The Attic was founded 25 years ago by educators committed to creating a learning community in which children are truly engaged and inspired. Our constructivist approach to education ties learning into real experiences indoors, and outside on our 5 acre campus which provides endless opportunities for learning in, about and with nature. Students are given opportunities to ask meaningful questions, devise their own solutions, and ponder big ideas within a community that supports inquiry, creativity, and curiosity.
Our preschool program supports the development of the whole child through exploration and play. Learners develop self-awareness, as well as self-regulation and social skills; they engage in authentic imagination play, and build strength, balance, and coordination. Materials found in nature provide opportunities for exploring reading, writing, math and science. Our outdoor program promotes concentration, autonomy, and connection to the natural world.
In our Primary School Program, children see themselves as readers, writers, scientists, and mathematicians no matter where they are in their academic development. Children are given agency to make choices within the structure of our nurturing learning community, and work in partnership with their teachers to pursue questions, design projects, and explore ideas. From our youngest students, The Attic’s program fosters critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and deep engagement with concepts and ideas. Students balance personal feelings and needs with the feelings and needs of others. To encourage their blooming social and emotional skills, children in our Primary Program are offered many opportunities to work together in partnership. They are given autonomy, voice, and responsibility.
In our Middle School Program, students are valued as whole beings navigating an often blustery and perplexing period of life. Honoring these changes, our students are supported as they grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. Students are exposed to more complex and rigorous academic content and have increasing agency over their daily schedule. Students at this age have an opportunity to learn in partnership with a wide range of ages, expanding social experiences beyond their immediate peer group.
The Attic’s High School Program offers a full range of academic classes including all classes required for high school graduation. In addition to these offerings, students are invited to work with their teachers to shape course content and projects based on their interests and questions, and to design independent studies and internship programs that meet their individual needs. Attic high school teachers often create elective courses based on the interests of their students, and sometimes partner with students to teach a class together. High school juniors and seniors have the opportunity to enroll in Running Start and attend The Attic part-time. For all teen students, our academic and advising program supports students as they consider their post high school path and adulting.
We are all learners – children and adults – and as a community, we engage in the process of growing and becoming every day. From the playground to the classroom, Attic learners of all ages regularly work and play together, building a sense of agency, leadership, responsibility, community, and empathy.
