Planting Seeds of Community

Sunnyside Environmental School, Portland, Oregon

“This school makes you more confident and you get to try more things. The mixed classrooms in the middle school work really well. It is pretty fun actually because then the middle school is a bit like a family.” (Eric 12)
The riot of colour and activity that is Sunnyside Environmental School, a mainstream school of around 550 five to fourteen year-olds from a range of backgrounds, makes it hard to believe that the warm red brick building set amongst neat vegetable and flower plots, bright murals and mosaics, is a only few blocks from Portland city centre. Inside, the atmosphere is happy, buoyant and relaxed, with a strong sense of a supportive community of confident individuals.

The principal, Sarah Taylor, started this “ordinary” state school in 1995 to provide an education that…
“…brings the beauty and magic of the natural world into the lives of children through an integrated, developmentally appropriate, art infused education. Creativity, love of learning, personal responsibility and family are the cornerstones of an education that celebrates the many overlapping environments of Portland. The city’s wild and urban areas become sites for inquiry, exploration and understanding as children acquire personal and academic skills that lead to a satisfying life as thoughtful, active members of the larger community.”

Literacy, numeracy and “traditional” subjects are not taught in isolation, but integrated using Storyline3 into learning about the local area under the curriculum themes of rivers, mountains and forests. In a “river” year, for example, students might choose an Oregon river and write its story through time, monitor pollution and water life at a local wetland for the Local Authority and organize a River Festival. Pupils grow, harvest and prepare all the food eaten in the school with the help of the school garden and a small nearby urban “farm.” Food is used to strengthen the school community and to learn about food sustainability, seasonal cycles and the rituals of other cultures. Students learn at first hand about social issues by identifying and tackling problems in the local community, from visiting and fundraising for the elderly to growing vegetables for the homeless.

Unstructured play, singing, dancing, visual arts and a large amount of time outdoors in familiar “Places” are considered vital for children’s sense of “Place” and belonging, as well as for their cognitive and social development.

The result is a school where care and respect for others underpin an exciting learning experience. One teacher, comparing Sunnyside with more “traditional” schools says, “It’s not more work it’s just different. At other schools itís a lot about lesson plans and tests, correcting and scoring…here the activities are much more interactive and student-focused, the students lead on many issues and take a lot of responsibility. I think it’s more interesting for the students, and more stimulating and fun for the teachers. The great thing is so many of the projects here are cross-disciplinary. It makes it much more interesting to teach.’ The students show great maturity and confidence ñ from a nursery level “poetry slam” to extremely thought- provoking presentations by fourteen year-olds. At all levels the school seems to be succeeding in shaping individuals whose character, confidence, maturity and happiness owe much to a strong sense of “their Place”, what they belong to and the difference they make to it.

Taylor firmly believes that this transformation of school culture is possible on the state allowance for mainstream schools, although an active Parent Teachers Students Association raises funds for “extras” like a part-time Sustainability Co-ordinator and two staff, who manage the school gardens.