A “community school” starts by honoring the individual.
When PSCS was created in 1994 we were very mindful about what to name the school. We settled on “community school” because of the value we place on having both a strong internal community and connections to the greater community beyond.
We start with the individual at the center, but we also want students to understand their relationship to their peers, staff, volunteers, and parents involved in the school.
We've built neighborhood partnerships and collaborations through community service projects that are designed to help students appreciate that the world is bigger than they might think.
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PSCS alum Lauren Head graduated with the PSCS Class of 2010. She then earned her undergrad degree from the now closed Quest University, and earned her Master’s Degree in Gender, Peace, and Security from the London School of Economics.
Lauren’s college thesis included a reflective process on “the role of empathy in community.”
She wrote, “I spent my senior year of high school investigating my values, empathy and community. All that I learned during that time shaped my perspective in college. I learned the role empathy plays to help individuals cultivate respect for others is a key component to the creation of community. I learned how dialogue facilitates collaboration and abates violent confrontation. I learned that respect and integrity allow communities to thrive.
1) What are the limits of empathy?
2) How does the social and physical construct of our environment allow for community?
3) What shapes identity?
The academic plan included an inquiry into Hegel’s Phenomenology, Media and Politics, and Macroeconomics, among a wide range of academic disciplines.
Lauren lived for several years in Washington D.C., working at the National Democratic Institute. She recently returned to the PNW.
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