Windward School makes way to Sequim

Experiential education is continuing to make waves in the Sequim community.

Windward School, based out of Port Townsend, will join other experiential education models in Sequim offering classes once a week from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. on Thursdays at the Historic Dungeness Schoolhouse, 2741 Towne Road, for youth 5-12 years old.

The school is a branch of the Northwest Discovery Lab, founded by executive director Danell Swim Mackey and her husband, Aric Mackey. She is the program lead for the school and said she wanted to start a drop off program that offers more hands-on educational opportunities for youth, particularly in the science and art fields.

“We have three boys into STEM and we wanted more opportunities for them on the peninsula,” she said.

What separates her school from others is the program’s goal of catering to what the parents want their children to learn and the child’s individual interests and learning styles.

“It’s different in it is completely what the teachers and parents want to do,” Mackey said.

“It’s not accredited and we don’t have to go with a district or Common Core and we can (help) in the areas the parents need help with.”

Mackey said she wanted to bridge the gap between what home school parents aren’t able to do around their kitchen table, such as using expensive learning materials, and still providing children with a more customized education experience.

Mackey said this program launched as a pilot last year with 10 students in Port Townsend operating out of Fort Worden. The program there now has two classes per week on Mondays and Fridays with a wait list for enrollment. The school keeps enrollment at a max of 25 students in each class.

Over the last year, Mackey found there were several students from Port Angeles and Sequim attending the Port Townsend location, and she decided it was time to open a class section in Sequim.

“We have 12 kids on the wait list for the Port Townsend (program), and in Sequim we do still have space in it,” she said.

Enrollments filled for the spring quarter on Thursdays in Dungeness, but Mackey said work is underway to expand the program to two or more days beginning in September 2018.

Mackey said there are still six students that will attend the Port Townsend classes from Clallam County, which she encourages because many students have made friends in those classes.

More about the program

Mackey said the school is a joing venture of the Northwest Discovery Lab and Washington State Universtity 4-H program, providing the school with insurance, materials and curriculum. The school hires certified teachers and they also must go through a 4H volunteer process in order to understand the experiential model.

“We partnered with 4H through the state,” Mackey said.

“It’s not like the 4H club that shows at the fair, it’s a school program separate from the County.”

It is a nine month program that operates in seasonal quarters: the fall quarter goes from September through November, the winter quarter from January through March and the spring quarter from April through June.

The goal of the program is to cater to each child’s interests and learning styles while connecting the classroom to the outside world. The school also uses community instructors and parent volunteers to assist children during class time.

In the Port Townsend classes, there is a science, math and engineering class offered on Mondays and an arts and language class offered on Fridays. This gives parents and children the opportunity to choose what kind of educational focus they want.

“We really believe that with hands-on learning (students) can learn science with art and there can be a lot of interdisciplinary work,” Mackey said.

In the Sequim class offered on Thursdays, the focus will always be centered on arts and language, Mackey said, but other subject areas also can be incorporated into the class.

“There are ways to work the other elements in but the focus will always be on the arts,” Mackey said.

The arts and language program includes nature walks, class sharing time, a one-hour lunch break and socializing time, and hands-on projects such as story telling, creative writing, photography, pottery, painting, building, wood work and more.

The certified teacher leading the Sequim class is Sequim resident Frances Rice. Mackey said Ms. Rice brings experience as an elementary teacher, artist, and homeschool enrichment instructor to Windward, where she already leads the Port Townsend location’s activities.

In the future, Mackey said the school may add a science class to Sequim in the fall, which could focus on topics such as robotics, engineering, chemistry experiments, mammals on the peninsula, sea life, biology, tides and more.

Costs

Mackey said through 4H she strives to keep the program as affordable as possible for parents on the peninsula. After she launched the pilot program last year, the school made some changes.

“We revamped the pricing structure to keep it as low cost as possible,” Mackey said.

“4H really cares about making things affordable and accessible with kids.”

For the one class week in Sequim, the cost is $90 per month per child or $225 per quarter (three months) and includes most material and supply needs.

The school also has partnered with Crescent School District’s Olympic Peninsula Home Connections (OPHC) alternative education program and students can enroll through their program to help cover Windward’s tuition.

“We’ve partnered with OPHC and they are paying for some of the kids who want to go to OPHC and Windward,” Mackey said.

For more information about Windward School, visit https://nwdiscoverylab.org/programs/windward/ or email windward@nwdiscoverylab.org.