Learning

An Open School education at any level is characterized by:

• A sense of belonging through participation in a vibrant community. 
  • Knowing One Another by First Name: We believe everyone is both a teacher and learner, which is why we use first names for all, whether a community member is 3 or 53.
  • Robust Advising System: The heart of our community is the Advising system, where each Open Schooler has an Advisor serving as their advocate, mentor, and coach over multiple years, ensuring no student is anonymous.
  • Rites of Passage: As students grow, we strive to mark meaningful life transitions with celebrations, traditions, and ceremonies that honor the significance of the milestones in each student's journey.
• A focus on self-direction and ownership of one’s education
  • Authentic assessment: At Open, we don't use letter grades. Instead, we focus on authentic assessment, encouraging students to self-evaluate through narratives, portfolios, and real-world experiences.
  • Personal, Social, and Intellectual goal setting: Students learn how to set meaningful goals and honestly assess as they progress towards achieving these goals.
  • Choice: Through self-designed projects and activities students are invited to explore and develop their interests and passions
• A value for experiential and expeditionary learning
  • Learning through experience: Both in and outside of the classroom, we strive for our students to think deeply through exploration, research and creativity.
  • Learning through travel: Throughout the year, students at all levels experience over 300 day trips.. Beginning at the end of third grade and culminating in the extended educational excursions in high school, overnight travel is a means to explore and make meaning of the world. Our travelers learn to understand themselves as individuals and as members of a group.