Welcome to The Native School
The Native School supports children, parents, and educators in embarking on transformative, nature-based learning experiences unlike any other. Inspired by both Scandinavian Forest School models and Reggio Emilia teaching practices, inquiry-based learning takes root utilizing living classrooms and laboratories each native to our schools preserves and wild life spaces. Since our establishment, we have been dedicated to creating immersive, hands-on educational experiences that allow children the freedom to play, explore, and take reasonable risks, all while integrating California State Education Standards and evidenced-based literacy instruction.
Our passionate team of educators and nature enthusiasts guides children through engaging outdoor adventures, fostering resilience, environmental stewardship, and a profound connection to themselves and the world around them. At The Native School, the natural environment serves as a dynamic, ever-changing variable where students put to use essential skills in math, literacy, science, and social-emotional learning within real world application and context. We aim to ignite a lifelong love for learning by embracing the wonders of nature, encouraging exploration, and nurturing each child's unique interests.
Join our vibrant community at The Native School, where every day is a journey of discovery and growth.
What programs do we offer parents?
"Children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls."
- Erin Kenny
Our Program Ethos
Our school was founded on a strong passion for real-world learning and the Reggio Emilia inspired belief that children possess a hundred languages, meaning countless ways of thinking, expressing, comprehending, and witnessing the journey of learning.
Our students actively engage in the balance of autonomy, self-determination, and empowerment as they learn from their own powerful inquiries. Student interests and needs are the vehicle for embedded skill development aligned with educational standards becoming the catalyst for deeper understandings and a genuine love for learning.
Teachers utilize their roles as scaffolders, offering guidance and assistance while honoring each students’ emergent learning process. Students are challenged to problem solve beyond their current abilities, fostering confidence in their emerging skills and honoring the extraordinary potentials of their hundred languages for learning.
Affiliations
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We love partnering with like-minded organizations! Drop us a line via email if there's someone you think we should be collaborating with. We're stronger together!