Place-Based Philosophy

We believe humans live and learn in community, through being in relationship with the many facets of the world.  In our educational context, this means that instead of learning about things, we actively learn from and with the very people, places, stories, and ideas that make up our lives.  We learn about the natural world by hiking through Acadia National Park with an ornithologist. We learn about the history of our island by meeting a firefighter who fought the 1947 Great Fire of MDI. We learn about land conservation by stewarding The Cooksey Drive Preserve for Maine Coast Heritage Trust.  Learning becomes less about memorizing facts and figures and more about learning how to interact and deeply engage with the world. 

At The Community School, we teach children how to lead creative, joyous, and meaningful lives with a deep connection to and stewardship for our communities and our world.  We believe this happens when children authentically learn about and explore: who they are, the natural and built world around them, and our local and global human communities.  At The Community School, we cultivate a sense of self, place, and community.

  • We value self knowledge as much as worldly knowledge.  An educational experience like ours is a journey towards an ever deepening sense of self and one’s relation to the  world.  We believe that the best way to explore one’s sense of self is to actively engage the world through the arts, poetry, and song, and exploration of the natural world. Techniques such as meditation and mindfulness practiced are offered as tools for personal exploration.  We welcome each child’s voice and honor their contribution as individuals in our community in our open and trusting learning environment.  We empower children to explore their individual interests while challenging and supporting them with new experiences.  We embrace how each child’s unique skills and talents contribute to the richness of our whole community.

  • We honor that we are of this place and that our place affects who we are, just as we affect our place. By place we mean both the ecosystems of our island and world and also the villages, cities, and systems that make up our human environment.  Daily, we learn about the connection between these realms through actively exploring the historical, ecological, and cultural facets of Mount Desert Island and beyond.  Together, these inspire a land ethic of stewardship that strives to balance the conservation of the natural environment with our human needs.  We have a unique opportunity to explore these complex dynamics as they play out in Acadia National Park and the varying communities that make up our island.  Most importantly, we want children to fall in love with our home and our place and to engage the world with everlasting awe and wonder.

  • We believe that individuals thrive in community.   We nurture this by placing a great value on human connection and relationship. From a young age, our children are encouraged to explore the role they play in creating and influencing our school community. Through community meetings, decision making, and class discussion, the children learn to value the thoughts of others as they collaboratively share their ideas and address common concerns.  We actively engage in the island community through our weekly outings where we meet and learn from community members and make connections about the dynamics at work on our unique island home. The Community School is engaged with a number of community organizations and institutions who share our focus on the relationships between humans and our natural environment, and whose educational and sustainability goals we share and support as part of our mission; this includes our contribution to the educational mission of The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor through student teaching placements and internships. Our seasonal festivals, open to the public, also cultivate a broader sense of community.  Through moments of intentional reflection, the children recognize how the community, both within the schoolhouse and beyond, is a crucial part of their education and their lives.  

Our Mission

The Community School for Place-based Education nurtures, challenges, and empowers children by engaging the local community and natural world as our classroom to creatively explore all subject areas through a holistic, Place-based curriculum.

Our Vision

The Community School fosters a sense of place, sense of self, and a love for learning in our children, so that they may live meaningful lives with a deep understanding and stewardship for our communities and our world.

Community Learning Values

  • Take Care of Yourself, Take Care of Others, Take Care of this Place

    We value the practice of respect and care for self, others and our surroundings.  In order to fully engage with and learn in our community, one must be respectful and honor the unique needs of all things, including our own.  In addition to being respectful to familiar spaces like our classrooms and our homes, we believe in respect for the public and wild places of our community.  We believe learning does not happen in isolation, but in a diverse community of people, places, and ideas. 

  • Culture of Trust

    Trust is the foundation of our community. We believe in creating meaningful relationships and a learning space for all members to participate and thrive.  Building a culture of trust is essential for authentic teaching and learning to take place in all contexts. 

  • Mindful Communication

    We uphold mindful and respectful communication as an essential facet of our values. In order to foster trust and kindness within our community, we ask that TCS students, faculty, and families strive to communicate with clarity and consideration for others’ needs. We aspire to foster a growing understanding of what kind communication looks like and sounds like by modeling this in our interactions with one another each day.

  • Challenge and Support

    We value a learning environment that both challenges and supports our community of learners. We believe that taking risks, learning from triumphs and mistakes, and putting forth the utmost effort are essential for the learning process. We strive to create brave spaces and supportive environments that both nurture and challenge students to step out of their comfort zone in an effort to strive for and actively expand perspectives.

  • Place-based Learning Approach

    We value a Place-based learning philosophy that engages participants in meaningful, relevant experiential learning opportunities that serve the whole child.  We believe that authentic  learning occurs through experiences that reinvigorate our knowledge and connection to the land, to our communities, and to ourselves.  We value the power of learning in creative, dynamic and real-world contexts that promote academic, social, emotional and physical growth that lives within the participant for years to come.

  • Active Stewardship

    We value participation in the stewardship of our community as a way to reflect and enact the teaching values of TCS. Communities thrive on consistent and conscientious nurturing; as such, we believe in being responsible, active members that embody and model a commitment to fostering resilience and growth. We strongly believe that our actions, both positive and negative, have profound impacts on the wellbeing of the individual and the collective. Being an integral part of the world, we feel responsible to live in ways that honor both personal needs and those of the broader world, while also advocating for and serving those in need.

  • Diverse Perspectives

    We value diverse perspectives. As the human world becomes more interconnected, it is essential that we understand our local contexts, larger communities, and the entire world. With this in mind, we strive to be active, informed, and engaged local and global citizens.

  • Appropriate Technology and Media

    We value the appropriate use of electronic technology and media both at school and at home. We believe in limiting the use of technology and screen time throughout our days at school, as it can be disruptive to developmental and creative learning processes.  We strive to teach children to use technology when appropriate, recognizing it can be an important and relevant tool in certain contexts.

  • Love for Learning

    We value and aim to inspire a life-long love for learning in our community.  We strive to instill the joys of learning in each member and engage in learning opportunities with genuine excitement, curiosity, and sense of wonder for the world.