Respectful Relationships

School should cultivate mutual respect for everyone involved. Listening, cooperation, and collaboration are foundational to both teaching and learning at Watershed Community School. We welcome families and children of all identities, backgrounds, affiliations, and faiths. By focusing on inclusion and equity, we prioritize getting along and living well together now and in the future.

Place-Based Education

We believe that fostering a deep sense of place promotes healthy emotional attachment and a sense of belonging that benefits children, adults, and the planet. We draw upon the resources in our immediate neighborhood — neighbors, landmarks, businesses, and community events — to build curriculum specific to our community and meaningful to the children. We believe in being outdoors and exploring our neighborhood in all weather, as this provides critical learning opportunities such as learning how to manage your own body, take responsible risks, and compromise.

Sustainability

We believe that caring for each other and caring for the spaces and places we share should go hand-in-hand. At Watershed, we live a daily commitment to our shared planet, community, and classroom. As we manage the land our school sits on, we pledge to plant native species and refrain from using harmful herbicides and pesticides. We are committed to low-waste programming; we have removed single-use plastics from our daily operations and limit our use of disposable products. We employ strategies such as composting, recycling, creative reuse of materials, and water conservation in our daily work.  

Community Commitment

We strive to be good neighbors by investing in our neighborhood. When sourcing the goods and services we need for the school, we look first to the people and businesses in the neighborhoods that we call home. We also give priority enrollment to neighborhood residents.