Our Values
At Rock Tree Sky, we work to live our values.
Our values are the foundation of our community.
Our Agreements
At Rock Tree Sky we agree to take care of ourselves, take care of each others, and take care of our space.
Well-being
Social emotional development and the well-being of our community are our priority.
We Trust Children
We recognize that children are people. They are naturally curious and intelligent. We respect children’s ability to construct knowledge from the world around them.
Dismantling Discrimination
We are committed to being in equitable relationship with Black, Indigenous, People of Color. We are committed to disrupting and dismantling racial discrimination in all its forms.
Self-Expression
We are committed to the equitable treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals and commit to moving towards the elimination of sexual and gendered discrimination in all its forms. We commit to being a community in which all community members feel safe in their self-expression.
Power-with
We practice consent. We respect personal boundaries. We work to practice power-with instead of power-over, with each other.
Communication
Our communication is guided by responsibility, accountability, vulnerability, honesty, authenticity, and transparency. We do not tolerate hate speech.
Restorative Justice
We use conflict resolution and restorative justice tools to help us practice compassionate listening and communication, striving to use non-judgmental, non-evaluative language.
Equity
We are committed to creating a community that is built on equity and economic justice.
Stewardship
We work to be environmental stewards and strive towards environmental sustainability.
Rock Tree Sky Mission
The mission of Rock Tree Sky is to cultivate a learning community where everyone develops their whole self through owning their learning in relationship with others.
Rock Tree Sky maintains this mission by seeking to provide the following:
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OUR CORE PRINCIPLES
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Trust: Trust is the soil we grow in together.
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Learning: Learning is natural and happening all the time.
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Self-Direction: People learn best by making their own decisions. Children are people too.
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Experience: People learn more from their culture and environment than from the content they are taught. The medium is the message.
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Growth: Growth emerges through cycles of intention, creation, reflection and sharing.
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Let go and let grow: Children need developmentally appropriate opportunities to practice independence in order to build confidence. Taking healthy risks and being trusted to venture outside direct supervision when developmentally appropriate will support children to thrive.
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HOW WE SUPPORT DEVELOPMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS
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Express Care: We affirm the worth of everyone just as they are.
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Support Growth: We invite each other to stretch, cultivating resilience and growth.
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Provide Support: We offer support, helping each other navigate challenges and develop skills.
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Share Power: We recognize the importance of everyone’s voice, promoting sharing our voice and responsibility.
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Expand Possibilities: We offer ideas and opportunities, to inspire and broaden horizons.
COMMUNITY COLLABORATION
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RTS is a mixed-age community. Activities throughout our learning environment happen through age mixing. This supports sharing knowledge and learning from each other. While some offerings are based on skill levels, the majority of the time is spent in a fully aged mixed environment.
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Learners at RTS are free to choose whom they will play with or collaborate with.
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We share resources and decision-making. Each member, regardless of age, has a voice in what happens in our program. We create community agreements together.
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Rock Tree Sky works with families and mentors to make accommodations to meet each learner's diverse needs.
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Together we strive to keep our community safe, clean, organized, and kid-friendly for all of our community members, their families, volunteers, visitors, and mentors.
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Learning opportunities are frequently embedded in projects that serve the RTS community and beyond.
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The campus boundaries are permeable to the community. Diverse community members are encouraged to share skills and passions with RTS learners and RTS learners are given concrete opportunities to share energy and creations with the larger community.
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Effective collaboration is nurtured through adult modeling of compassionate communication, self-regulation, and emotional intelligence. Mentors take opportunities, in developmentally appropriate ways, to support these skills in young people.
AGENCY
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Learners are free to pursue their own interests, choose their daily activities, define their goals, and assess their progress, with the support of caring mentors. Daily offerings at RTS are optional.
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Together, learners and mentors hold the responsibility of educating themself and the community.
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Mentor Role: create a rich environment; facilitate off campus activities to connect to a diverse ecosystem of learning, the natural world and broader community. Offer engaging activities, projects, lessons, and opportunities in the community. Assist learners in identifying and navigating obstacles to their natural desire and propensity to learn.
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Learner Role: develop self-direction and time management skills through choosing day to day activities.
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MAKING MEANING
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RTS has joined the makerspace movement, where learners use both new technologies and traditional tools to work on real, and personally meaningful projects.
INCLUSIVITY
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As a nonprofit 501(c)(3), public benefit corporation, Rock Tree Sky does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid programs, and other administered programs.​
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Some ways we upholds these values
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We conduct staff development to increase our cultural competence and raise our awareness of the diverse needs of the community we serve.
Our staff is cooperatively structured.
​In our community children's voices matter and they are heard. Everyone is welcome to propose a change in our community and decisions are made democratically.
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We practice non-violent communication and conflict resolution with ourselves and model these practices for our learners. Please follow the link to view our conflict resolution procedure infographic.
Some resources we look to for support
Networks:
Alliance for Self-Directed Education
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Websites/Podcasts:
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Raising Free People & Fare of the Free Child
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Books:
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Decolonizing Non-Violent Communication
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How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk
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