Community-centered education for our collective liberation.

Founded in 1994, Puget Sound Community School is a small, private, middle and high school located in the Chinatown-International District of Seattle. PSCS is committed to centering intentionally excluded perspectives in curriculum and programming. With Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, and collaboration framing our approach, community-centered education also prioritizes the lived experience of our global majority students and staff, while offering young people opportunities to take increasing responsibility for your own education.

At PSCS, we believe that by fostering curiosity, offering opportunities for young people to lead (and opportunities to understand many forms of leadership), while continuously addressing systemic racism and misogyny, we will all be more empowered to move bravely through an uncertain world and toward our shared liberation.

In an effort to build upon the equitable vision of the school, PSCS parents, staff, and the Board of Trustees agreed in 2021 to invest in a more intentionally hierarchical administration and leadership, rather than in a traditional Head of School or ED. PSCS is run by an collaborative staff with a collective 100+ years of experience in student support, identity development, intersectional and creative facilitation, non-profit and private school administration, underscored by teaching rooted in critical race theory and a more complete historical framework.

Students who fully embrace the program offered at PSCS show consistent progress in self-expression, leadership, and skill-building in almost any endeavor, and start to recognize they are part of something bigger than themselves.

Practice Integrity.

Engage the Community.

Act with Courage.

At PSCS we begin with Critical Race Theory as the foundation of our approach to teaching and learning. We strive to frame all curriculum and programs in abolitionist teaching, as defined by Dr. Bettina Love, and the Abolitionist Teaching Network “teaching with the goal of intersectional social justice for equitable classrooms that love and affirm Black and brown children.”

At this point, anyone in the world may claim their understanding of Dr. Love’s definition. Every one of us is adapting to a fast moving, post-pandemic reality that more fully destroyed the thin facade of equity in this country. Young people have more access than ever before to global insights, un-selfconscious verbiage, and both checked and unchecked data. PSCS staff do not pretend to have all the answers for reaching true equity and harnessing the power of such access. But we do commit to collaborating on behalf of all students, and to trusting deeply in the experience and expertise of the people in the building who are most qualified to frame our goals around what we know and understand of the students and staff in this community.

Academically, PSCS prioritizes offering students opportunities and guidance, responsibility and feedback. Opportunities arise as courses, activities, Schedule Mapping, conflict resolution, Seminars, Community Time, Advising, leadership, Intensives and Independent Study. Guidance from staff and Advisors is meant to help hold you accountable to your choices and to assume, regardless of skill and neurodivergence, we can all do hard things. Guidance and accountability are not one size fits all. They are collaboratively tailored to individual student needs, and the needs of the community, as we grow to understand them in our space.

In most schools, academic rigor is determined by the pace each student sets over time, in competition with their peers, often based on heavily biased standards. Because we intentionally work to explore bias, and to consider jobs and paths that haven’t even been imagined yet, traditional STEM academics are only part of the PSCS student experience.

At PSCS we hear, we respond, we offer, we have fun, we try everything. And we do it together. We are committed to challenging each other and our students to be collaborative and expansive in our pursuit of deeper learning, intersectional social justice, and ending systemic racial violence.

In January of 2020, PSCS underwent a large community planning process and identified our major Goals & Strategies, 2020-2025. We continue to be guided by these intentions.

Goal 1 —The Student Experience

In 2025, PSCS will be at the forefront of progressive education and a home for passionate and collaborative learners and educators.

In order to achieve these goals, we will…

1. Build adaptive structures that support personal and academic growth for all students.
2. Foster a culture of immersive learning.
3. Develop and implement a compelling and well-balanced program that increases options and supports diverse graduation outcomes.
4. Inspire and guide students to pursue their own learning.
5. Invest in ongoing professional development and experiences for staff.

Goal 2 —The PSCS Community 

In 2025, PSCS’s empathetic culture of diversity and belonging is reflected by the positive impact our students have on their present and future communities.

In order to achieve these goals, we will... 

1. Expand student self-advocacy, collaboration, and engagement in all aspects of the PSCS community.
2. Strengthen systems to support the health and wellness of students and staff.
3. Increase the diversity of the Board of Trustees.
4. Foster an inclusive and relational culture where every student is actively engaged as a leader and a learner.
5. Clarify frameworks for equity, conflict resolution, and communication.

Goal 3—PSCS is the Preferred Choice for Progressive Education 

In 2025, PSCS is the preferred choice for families seeking a self-driven education with structured community support.

In order to achieve these goals, we will... 

1. Build external and internal awareness and appreciation of PSCS’ value in progressive education.
2. Cultivate thoughtful growth to a size that expands diversity while maintaining community.
3. Recruit, enroll, and retain a diverse student body using traditional and innovative methods.
4. Expand resources to allow people of diverse backgrounds to have equal voice, opportunities, and access to learning.

Puget Sound Community School (PSCS) invites the participation of all people, welcoming students, teachers, families, and volunteers of any racial, national, religious, or ethnic origin, from all backgrounds, belief systems, orientations, and expressions. PSCS is actively working to analyze and account for power, positionality, intersectionality, and oppression. Lived experience is prioritized in admissions, staffing, and community efforts.

PSCS is an Approved Private School under the provisions of Chapter 180-90, Washington Administrative Code, as authorized by RCW 28A.02.240. PSCS is also a subscriber school of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS), and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS).