The Unity school based on the principles of Waldorf education
Opening in Raleigh, Fall 2020
The Unity school based on the principles of Waldorf education
Opening in Raleigh, Fall 2020
Academic Plan 2020-2021 : full day outdoor classrooms
Outdoor Classrooms, limited need for remote learning
Outdoor classrooms offer a safe option for holding in-person class, minimizing the need for remote/online learning. While we originally planned a hybrid program of 2-4 hours outdoors combined with daily remote learning, we are excited to say we will instead be offering a program focused on a 5-hour class day, held Monday through Friday, in our outdoor classrooms.
Remote learning will be limited to days when inclement weather, health, or safety concerns prohibit gathering in outdoor spaces. For more information on the daily, in person schedule, and what remote learning days will look like, please visit the 'Daily Rhythms' tab in the drop down menu above.
Specials, including watercolor painting, modeling, form drawing, games, music, Mandarin Chinese, and handwork will be completed in person during the school day.
Classrooms are set in beautiful wooded areas with large wooded play spaces and hiking paths.
Classroom spaces used by The Unity School will offer shelter from the elements such as sun and mild/moderate rain.
Outdoor classrooms mean our students will be experiencing our natural world and the true temperatures and moods of the seasons. Classrooms will be equipped with fans for the warmer months, and electric heating elements for the cooler months as necessary. However, clothing will need to be appropriate for the season.
Open air environments greatly reduce the potential of transmission not only of COVID19, but of all the viral illnesses children typically pass back and forth throughout the fall and winter months. In addition to being outdoors, classroom desks will be spaced appropriately, and a hand washing stations will be available in the classroom spaces.
Masks
Children will not be required to wear masks the majority of the day, such as during class lessons or while playing on the playground. However, students will be required to have a mask available when they come to school as there will be brief times when they will be required to wear one. These times may include when it is necessary for the class teacher to personally assist a child at his/her desk with part of the lesson, causing their faces to be within 1-2 feet of one another. In this case, both the child and the teacher would don their masks for those few moments, and then remove them once the close proximity assistance was completed. Another time masks may be required is when using a restroom facility.
Our teachers will also be using these opportunities to help children become comfortable with the idea of mask wearing, helping to normalize this practice and remove any misunderstandings or fears. As we do not know how long the practice of mask wearing will be necessary in public spaces, we believe it is important to help our children become comfortable with idea for times when it may be necessary.
Teachers will use methods such as storytelling to help explain the purpose of mask wearing, and to help our students develop an understanding about individual responsibility to our community as a whole, and what it means to be a good citizen of the world.
The Research
The decision to move to an all outdoor classroom model and forego online learning has been made after research into recent statistics of disease transmission in an outdoor environment. Interestingly, there is precedent for the outdoor classroom model for health and safety of children during times of a pandemic. In the early 20th century, students in New York City were moved to outdoor leaning environments in an effort to stop the spread of pandemics of the time, including diseases such as tuberculosis. Here is a link to an article we found both interesting and inspiring. The article is linked on the Research Articles tab below.
Additionally, research published during the last several years demonstrates significant benefits gained by utilizing outdoor leaning environments. Documented benefits include improved behavior, attention, social-emotional development, grades, and even standardized test scores. Please visit the Research Articles page of this website or click the button below for more information about the substantial benefits of outdoor classroom learning!
Location
Our opening location will not be the Unity Church as originally planned as we have moved to a primarily outdoor classroom model. However class meetings will remain near the original location, off of Glenwood ave in Raleigh.
Our outdoor first grade and kindergarten classrooms are set in beautiful wooded areas. Children will play in large natural play spaces with abundant opportunities for exploration and creativity. Classes will also be utilizing wooded hiking trails for teacher led adventures. We will have a primary location for meeting in an outdoor setting for consistency. We will also be embracing a community classroom, and may at times meet in Umstead Park or the NC Art Museum. Class meeting spaces will be pre-planned well in advance so families know what to expect. .
We are actively seeking land on which to build The Unity School's permanent location. At the same time, we are seeking donors, sponsors, fundraisers and benefactors! Our goal location will consists of 3-5 acres, and remain within 20 minutes of our opening location.
Community Classroom
We live in a beautiful and diverse city with so many magnificent outdoor spaces in which to learn and explore. In addition to regular outdoor classroom spaces, we hope to take advantage of the many green spaces around us - Umstead Park, the NC Art Museum, the Greenway - to enhance not only our students' learning, but their experience of education and the world around them.
We also plan to involve The Unity School students in community service projects and volunteerism as an integrated part of the curriculum. This year, community involvement will happen as health and safety allow, but may include things such as community food drives for donations to our local shelters. By combining classroom learning with an experience of what we can each contribute to our community around us, we aim to cultivate and develop strong-minded, self-confident, creative, and kind human beings.