At PSCS, our first focus is on creating a safe, compassionate environment for students & families.

Core Commitments

Practice Integrity. Engage the Community. Act with Courage.

Mission Statement

PSCS exists to shape young people’s gifts to create an equitable world, through integrity, community engagement, and courage.

Vision Statement

Puget Sound Community School in 2025 cultivates belonging, engagement, and learning grounded in diversity, empowerment, and empathy.

Who We Are

PSCS was founded on the belief that people are intrinsically compelled by their own curiosity and desire to learn. When provided positive and appropriate amounts of support, along with a variety of courses, activities, and opportunities, we believe students will enthusiastically pursue meaningful goals. The approaches used at PSCS foster creativity, flexibility, and community, and encourage students to focus even deeper on those activities that bring them joy. PSCS maintains a structure designed to offer choice and adaptability, while also holding students accountable to themselves and the community. To do this PSCS staff offer traditional academics, courses designed to leverage growth in understanding social justice and anti-racism, and Advising relationships built into the curriculum.

PSCS takes seriously its duty to keep all students and staff members safe. That being said, safety is not the same thing as comfort. Discomfort is a natural part of being in groups of people and learning.

Middle School

PSCS nurtures in our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders a deeper understanding of themselves and their responsibilities to those around them. In middle school, Advisors act as coaches and guides in this process, assisting students in identifying and pursuing their interests while helping them to develop the skills needed to derive the most benefit from the school. Middle school students are required to participate in some specific programs and activities, including Seminars and Capstone Projects (see below).

High School

High school students at PSCS focus on the concepts of self-awareness, self-direction, and goal-setting, while contributing to a healthy school community. Students are challenged by their Advisors to participate in school offerings because students are excited by these activities and find purpose in them. Advisors help students identify their short- and long-term goals, and map out strategies to achieve them; provide support in understanding WA State Graduation Requirements and in prioritizing required courses; engage students in a process of rigorous, authentic self-reflection that supports student growth.

Statement of Non-Discrimination

Puget Sound Community School 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.

Private School Approval

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 NW Association of Independent Schools, and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools.

Featured Profile

’Lyn Lambert

When you first meet her, PSCS friend and supporter, ’Lyn Lambert, doesn’t seem like a troublemaker. But for someone whose credo is “Peace on earth, goodwill to all,” she’s done more than her share of rocking the boat. ’Lyn is a member of a group called Women in Black, which stands together every Saturday on a Bellevue street corner to carry on a silent vigil for peace and justice in the world. The group formed after the 9/11 attacks, when letters to the president and members of Congress went unanswered. “We took an awful lot of flak in the early days of our stance. We’ve been called some very unflattering names,” she says. “But that rarely happens of late.” The Women in Black are carrying on a long tradition that has been maintained by women in Israel and Palestine, the Black Sash Women in South Africa, and Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina. “One thing I see that the Women in Black are accomplishing is the encouragement of other timid souls who believe in peace but are reluctant to speak out,” she says. “In the more than seven years that we’ve held our vigil, more and more people come up to thank us for what we are doing.” On September 11, from noon until 1 p.m., ’Lyn will be outside Bellevue Square. She’ll be wearing black. Standing in silence. “Many years ago,” she says, “poet Angela Morgan wrote ‘Mothers of Little Sons’ and in it she declared that ‘ . . . war is a knave’s design and a coward’s brutal scheme, but [those] whose courage is divine will foster a noble dream.’ I believe Women in Black and other peace workers—and all who support them—are out there in war-torn and war-making countries around the world, fostering that ‘noble dream.’ And, I suppose we’ll dream on as long as it takes . . .” Read More >