Philosophy

Vision

Odyssey School is a diverse learning community.  We model educational leadership and innovation.  We teach from a rich curriculum encompassing six integral developmental strands.  We are dedicated to providing integral learning to children, adolescents, and adults through the implementation of multiple intelligence theory and encouraging essential life-long learning skills.  We challenge students to meet appropriate academic and personal developmental goals.  We create and maintain facilities that meet our educational needs.  We are a strong community developed through mutual respect, personal responsibility, and compassionate communication.  Odyssey School members relate to life with confidence, hope, joy, compassion, creative imagination and leadership.

Our students, families, and faculty communicate with brave kindness, lead with an authentic sense of self, and create positive change with an awareness of the spiritual evolution of the individual, society, and our environment.

Our Core Values

Exploring an authentic sense of self, our world, and the relationship between the two

Leading the field of education with dynamic educational philosophy

Honoring the love and accomplishments of learning

Nurturing a safe and inspiring community

Cultivating Life-long learning skills

We demonstrate our dedication to exploring an authentic sense of self, our world, and the relationship between the two by:

• Low-student teacher ratios in every classroom.
• Structuring classrooms of multi-age, continuous progress learning that encourage each child to progress at his or her optimal rate of challenge.
• Incorporating interpersonal and intrapersonal reflection into the context of learning.
• Using the six strands to incorporate a variety of skills, addressing students’ strengths and challenges in multiple learning styles.

We demonstrate our dedication to leading the field of education with dynamic educational philosophy by:

• Engaging students, parents, and faculty in the integral model of education, which holds within it a holistic paradigm: the spiritual evolution and maturation of the individual, human society, and the greater field of life on the planet.
• Applying Design and Design thinking to solution-oriented and innovative project-based learning.
• Meeting and excelling core competencies including critical thinking and reflection.

We demonstrate our dedication to honoring the love and accomplishments of learning by

• Creating integrated, meaningful learning experiences in every classroom
• Introducing our Independent Research Projects in Kindergarten through 12th grade, engaging focused, passion-driven mastery of a personal topic of study chosen by each child.
• Providing our students the freedom to explore personal passions.
• Assisting our upper grades students in creating internship and apprenticeship opportunities for real world exploration of disciplines.
• Providing opportunities for public presentation and publication of student work in the local, national, and global community.

We demonstrate our dedication to developing a safe and inspiring community by

• Creating a school without borders through contextual, experiential learning experiences in real world settings.
• Fostering mentoring relationships between faculty and students.
• Engaging in service learning opportunities.
• Celebrating as a community through annual festivals.
• Teaching students, families, and teachers compassionate communication, collaboration, and mediation skills through contextual learning, class meetings, parent workshops, and professional development.

We demonstrate our dedication to cultivating lifelong learning skills by

• Educating students, families, and faculties about Odyssey School’s nine essential learning skills.
• Modeling lifelong learning by faculty and administration.
• Creating leadership opportunities for students to pave the way for their individual path of learning.