For nearly 30 years, Blue Mountain School has evolved as a parent co-operative, dedicated to creating a place for children to grow and learn nurturing environment. Parents have participated in the process in a wide variety of ways, from volunteering for fundraisers to building the school building. Parents have also contributed to the educational philosophy and organizational structure of the school we have now.
Currently, there is a loose understanding between parents and teachers of its purpose and philosophy. Several times, efforts have been made to consolidate this understanding into measurable guidelines. However, as a parent cooperative, there has been a tendency to compromise in an effort to accommodate everybody in a ‘cooperative’ manner.
Another model for a parent cooperative is one in which the parents cooperate with a director to keep the school running, not to continually redefine its educational approach. We believe this latter model is much more manageable and less labor intensive, and will be attractive to prospective parents.
Current Objective
One of the board's roles this year has been to design a plan that will create a more sustainable model for the
school, which aims to help it grow and develop instead of just surviving. We feel this year's board is
comprised of members that bring skills of cooperation, business development, non-profit experience, and a
thorough knowledge of educational practices. We have also utilized the assistance of a local professor, in the
field of alternative education, in our meetings. She has supported our process, and added a level of
professional planning to the development of our goals.
The plan starts with a ‘new’ vision for the school. It also incorporates hiring a director, pursuing accreditation,
developing an endowment, and requiring less of a commitment from parents. It is ‘new’ in that it has not yet
been clearly elucidated; but it is ‘old’ in that we feel it should resonate with most of the families who have ever
been involved with the school. We believe we are simply putting into words what we’ve been trying to do—to
varying levels of success—these past three decades.
What we are presenting is the culmination of efforts of Boards, Councils and staff over the past few years to
identify a clear path and purpose. As a result, we are now able to present a set of values that are largely
consistent with the parents who intend to keep their children at the school.
While we are comfortable with these values, we expect that implementing and consistently applying them will
not always be such a comfortable experience. This is good, because we want a learning environment that
consistently challenges not only the students, but the parents and teachers as well. This is an integral part of
the whole family approach we want to develop at the school.
We are very excited about where the school is heading, and very happy to share these developments with
you. This is only the first step, one which we invite you to take with us as we embark on a journey to become
a model of excellence.
