Mission & Principles
Mission
Empower children, families, educators, and local community through education that connects us to the natural world, emphasizes belonging, and cultivates knowledge of self.
Vision
Thriving communities of people who are secure in themselves, engaged in local communities, and connected to the natural world.
Educational Philosophy
At SOLID GROUND SCHOOL, we are inspired by each child’s inherent capacity to investigate, to ask questions, and to explore the world around them. We recognize that children are intrinsically motivated to learn by this powerful inner curiosity, by an enthusiastic drive to play, and by a fundamental desire to be part of an accepting community. Attuned to these basic tenets and utilizing the supportive guidance of reflective and engaged educators, we set out to cultivate in our students the confidence to realize their own creativity and to develop a strong internal sense of self and place. In doing so, we ultimately enable them to discover their own conscience, voice, purpose, and agency supporting them as they come to more fully understand who they are and what they have to offer their communities.
We are guided in this work by several essential pedagogical principles and goals:
PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES at SOLID GROUND SCHOOL
We believe:
Children are capable, whole, and autonomous.
A child’s enthusiasm for learning is powerful in its potential.
Diversity and Equity in our student body is critical to the development of community, and nurtures children's perspectives on the community and connectedness.
Time in Nature is essential for the human spirit and for a profound understanding of our interconnected world.
Connection to Place: A deep sense of rootedness in ecological, historical, and cultural place empowers people to give back and feel connected to the communities in which they live and work.
Play is a fundamental right of children and is a necessary part of optimal learning and creativity.
A Thought-Provoking Environment challenges children to construct new understandings and supports deep learning.
An Educational Community reaches its full potential when all learners are treated with care and respect, when active engagement in learning is the norm, and when all members have a real voice in the community.
Fostering Curiosity by supporting children in asking their questions, in exploring their interests, in communicating their ideas, and in finding their creative voice leads children to come to know themselves as skillful and passionate learners, opening the door to life-long success in learning.
Tools to Examine and Understand their Inner Lives supports children in becoming grounded and in developing self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
Experiencing risk develops our capacity for resilience and our tolerance for making mistakes, which is essential to creative, intellectual, and emotional development.
Thoughtful documentation and assessment of student growth has the potential to transform assessment into a rich, transformative process of reflection and growth for both students and teachers alike.
High quality education is responsive to individual students and local contexts and seeks authentic connections among students, teachers, family, and community.
Children and educators co-create an emergent curriculum that gives children ownership of their learning and empowers our teachers to create rich learning experiences that are guided by our students’ interests. By giving children a voice in their educational path and trusting them to engage in decisions about their learning and their lives, we support children in developing a sense of themselves as capable and deeply engaged in the world around them.
