Tru

Small class sizes and calming vibes that inspire focused attention. Great teachers, and no guesswork about which teacher you will have, you know them all. The teachers are masterful at sparking intrinsic motivation, mediating conflicts, and encouraging socio-emotional development. The school is teacher-owned and teacher-led and this cascades into all of their decision making. They customize the curriculum to meet the needs of the class cohort every year. Emergent interests from the classes are transformed into projects, experiments, and plays. Our kids rummage through the garage to find materials for their projects and inventions at school. "Mom we need gear!" - "Can I use this?" - and so sweetly, they know what their friends are working on and help procure equipment and material for them too. Everything is hand-made, down to the scripts of the plays, the related songs, and the props. Even the jam at the fall harvest festival was made with fruit harvested from the trees at the school. It is through-and-through a low-waste DIY culture that preserves and respects material. No iPad apps. No project-in-a-box. Every invention is unique. No two art projects look alike. Personal style is recognized and celebrated. Because the other kids are so confident in who they are and how they come to school my kids are inspired to figure themselves out too. No cliques or feeling pushed out of friend groups. The community feels like one big group of friends. This is by design. Teachers endlessly engage in conversations and thoughtful pairings to help kids connect with each other so that nobody is left out. We transferred in and within days the kids felt safe, included, and comfortable.