WDA's educational philosophy

At Whatcom Day Academy we approach education from specific tenets we hold to be true about learning. We believe:

A safe, supportive environment nurtures learning.

We promote mutual respect and consideration in the school community. This creates an environment where students feel safe to take intellectual risks and to learn from mistakes. We attend to the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual well being of every student.

Children learn as part of a community.

The learning community at WDA is many-layered. At the center, students learn from and with each other. Group projects help students learn to share responsibilities, listen to each other’s ideas, and work collaboratively. Older students interact with younger students. The learning community also includes parents, teachers, and other adults, who act as role models of life-long learning. Each individual and family in the school contributes to a rich diversity of talents and backgrounds. We relish this diversity and incorporate it into the curriculum. We also enrich our community through language and cultural studies, and by welcoming visitors from other cultures. Community studies and service projects allow students to understand and contribute to the broader community in which we live.

All children have intrinsic curiosity and the capacity to learn.

This belief underlies all our practices. Admission to WDA is not based on intellectual abilities or academic achievements. All students are held to high standards of effort and engagement. We work with students at their developmental level in mixed-age groups rather than focusing on their chronological age or formal grade level.

Children learn in different ways and have different interests, styles, and paces.

Our small classes, low student-teacher ratios and mixed-age groups allow us to provide flexible placements and personalized attention. A variety of instructional techniques are used to stimulate individual and group learning. Overlapping experiences that teach the same concept allow students to approach a problem or topic from different perspectives. Assessment of student learning is ongoing. Students have opportunities to demonstrate their learning in a variety of formal and informal ways.

Learning is an internal process that requires personal engagement.

Children learn through doing real tasks and making things that express their understanding of the world. Much of the curriculum at WDA is developed around experiential, real world learning activities and inquiry projects. Basic skills are taught within the context of this curriculum. Students often have a choice of topics or projects, which helps to engage their personal interests and strengths.

Children learn in an integrated way.

Whatcom Day Academy teachers use themes and projects to integrate learning across disciplines. This type of integrated study makes learning more meaningful to students. Technology is also integrated into the curriculum as a tool for research, writing, manipulation of data, and presentations of learning.