Children sitting at a river

About

Our Story

Discovery Lab was founded in 2011 by Natalia Parker and Tosha Woods as an effort to bring more diverse educational opportunities to Kittitas County.  As educators and parents, both Parker and Woods envisioned creating learning environments that were adaptive and able to provide authentic and meaningful engagement for students.  Over the 10 years of its existence, Discovery Lab has continued to evolve to meet the needs of the learners and the community.  Our current model focuses on creating meaningful learning through the use of Project-Based Learning, multi-age learning cohorts, and utilizing practices that create humanizing classrooms.

 

Our Vision

Discovery Lab will serve as a strong support system for children and their families and will have a positive effect on the surrounding community. As a dynamic and adaptive entity, Discovery Lab will be able to swiftly change to meet the needs of the students and the community as they evolve.

discoverylab_images3-05.png

Our Philosophy

“Education is not an affair of “telling” and being told, but an active and constructive process.”
— John Dewey

To accomplish our mission, we:

  • utilize a project-based, exploratory curriculum. The school will use the local community and environment to teach concepts across all areas of the curriculum, including math, science, language arts, and social studies.

  • emphasize hands-on, real-world approaches to increase purposeful engagement for our students as well as foster their awareness of the environment.

  • teach how to think, not what to think

  • preserve in students a sense of attachment to their surroundings in order to develop active, productive community citizens who recognize their role and responsibility to themselves, their neighbors, and the world.

  • integrate the Washington state standards and support students in their own growth trajectory

  • develop partnerships with local and regional resources to build stronger working relationships among educators, parents, and other community members.

 

Additional Resources