A WATERSHED APPROACH
Watershed Schoolhouse grows from the idea that we have an opportunity—in the face of crisis—to reimagine the why, the how, and the what of our educational systems, that we may draw forth in our young ones (and in ourselves) the courage, vulnerability, and skillsets to meet our changing world with dignity and grace.
Our core is the integration of nature- and equity-based, learner-centered education.
Academics
Nature
Equity
Reimagining The Why
Why do we educate our children the way we do?
The standard answer is all about college and careers. Do these things today, and you will succeed later on. But what if the primary aim of TK—12 education were not simply college or career preparedness, but preparation for a healthy, meaningful life on earth? What if the education of our youth were integral to our collective response to the myriad crises we face—not for tomorrow, but for today?
To this end, we approach education with the aim of achieving four kinds of literacy, not one.
Why four literacies?
The root of the word “whole” is health. By making space for more than one kind of literacy, Watershed Schoolhouse aims to pull together a more holistic picture of what education can be—and what it is for. We see children engaged in real problem-solving and collaboration, engaged with the needs of their community, and engaged in becoming who they are, rather than who an anonymous curriculum tells them they ought to be. We want kids to read, write, and think critically. We also want kids to know they belong to a place and a community. We want them to know how to contribute and how to inquire deeply. We want them to cultivate wellness, resilience, and purpose.
Our Four Literacies
Academic Literacy
Critical thinking and problem solving
Communication
Creativity
Ecological Literacy
Knowledge of place and stewardship
Attuned sensory awareness
Sense of belonging
Communal Literacy
Knowledge of ancestry and identity
Knowledge of history and change making
Collaborative Leadership and Activism
Inner Literacy
Knowledge of Self
Healthy Maturation and Rites of Passage
Resilience and Mindfulness
Reimagining The What
No one can make someone else learn something; learning is a process that comes from within. At best, a successful educator is a facilitator of good scenarios for people to learn from and within.
Within Watershed Schoolhouse, the "good scenarios” are the 8 Units of Study that span K- to 12th-grade. And while each unit opens the door to innumerable questions, lessons, and opportunities, the curriculum is not about content coverage, but depth. While traversing core issues for human beings and the planet, the curriculum spirals outward from the local to the global, and, at the same time, supports a parallel journey from the outer, physical world to the inner world in each student.
Our approach balances core areas of study with the passions and interests of the students. Both of these are deeply informed by the emergent—what arises in the moment, in the inquiries, and in the world. In short, the curriculum is not static; it is dynamic.
8 Units of Study. 8 Essential Questions
How do we grow and gather food in a way that is healthy for people and the planet?
How do we build in a way that is healthy for people and the planet?
How do we tend the waters of this blue planet?
How do we participate in ecosystems and life cycles in a healthy, respectful way?
How do we help co-create a just, peaceful, and equitable world?
How do we meaningfully connect across different cultures?
How do we transition into adulthood in a healthy way?
How do we offer our unique gifts to the world?
Reimagining The How
We cannot simply reimagine WHAT we teach; we must also reimagine HOW we teach.
Watershed Schoolhouse brings together research-based academics with time-tested approaches to mentoring and nature connection. It combines hands-on classroom learning with boots-on outdoor learning and an equity-based framework throughout. It integrates long-term, inquiry-based, service projects into a meaningful curriculum for children to engage with real questions.
These elements—inquiry, nature, service, projects, imagination, relationship, experience, and diversity—make up what we call “an INSPIRED approach.” See below for more about our “INSPIRE approach.”
Why microschooling?
Microschools are a new kind of school with roots in a very old model of education: the one room schoolhouse. While modern microschools may be far larger than one room, they share the same local, grassroots, and independent nature. Microschools support intimacy and deep, multi-age relationships, and this supports powerful opportunities for learning. As a highly diverse movement in education, they are meeting lots of different needs. They are a kind of counterbalance to mass education and one-size-fits-all curriculum.
Watershed Schoolhouse starts with a single cohort (12-24 students), who travel through their studies together, along with the teacher(s). This process, known as “looping,” allows for long-term mentorship and community building over time.
An INSPIRED Approach
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Inquiry
True inquiry, founded in the humility of not knowing, and the courage to ask questions, guides us toward deep learning.
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Nature
Nature—that ingenious, marvelous, elegant, ever-changing, resilient nature within and all around us—is our teacher.
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Service
Service is not a quota of hours to be checked off for graduation; it is a way of being that honors our common humanity and our interdependence with all life.
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Projects
Projects foster the complex, collaborative, and long-term approaches to problem-solving needed to meet the challenges of our modern world.
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Imagination
Imagination occupies that leap in the space between what is and what if? When rooted in relationship with nature and grounded in service, it makes possible the impossible.
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Relationship
From the tiniest atom to the entire universe, life is built on relationships. The health of our relationships—and our relations—is a reflection of the health of our world.
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Experience
In the age of information, if we ground our understanding in experience, we stand to gain something far greater than either information or experience on their own: wisdom.
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Diversity
Diversity is not a lofty ideal for the dominant culture; it is the underpinning of health, vitality, and resilience on our planet and in our cultures.