Part Two: La Paz Community School; Self, Family, Community, World

   

     Can you imagine a school that doesn't rely on standardized testing and letter grades? A place where students are graded on their creative abilities and not their memorization skills? At La Paz, students are evaluated on portfolios that they put together as well as a narrative evaluation from the students' teachers. Students are also numerically evaluated on a 0-4 scale based on the learning objectives of Bloom's Taxonomy:

    

    You might remember asking yourself or your teacher the question: “When am I ever going to use this?” At La Paz you will find students ask this question very little if at all. Everything taught at La Paz across all grade levels are based on “Themes”. The eight themes of the school year include: Peace Ambassadors, Sustainability, Origins, Land and Sea, Wellness, Energy, Creative Expression, and Gratitude. During the sustainability theme, for example, students and teachers have used recycling to teach math using volume, mass, etc. Bianca Javogue, now a senior, spoke of her class project a couple years ago relating to the theme Land and Sea; where she and her classmates constructed a boat, learning geometry, algebra, bouyancy, and more. The boat was later used to teach other biological sciences in the field putting their project to use.

  As a way of giving back to their community and school, students participate in service learning. Each year, students come up with their own unique projects, giving them the ability to express themselves while bettering the community, school, environment, or other places where they see need. Many of the projects are environmentally focused, but there are students who choose to express their talents in videography and other arts. Students aren't the only ones chipping in either parents are required to donate 8 hours of their time per school year. This includes transportation, fund raising, and program coordinating. Some other parents like Ashely Javogue also serve on the board of directors, providing as a voice for other parents and even students.

    Everything La Paz does comes down to their “Peace Practices”; it holds the essence of everything La Paz is trying to accomplish. You will see the words Self, Family, Community, and World on each students uniform. The peace practices are designed to help students develop peace within themselves and the ability to become long-term learners. Once they have been able to develop themselves, they will be able to carry those same values to their families, community, and eventually the world.

    All grade levels, Pre-K through 12^th grade, work together as a community, and strive to bring each other up through mentoring. While there are still complaints about school lunches, nosy teachers, gossip, and worst of all homework, students still love the relaxed mentality of the school. There isn't a constant pressure to succeed, rather that it is ok to fail and make mistakes. Failure only makes students try harder, create new ideas, and build to something they can be proud of. Student also have the choice to go to dance class, yoga, futbal, surfing, basketball, tennis, rock climbing, and it all counts towards learning. Extracurricular activities provide another class room disguised as fun, but non the less teaches confidence, grit, teamwork, and life lessons.

    Guanacaste is not the only place in the world whose culture and environment are in danger; the La Paz model and schools like it can be followed elsewhere. Working with students and teachers in order to create active learners, creators, and inquirers, is the key to bringing the world together as a community. This can all be accomplished by supporting schools like La Paz, and helping those trying follow their example.

  

    Please don''t forget to check out the La Paz school's website as well as their facebook page, they are always looking for volunteers and donations. You can also see the La Paz school short documentary here. 

Sorry for the Delay!

Due to some delays in the editing process, Part Two of the La Paz story will be posted next week. However, there is some good news tomorrow I will be present for a La Paz morning meeting and will hopefully have some good footage (if my camera decides to cooperate). There will also be some additional photos of the students presentation of this month's "Origins Theme". So stay tuned, and look out for updates on the Seeds to Trees facebook page.

Warm wishes from Guanacaste!

Part One: La Paz Community School: Self, Family, Community, and World

       In the past month I have found myself nestled in a small coastal area called Playa Flamingo, which is located in the beautiful Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. I must thank Emmanuel Javogue and his family for opening their home to me, and for introducing me to the La Paz Community School. La Paz is a very unique and innovative school that is changing the paradigm through which we see education.

       ”All of it was meant to be for various reasons”, according to Kerry McClennen fellow founder, teacher, and wife to director Abel McClennen. The McClennens and four other concerned teachers began thinking of a way to create a cohesive learning community among the vastly growing diverse population of Guanacaste. With the stress of tourism and development it became obvious something had to be done to save Guanacaste culture, environment, and to create a coexistence between the native and non-native population. So, they began to suggest a bilingually focused school with a foundation in community and environmental stewardship. The idea was accepted by several parents and teachers in the community who were looking for the same change. Shortly after a board of directors formed and together they came up with this mission statement:

“Our mission is to educate the culturally diverse youth of Guanacaste through bilingual experiential learning and enrichment that integrates the local community and ecology, while preparing students to become thoughtful, creative, and active stewards of their environment and future leaders of the world.”

       After being approached by Abel McClennen, Don Ruetz, owner of the “Jungle Gym”, graciously donated his land and was ready to begin the construction of the north campus. To begin the construction the founders had to obtain building permits, and get the school certified as a non-profit with both Costa Rica and the U.S. With the help of some political friends and the help of parent volunteers, La Paz was able to open only four months after the first official parents meeting in 2007.





 

  La Paz is not only a non-profit but it is also a International Baccalaureate (IB) certified school. The IB program is recognized globally and works with close to 4,000 schools in 147 countries. Following the IB model, La Paz strives to create a relationship between students, teachers, parents, their communities, and eventually the world. La Paz's adaptation of the IB learner profile is unique in its own way, incorporating a variety of learning tools including place based education. Place based education is expanding the classroom into the field using different environments in to teach basic and challenging concepts.

   
      My favorite part of La Paz story is their very first day of school. There were only 50 students and their teachers, and in the middle of the courtyard stood a tiny Caro Caro sapling (the Guanacaste tree) waiting to be planted. Clutched in the hand of each student was a bit of earth, and right before the sapling was fully covered they each added their handful. The tree and the school grew together, and the students learned to care for it and to learn from it. Seven years later the tree had grown too large, and the students moved it to its new home at the new south campus. Today, the school boasts about 300 students, consisting of both native students and students from all around the world.

 Stay tuned for Part Two of this article on Friday, November 14th!

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