We define education as the vehicle through which culture is created. In vitality-centered educational practice, life is at the center of all that we do, which means that Springhouse’s Day School curriculum:
– Is holistic in the ways it encourages individuals to cultivate self-awareness and explore their own wholeness through our mentoring program and skills framework;
– Is place-based in the ways we strengthen our relationships with our community and the Earth through interdisciplinary courses, our Apprenticeship Program, school trips focused on service, and our on-campus farm;
– Tends to human development by honoring each individual’s growth through rites of passages, developmentally-appropriate curricular progressions, and assessment models that determine readiness rather than mastery;
– And aims to pass down the values, skills, traditions, and knowledge needed to live in and build regenerative culture through our Values in Action statement (all commit to practicing connection, individuality, creativity, trust, resiliency, and integrity), regularly singing and dancing together, and engaging intentionally in intergenerational learning.
At the foundation of vitality-centered education are the five design principles: taking care of vulnerability, cultivating personhood, building beloved community, respecting the wisdom of the Earth, and loving and serving others.