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered through Southern Nazarene University's School of Education. Lab School students benefit each semester from university students being guided by master-level teachers as they learn to apply research-based best practices in our classrooms.

Students at the Lab School progress by increasing levels of independence and competence, not by birth date. Our school has long understood that children can contribute and flourish in a world that values self-motivation, meaning, empathy, and creativity over compliance. The Lab school empowers students to develop independent and critical thought, entrepreneurship, self-direction, and collaborative capabilities.

We offer these opportunities as part of a teaching philosophy that encourages meaningful inquiry and interdisciplinary work, all through a blended learning approach that meets the needs of each individual student. 

As some schools are just now discovering the Lab School model, we are in our fifth decade with many highly skilled and seasoned educators who truly exhibit mastery level teaching. Our school is fully accredited by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, The Higher Learning Commission, and CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.) This is the highest accreditation possible for any school.

Our university students are dedicated to excellence in education. With a living laboratory to study child development for undergraduate student teachers, and graduate level researchers. These students carry out observations, interviews, and teaching as part of their studies on many aspects of teaching and learning. 

While not endorsing any single curriculum per se, the school is distinctively Christian in its orientation and teachings. Our mission is based on the belief that all children can learn and that children must construct their own knowledge through participation in an active learning environment that teaches Christian values.