This Is What a Progressive School Could Look Like...For Middle School Age Children...

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by greenfringegarden on 4/26/2010 @ 8:20pm	Okay, so our quest for a progressive Middle School Continues...we toured Salmon Bay Alternative School in Seattle...like to create that here...non violent, academics abound, community based and most importantly GREEN. Kids go to camp, there is a Gay Student Association to teach respect for all, (they observed the day of silence) art is everywhere and community service is in the fiber of the school. Parents tutor in the school and help out. We were extremely impressed by what the kids are writing and reading and doing. Everyone helps the kids to succeed. It is small too. K-8 model...not for everyone, could be too granola head for some...but at least they talk about nature and try to get into the outdoors. Most importantly they let the kids be kids...the principal actively works on letting the kids develop at their own pace and does not let corporate consumer America infiltrate to turn kids into products...for extra crunchy granola heads like us...this is exactly what we were looking for. Do you know of any other version of this...in the South Sound? Progressive, Teaching social justice and community service based on environmental care... every single second. www.salmonbayschool.org/
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 4/26/2010 @ 9:50pm	The Seabury School has a middle school in downtown Tacoma. I don't know if they are green enough or progressive enough for you but they are very cool. Worth checking out. On the other hand they are a private school. www.seabury.org/middleschool/middleschoo...
by jenyum on 4/26/2010 @ 10:08pm	Seabury also requires "gifted" testing which might not work for everyone. (They do seem very cool though.) At one time there was a real movement to turn Grant Center for the Expressive Arts into a K-8 school, but when the district was talking closure/consolidation that kind of took the wind out of its sails. Since then, there was also talk of creating a Montessori "pod" at Jason Lee, but I don't think that ever went anywhere, either. We have some great programs in the elementary schools. What's up with middle school?
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 4/26/2010 @ 10:49pm	Being in a bad middle school program is what caused me to end up the way I did.
by Altered Chords on 4/26/2010 @ 10:52pm	It seems like Montessori is pk - 8. Sota and the offshoot in pt defiance start at grade 10. There's a gap here. Seems odd that our kids may go to a different school for 8th, 9th and then 10 - 12th grades. Odd.
by Erik on 4/27/2010 @ 11:26am	Okay, so our quest for a progressive Middle School Continues... What does that word mean? Ultra left? John Birch Society? Christian? Granola? Evergreen no grade type?
by Non Sequitur on 4/27/2010 @ 3:40pm	So a "green" and "gay" school is what we need? If we focus on those before we focus on math, science, reading and art, our WASL tests will go even lower. And then we'll have another thread here in 18 months about how to raise taxes again to get "better" teachers and "smaller" classes to raise our WASL scores. Vicious cycle.
by greenfringegarden on 4/28/2010 @ 3:05pm	I think I basically hate Middle School at the moment. Kids are expected to be too mature...for the inputs they are given. I like the Montessori Model...Salmon Bay however is not a Montessori but it probably works like one. Progressive for our family means community based where parents and teachers work together for high standards and excellence instead of a "blame game" using creative solutions and problem solving for interpersonal issues. High standards on academics working independently and on projects. The quest for high test scores, math and science, etc...WASL ONLY meant somehow in my opinon the schools got left in the dirt. Community creates the goals, creates the expectations, creates the interaction...creates the outcomes. Green and Gay? No, respecting the earth and others is what I see...I personally like grades mixed with community achievement and kids being outdoors...ALOT. I define granola as earth first, people follow. Respecting differences and desiring them. I am in favor of smaller schools too. Not prison life.
by FrostPark on 4/28/2010 @ 3:45pm	Bryant Montessori is pre-K-8. It's near Jason Lee at 7th and Ainsworth. I believe they have two classes currently, and I don't know what the admission requirements are, but it is a public school in the Tacoma School district, and have been at it for a while. I think many of the kids who are at the Middle School level right now are some of the first to have gone all the way through the program from Children's House through 8th grade.
by jenyum on 4/28/2010 @ 3:57pm	Last I looked into it, Bryant does not like to transfer kids in, in later grades, unless they had previously been taught at a Montessori school. (Also, they are usually full.) Best way to get into Bryant is to start your kids in Pre-K.
by Altered Chords on 4/28/2010 @ 4:11pm	Bryant = full. Waiting list. Granola = food we were told is healthy (gramatically incorrect) but is not. Most is full of sugar and is baked using cottonseed or palm oil. Is home schooling an option for you? Just wondering. It's not an option for me. I'm thinking that my daughter will go to Giadrone (sp???) and I'll just need to commit to being very involved in her assignments. There ARE ways to get a kid involved in the community outside of school so that is something we should explore. Maybe we should form our own middle school.
