INQUIRING MINDS
COMMUNITY SCHOOL, THE SAGE SCHOOL, AND PIONEER MONTESSORI SCHOOL By Erin Kennedy
The Wood River Valley is fortunate in its many excellent schools and dedicated educators. Students and parents have an unusually diverse range of educational options for such a small community, including both public and private schools. With so much to choose from, students in the Valley can find the school that best fits their needs and interests, from music and sports to outdoor activities or foreign languages.
closer look at Community School, Pioneer Montessori School, and The Sage School, three private schools characterized by unique teaching and learning philosophies.
In Part II of this feature on Valley schools, SVPN takes a
COMMUNITY SCHOOL
A SCHOOL TO INSPIRE INQUIRING MINDS Community School, founded in 1973, is the Valley’s oldest private school. After starting with 30 students and only three teachers, the school now boasts an enrollment of 400 and is the only school in the Valley that serves students from pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade. Community School has become well known for its focus on inquiry- and projectbased learning. Education at the school revolves around a series of guiding principles, the first of which is helping students to think critically by using inquiry as the primary mode of learning. Ben Pettit, Head of School, explains, “Community School is a discussion-based campus, an active learning campus, a project-based campus.” Students constantly analyze, solve, organize, and present information, learning through ongoing discussion rather than a traditional lecture model. Students at Community School also take an active role in determining their own
educational paths. Says Pettit, “We want students to find and pursue their personal interests and passions whole-heartedly, to be their most interested and authentic, engaged selves.” Starting as toddlers in the school’s Early Childhood Center, based on the Emilio Reggio philosophy, students are encouraged to explore their own interests, while teachers facilitate and guide the learning. “The students really are the drivers of the experience,” says Pettit. “If they are interested in butterflies, they explore butterflies. If they are interested in ramps, they make ramps.” Underlying fundamental skills, such as reading and math, are incorporated into the students’ selected interests. This self-direction, in part, accounts for some of the school’s most interesting programs. For example, more than 70 students participate in the Sun Valley Ski Academy, conducted in partnership with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF). “They provide the coaching,”
ABOVE: 6th graders get hands-on in the classroom. Photo by Kristin Cheatwood. OPPOSITE PAGE (TOP): 5th graders perform an experiment. Photo by Kristin Cheatwood. OPPOSITE PAGE (BOTTOM): Learning video production. Photo by Kristin Cheatwood.
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notes Pettit, “and we provide the academic schedule and support system that allows students to pursue time-intensive athletic training.” The program serves all types of winter athletes, including alpine and Nordic skiers, snowboarders, and freestyle skiers, some of whom compete on a national level. “During winter term, Tuesday through Friday, we dismiss middle and upper school early at 1:30pm so students can train without missing class. We also offer summer courses so that students can carry fewer credits during the winter term, and we have tutors who even travel with students for competitions,” says Pettit. The Academy allows students to flourish academically without separation from their peers, even while continuing their rigorous training schedules. The Outdoor Program and Outdoor Leadership Academy are also part of what makes Community School special. The programs rest on two of the school’s other guiding principles, namely, a love of the