Springhouse K-12 School

Education can’t save us.

We have to save education.

Dr. Bettina Love

Founded in 2014, Springhouse is an intergenerational and bilingual school. Our curriculum is intentionally different from what most of us are familiar with. We know that leaving behind the familiar educational system can feel risky. Yet, to live in a thriving world, we must live and learn in fundamentally different ways. Ultimately, our goal is not for our alumni to assimilate into our dominant culture, but rather to foster vitality – starting with themselves – in a world with very real challenges.

Join us for a K-12 Visiting Day

Our ultimate end must be the creation of the beloved community.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Education is the vehicle through which a culture passes down skills, practices, and values from one generation to the next.

Our conventional education system perpetuates a dominant economic narrative, wherein money and economic gain are prioritized over the well-being of humanity and the Earth. We can change this narrative by changing the educational paradigm in service to a world where all life thrives.

Another world is not only possible,

she is on her way.

– Arundhati Roy –

Qualities of a New Educational Paradigm

For education to bring about a new world in which all Life has the conditions to thrive, it will be fundamentally different from what most of us are accustomed to. Springhouse has the following qualities, which are needed for education to be aligned with Life.

Vitality-Centered

Vitality-centered means to honor Life in all its forms. Through intentional community practices and a unique curriculum that teaches us how to take better care of life, we learn how to align with the regenerative power of Life itself. When people, communities, and places choose to center Life in their design, vitality is the fruit.

Intergenerational and Diverse

Vital learning communities bring together people of all ages as well as different backgrounds and experiences. When people of all ages bring their varied perspectives together, the diversity makes for rich learning and a resilient community.

Place-Based

Springhouse is place-based, meaning we are situated in one place over time, and we are committed to fostering vitality in our place. We participate in our local community through service, sharing our learning, and contributing to the renewal of the Earth. Learning communities thrive when they are strong locally and connected globally.

Holistic

A holistic approach strengthens a wide range of capacities within the learner, including but not limited to our ability to reason, experiment, create, empathize, make connections and appreciate differences, and collaborate with others. When we are supported in the unique stage of development that we are in, we live the gift of our lives more fully.

Our Guiding Curricular Principles

Springhouse articulated Sourced Education, an approach to education that responds to what our culture needs at this moment. It is fundamentally different from what most of us know when it comes to school. This unique educational approach is informed by Sourced Design, and it is a scalable curriculum that supports others as they build vitality-centered schools around the world.

Community

Community is the crucible for learning and transformation

Knowledge

To participate in the cultural renewal needed at this time, we learn about ourselves, the cultural context we live in, and what is possible when we align with Life

Place

We participate in and serve our local community
We learn how to live life more fully when surrounded by those whom we trust and love us for who we are. A strong community is essential to learning that is aligned with Life, and it starts with shared values and a common purpose. The life of the community needs care to remain vital.
To better understand the power of Life, we get to know ourselves, the various contexts we live within, and the power of possibility. We learn in holistic and interdisciplinary ways. What we explore and how we learn depends on the learner’s age and stage of development.
We learn about ourselves and the world in an immediate community we trust. Our learning moves beyond that community when we participate and serve in our larger community, share with others what we learn, and contribute to the renewal of the Earth.

Learning happens outside on our 11-acre campus, in the classroom, in our print shop, and in our local community. Children and teens learn with their peers as well as in larger mixed-aged groups when appropriate. Learning at Springhouse is interdisciplinary, hands-on, and intergenerational. We regularly engage in practices that foster a sense of community such as singing, dancing, taking care of our spaces, and playing games together. We are a bilingual community, and all of us spend time immersing in and studying our non-dominant language so we can connect with one another.

Read more about our learning cohorts below:

 

Elementary Cohort (ages 5-8) 

Our elementary cohort supports young learners by encouraging their natural curiosity and wonder. In this cohort, children learn about their family and community and practice the skills they need to relate with others. They begin to learn about the wonders of the natural world and explore the history and geography of their local region and the world. They build foundational skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and basic technology, and they have ample time to use their imagination, experiment, play, and be creative.

 

 

 

Middle Cohort (ages 9-12)

Our middle cohort supports older children and pre-teens to grow their self-awareness and expand their understanding of the natural world and social systems. This group learns how to be in healthy relationships with their family and peers, and cultivate emotional and bodily awareness. They continue to build on their foundational skills of reading, writing, mathematics, and technological literacy, while they study local and world geography, important historical events, and ecology. This group has opportunities to play games, engage in hands-on learning, and explore our local community on weekly field trips.

 

High School Cohort (ages 13-18) 

Our High School cohort supports adolescent development by strengthening the awareness teens have of themselves, including gaining a better understanding of their emotions, bodies, values, habits, and future directions. They explore societal systems and social challenges as well as fuel their inspiration by learning how the Earth functions and examining successful cultural movements of the past. Teens strengthen foundational skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics. Teens go on three school trips each year, explore their interests through internships and projects, participate in our local community, and share their learning with others.

Our academic calendar

Our Alumni

We are often asked what alumni do after they graduate. The answer is that our alumni do all kinds of things. They participate in gap-year programs, travel, or work, and some go straight to 2-year or 4-year colleges. Our hope is that our alumni continue to learn in ways that are right for them and have the agency, courage, and discipline to take the right next step on their unique path.

Learn More About our Alumni

Is This Program For You?

We seek families who understand that, to live in a thriving world, the purpose and practice of education must fundamentally change. To determine whether this program is for your family and learner, please consider these questions:

Are you ready to be part of a community with a long-term vision to live in a world where all life thrives?

Do you understand that education must fundamentally change – its purpose and practice – for us to no longer perpetuate the status quo and transition to a thriving world?

Are you open to vitality being the primary measure of your child’s success, which encompasses all aspects of one’s life, including self-sufficiency, intellectual competency, emotional health, having a sense of meaning, and a commitment to lifelong learning?

Are you ready to be part of an innovative educational model where change is the norm?

Do you have a desire to continue your own learning in the area of cultural renewal – both at Springhouse and from other places and sources?

Are you eager to connect with others from different cultural backgrounds?

Are you open to your teenager exploring diverse avenues of lifelong learning that include, but are not limited to, college?

If you answered yes to these questions, this program might be right for your family, and you can follow the application link below.

Tuition

We have set tuition rates for our school programs, and we remain committed to ensuring that no one is turned away due to a lack of funds (learn more about our economic approach).

Springhouse has three tuition rates for our school programs:

  1. Pay-it-Forward Rate: $10,000 (Default payment schedule is $1000/mo for 10 months)

  2. Sustaining Rate: $8,000 (Default payment schedule is $800/mo for 10 months)

  3. Supported Rate: We remain committed to accessibility, and no one is turned away due to lack of funds. We work with families to identify an amount they can afford to contribute.

Apply Now