by Non Sequitur on 4/28/2010 @ 4:36pm	In this day in age, it's impossible to teach kids the be respectful of the earth and others without it delving directly into the Green and Gay agendas. You see, there is no room for understanding and reasonableness in our society. The system does not encourage independent rational thought, because those things are dangerous to the system and those who profit from it. Allow me to explain an example on both. GREEN: It is good to care for the environment and not dump oil down the sewer, etc. But yet it is heresy to even entertain the thought that noting we do is "neutral". No energy is free nor neutral to the environment. 7,000,000,000 people or just one affect the ecosystem. The key is to understand that there are trade offs and compromises. That Prius is worse for the environment than your 1992 Ford Escort. Why? Yes, it may use less gas, but the resources it took to make and ship across the Pacific add up to more than the 9mpg difference. Those ships burn 10,000 tons of bunker oil each way. That's a lot more CO2 than your 1992 Ford ever will produce. GAY: To be respectful of people, regardless of their own lifestyle choices or ethnicity is the way things should be. Yet in the teaching of respect, the agenda is hijacked to the Gay agenda, time and time again. They teach tolerance of what's "politically correct" but not for what they don't like. There is no tolerance for those who lean right. There's no tolerance for opinions other than theirs. It's ignored that gay folk are a tiny minority. I've read that there are estimated 7 million gay people in the US. That's 2.3% of the population. It's ignored that we're all given EQUAL rights under the constitution, special rights for none. That's why I support Gay Marriage only if the laws are NO different than those for hetros.
by greenfringegarden on 4/28/2010 @ 11:06pm	Non Sequitur, there are GSA's in schools to help kids who are GLBT so they do not feel "pressure" when right wing assholes tell GLBT they are an abberation or some sort of nonsense and let them know they are not welcome or equal or damned by some religion that is 2000 years old and not updated by science/and or reason and created by personal fear. There is scant evidence that Jesus would have cared about GLBT people and a particular religion is not allowed in a Public School when there is separation of Church and State. If people were in fact treated "equally" with respect and tolerance...we would not have to spell it out so clearly in legislation. The laws are written to interpret the Constitution so "all men created equally, = all human beings." can be interpreted correctly and people are not asking for "special rights" they are simply demanding rights period. It is the LAW to not discriminate or harrass GLBT students but it happens all the time. A GSA in a school as well as diversity training..helps the right wing folks who do not understand how to treat others who are different than themselves with respect. The ratio of GLBT, is probably closer to 11% and I would personally argue in areas where people are more tolerant...could be even higher. I would even argue that even more people are bi-sexual. There is a range of sexual behavior...I would not call it a "Gay Agenda" to be tolerant but broadening human rights. Society dictates alot of our values...and the value sof respect and tolerance really changes the landscape. This is why we long for a progressive school. Nature and science recognize the benefits of diversity and its inherent necessity to all human and life form survival. Right wing philosophy demands a homogenous way of thinking and acting and sexuality that is based on singular religious agenda of a minority, who use fear and hate to control others. Progressive people, schools and thinking welcomes differences and diversity as being integral to a democracy, growth and a civilized society and this is why we are looking for a progressive green school. Carbon Footprint is evaluating the inputs and outputs...and I woudl agree that some Green ideas and items are not actually Green. Working towards it in community and teaching children to be concerned about their use and care of the planet, teaches a basic concern and connection to other.
by greenfringegarden on 4/28/2010 @ 11:11pm	Thanks for the info on Seabury School. I will look into it. TM also sent me some info. on a school in Olympia. Commuting South would probably be easier than commuting North and if there are community members who want to work to create progressive schools I am all for it. It would include gardening, environmental education that is hands on, and other types of integrative learning.
by greenfringegarden on 4/29/2010 @ 8:42am	Here is a link to information about progressive schools and their history...online. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_school
by Altered Chords on 4/29/2010 @ 8:57am	Teaching concern is good. Teaching the skill set to evaluate and actully create superior technologies is even better.
by The Jinxmedic on 4/29/2010 @ 11:27am	The Seabury School (925 Court C) also helps keep the Commencement Lodge #7, Knights of Pythias building alive via rent. It's a win-win.
by Thorax O'Tool on 4/29/2010 @ 11:45am	Score!
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 4/29/2010 @ 11:49am	I'm sure those brainy kids at Seabury are already cracking the secret handshakes and passwords as we speak. Glad they made it to the last chalk off, some splendid work for first timers.
by greenfringegarden on 4/29/2010 @ 2:57pm	We have enrolled at Jason Lee and like what we see so far...especially the Hilltop Glass Artists...and the kids and teachers milling around...and the football team the Hornets run by Koshawn Armstrong...#1 team in the league and the principal who seems really committed to kids.
by Altered Chords on 4/29/2010 @ 3:07pm	Thanks for your report g.f. I think we'll try the local public middle school too. It actually sounds O.K.
by Broran28 on 5/27/2010 @ 10:41pm	Greenfringegarden: I'm glad you found what you were looking for. I, too, am looking for the same thing in a school for my brothers (I'm their guardian at the moment). We've settled on Mason Middle School this fall. I hope Jason Lee works out. Be sure to let us know how the social issues are dealt with there. Cheers!