By Mal Keenan

1. Building community. All students gather together in grade level groups for morning meetings to start the day off right and set the tone for learning.

2. Caring for the environment. Whether its watering plants around the school or sweeping classroom floors, students take pride and ownership of their learning space.

3. Walking to school. There’s something about traveling down a dirt road on foot that creates space to take a few breaths and prepare for the day ahead.

4. Attending to needs. Girls and boys overcome hardships every day and the teachers are responsive to children’s academic and social/emotional needs.

5. Building capacity. Teachers are curious and want to generate new ideas together to best meet the needs of their students.