SEQUIM — Experiential education is continuing to make waves in the Sequim community.
Windward School, based in Port Townsend, will join other experiential education models in Sequim offering classes once a week from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays at the Historic Dungeness Schoolhouse, 2741 Towne Road, for youth 5 to 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.
The program lead for the school, Mackey 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 [North Olympic] 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 that 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 tables, such as using expensive learning materials, and still providing children with a more customized education experience.
Mackey said the program was launched as a pilot last year with 10 students in Port Townsend, operating at Fort Worden. The program there now has two classes per week Mondays and Fridays with a wait list for enrollment.
The school keeps enrollment at a maximum of 25 students in each class.
Throughout the past year, Mackey found that several students from Port Angeles and Sequim were 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.
Mackey said there are still six students who will attend the Port Townsend classes from Clallam County, which she encourages because many students have made friends in those classes.
Mackey said the school is a joint venture of the Northwest Discovery Lab and Washington State University 4-H program, providing the school with insurance, materials and curriculum.
The school hires certified teachers who must go through a 4-H volunteer process to understand the experiential model.
“We partnered with 4-H through the state,” Mackey said.
“It’s not like the 4-H 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, a science, math and engineering class is offered Mondays and an arts and language class 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 Thursdays, the focus always will 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 and woodwork.
The certified teacher leading the Sequim class is Sequim resident Frances Rice. Mackey said Rice brings experience as an elementary teacher, artist and home-school enrichment instructor to Windward, where she already leads the Port Townsend location’s activities.
Mackey said the school may add a science class to Sequim in the fall. The class could focus on such topics as robotics, engineering, chemistry experiments, mammals on the Peninsula, sea life, biology and tides, she said.
Mackey said through 4-H 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/wind ward/ or email windward@nwdiscoverylab.org.
Colette Sabo builds with blocks during art studio at Windward School on Fridays as a part of the Arts/Language day.
