Middle School 6-8

Students who are best served in this middle school cohort setting: 

• Grade 6-8 grade students who benefit from the structure of a classroom.
• Students needing smaller classrooms, support, and an encouraging environment.
• Students with parents who support teacher-instructed academics.
• Students who have the motivation to complete their school work on the three days they are not attending classes onsite.

Families best served in this middle school cohort setting:

• Families who need flexibility in their schedule.
• Families seeking focused instruction at home three days per week with assigned coursework accessible through Google Classrooms by content area.
• Families seeking to help your student reach grade level standards through collaboration with certificated mentor teachers.

Students who struggle with defiance, aggression, and/or leaving a classroom setting without permission are not a good fit for this program.

• To provide a quiet, organized learning environment at home for students to complete their coursework.
• To assist students as able to access individual class coursework through Google Classroom.
• To help students advocate for their educational needs.

• 6th - 8th grade students have multiple teachers and one assigned advisor.
• In a once-per-month advisory class with a caseload of students, advisors check grades and progress in all subjects, including off-site courses, submitting monthly reports as per the Washington State alternative education law. 
• Advisors assign, communicate, and implement interventions when needed.

Students are the purpose of our community. But they also play an important part in building our community’s culture. We ask four things of our students:

• Be kind. Everyone who walks through our doors, is expected to always treat others with kindness.
• Give your best effort. We don’t expect students to be perfect or have all the right answers. But we do expect you to try their best in everything you do.
• Respond quickly to adult requests for cooperation and participation. If any adult in our program asks any student to cooperate, we need to know you will follow directions quickly and without argument.
• Be responsible for our space and your belongings. Keep track of stuff, clean up afterwards and help beautify our surroundings.

These four guidelines help create a harmonious learning environment for all of our students.

Click here to find more frequently asked questions here! 

Students who are best served in our Mead Outdoor School (MOS) will: 

• Participate joyfully in the outdoors in all kinds of weather.
• Benefit from project and place-based learning.
• Embrace choice in learning activities.
• Respond well to mixed-age groupings.
• Collaborate and cooperate.
• Receive strong math and ELA instruction at home.

Families best served at MOS are committed to: 

• focused instruction at home throughout the week, specifically in language arts and math.
• helping your student reach grade level standards.
• collaboration with mentor teachers.
• encouraging curiosity and an appreciation for nature.
• supporting a growing stewardship and leadership mindset in their student.

Due to safety concerns in the outdoors, students who struggle with defiance, aggression, and/or leaving a classroom setting without permission may not be a good fit for this program.

Parents as educators are expected to:

• Choose your own district-approved “research based curriculum” based on your family goals and student needs.
• Implement a flexible learning schedule in a comfortable home environment.
• Deliver essential ELA and math instruction at home and support student learning in science and social studies with materials provided by the teacher.
• Help your child achieve grade level benchmarks.
• Evaluate coursework, provide feedback, reteach until mastery is achieved, and provide individualized interventions as needed.

Certificated teachers are supported by program advisors to provide learning instruction at MOS. Staff are chosen for their knowledge of and passion about their subject and learning in the outdoors, their experience with alternative education, their ability to serve mixed-age groups with flexibility and warmth, their support for families, and their ability to provide highly engaging instruction.

• Monitor monthly progress based on grade level power standards, providing professional guidance, feedback, and interventions when needed, in areas where your student is not achieving grade level standards.
• Provide an awareness of state power standards and resources for clear guidance on how to teach to those standards.
• Offer support in selecting appropriate, district-approved curriculum and educational materials. 

Students are the purpose of our community, but they also play an important part in building our community’s culture. These four simple guidelines help create a harmonious learning environment for all our students:

• BE KIND: Everyone who comes onto our location is expected to always treat others with kindness.
• GRIT: Give your best effort. We don’t expect students to be perfect or have all the right answers. But we do expect students to try their best in everything we ask them to do while in class onsite. 
• BE RESPECTFUL: Respond quickly to adult requests for cooperation, participation and to make safe choices in our unique outdoor space.  If any adult in our program asks a student to cooperate, we need to know they will follow directions quickly and without debate.
• BE RESPONSIBLE: Have respect for our outdoor space as well as the belongings and personal space of others in our learning community. Keep track of belongings, clean up afterwards and help beautify our surroundings.