2025-26 Expanded Program Overview
The Attic Learning Community is excited to announce that our program is expanding beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. After being a part-time program during its first 25 years, The Attic is expanding its program and calendar while still maintaining its commitment to child-centered, authentic learning. If you were familiar with The Attic in the past, you know that because of its part-time program, learners needed to be enrolled as homeschool students. Beginning in 2025-2026, full-time Attic learners will be able to receive their full school program from The Attic and no longer be required to enroll as home school families.
Program Expansion - What To Expect
The Attic’s commitment to its pedagogy, culture, and child-centered practices are not changing. We remain committed to:
- Celebrating mistakes as essential to the learning process
- Listening to and trusting our learners
- Teachers partnering with learners in crafting their educational experience
- Providing choices and supporting learners in advocating for themselves
- Learning through play and providing freedom for exploration
- Giving learners space to find their passions and explore their interests
- Multi-age experiences in the classroom and across the school
- Providing opportunities for independent study, mentorships, and involvement in activities outside of The Attic. Staff will support learners pursuing their interests both in and out of school.
- Prioritizing community (among learners as well as among families) – an essential part of the Attic experience
- Community building activities for learners
- Community building activities for families
- Valued Attic traditions such as the Family Retreat and park days
- A school day/week that supports the social, emotional and developmental needs of learners.
- Time for play and choice
- Time for rest and reflection
The Expanded Program Will Feature:
- Deeper dives into core content and the growth of strong academic skills through the use of constructivist tools, including inquiry and project based learning. Our expanded calendar will provide more time for learners to develop as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, geographers, historians and more.
- Outdoor education that uses our beautiful, 5 acre campus as a learning laboratory. Our campus includes a wealth of native flora and fauna to explore, a stream to study, trees to climb, and a garden where learners plant and harvest vegetables and herbs. Our expanded program will allow teachers to regularly extend hands-on, authentic learning from their indoor classrooms into our outdoor space.
- Adventure based play immerses learners in the natural environment at recess – running through the field, climbing trees, and using natural materials like branches and pinecones for imaginary play.
- Field studies and off campus learning experiences will expand opportunities for authentic learning. Field studies, unlike traditional field trips, use off campus explorations as part of the inquiry process, with learners taking their questions to the experts who work in the field and allowing learners to see, touch and participate in activities that make learning real and relevant.
- An expanded arts program including theater, music and art studios. The arts are taught in specialty programs and also infused in meaningful ways across the curriculum at The Attic.
- Interest projects allow Attic learners to find and explore their passions and then share what they have learned with our community. Interest Project Night will continue to be a highlight of the year, and the expanded program will allow additional opportunities for learners to explore their unique questions.
