At PSCS, our first focus is on creating a safe, compassionate environment for students, staff, & our families.
Vision
Puget Sound Community School is committed to co-creating a brave space for community-centered education, critical curriculum, student choice, accountability, and thoughtful collaboration.
Core Commitments
Practice Integrity. Engage the Community. Act with Courage.
educational philosophy
Founded in 1994, Puget Sound Community School (PSCS) is a small, independent middle and high school located in the Chinatown-International District of downtown Seattle.
We believe that ALL people are intrinsically compelled by our innate curiosity, and most of us thrive when provided choice, positive support, and community expectations. We believe that ALL people want to be active participants in our own education and to be offered a globally responsive curriculum, taught by engaged, empowered, multi-skilled teachers. As far as this is true for adults, we see how these shared instincts also cultivate conscientious and motivated young people.
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 non-hierarchical administration and leadership, rather than in a traditional Head of School. PSCS is run by an administrative staff with a collective experience of 40 years+, that functions collaboratively with a part- and full-time teaching staff, who together hold more than 60 years of collective experience in education, JEDI, and student support.
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.
Join us. Get to know yourself. LOVE SCHOOL.
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 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).
Featured Profile
PSCS friend and supporter, Dana Bettinger, earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Pratt Institute and then a master’s degree from Yale University, but after seven years as an architect—including time spent running her own design firm—she returned to graduate school and became a teacher. Dana taught art, architecture, and stagecraft at University Prep for over a decade, and previously served as the president of the PSCS Board of Trustees.
She was initially attracted by the school’s progressive philosophy.
“You don’t hear students at PSCS talking about what they’ll do when they’re finally ‘in the real world,’” she says. “Our students understand that they’re being given the freedom and support to pursue ‘real life’ right now, instead of constantly being trained for some future experience.”
Dana may have been drawn in by the idea of progressive education theory put to practice, but the best part of serving on the board is being a part of such an extraordinary group of individuals.
“I get to interact in such a thoughtful way with all of the incredible people who make up our community,” she says, “from students to parents to other volunteers. They’re smart, engaged, and always inspiring.”
The community is at its best, Dana says, at its unique graduation ceremony. Seniors are honored individually in an event that, in some years, has lasted more than seven hours.
“It is an incredible opportunity to see a group of strong, fascinating young people reveal their true selves in creative, eloquent ways—and then be comfortable allowing the people who love them to share their experience in such a public way.”
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