, an independent, progressive school in Washington, DC, dedicated to children from 18 months through Grade 6, piloted researchers and the Professional Development Collaborative at Washington International School, CAC is grounded in progressive education principles and inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. As The River School is committed to and successful in delivering student-centered, inquiry-based learning in a democratic environment, CAC felt like a natural extension of our philosophy right out of the gate ..read more

In Spring 2023,  Nate Drackett graduated with a MFA in Theatre from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.  His MFA thesis production was titled, unspecified: a theatrical exploration of identity . He explored what happens at the point where communal inquiry, democratized collaboration, and student-centered pedagogies intersect. He reached across the disciplines of philosophy, social work, and theatre to explore aspects of identity (race, gender, sexuality, mental health, and others) that many have a hard time specifying for themselves. This multi-disciplinary exploration served as a very p ..read more

An important part of the Hanahau‘oli School Entering Teacher Collaborative ( ) is the opportunity for new teachers to visit the school archives to learn more about the school’s history and progressive education philosophy. To prepare for our time together in this special place, new teachers read about the on the school’s website, select and read an additional piece of writing from a former head of school (e.g. Palmer, Mills, Hurley, Peters, Pohl) , and they generate questions about what they want to know more about related to the school's history and culture. On the day that we gather in this ..read more

Hawai‘i has the most endangered species in the United States, where many plants are unique to our islands. Many take for granted the beautiful natural environment our ancestors cultivated and lived harmoniously with. This diminished plant relationship is not unique to Hawaiʻi, it is actually an aspect of modern life that is prevalent in the industrial world. The phenomenon is called “plant blindness” (an inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment), and it affects approximately 91.9% of the population in Hawa‘i, especially those of us who reside in urban areas and who rely o ..read more

The River School in Washington, DC and, subsequently, the Potomac River Clinic and National Center for Hearing Innovation, were born out of the shared vision to ensure all children with hearing loss have the best start imaginable. The first and only progressive, independent school of its kind, The River School provides children with hearing loss and their hearing peers an inclusive learning environment with a heightened focus on language, literacy and social development delivered by highly educated teachers and speech therapists. Working in conjunction with clinical services that lead the fiel ..read more

An important part of the Hanahau‘oli School Entering Teacher Collaborative ( ) is the opportunity for new teachers to visit the school archives to learn more about the school’s history and progressive education philosophy. To prepare for our time together in this special place, new teachers read about the on the school’s website, select and read an additional piece of writing from a former head of school (e.g. Palmer, Mills, Hurley, Peters, Pohl) , and they generate questions about what they want to know more about related to the school's history and culture. On the day that we gather in this ..read more

There are many important voices who have shaped and continue to shape the ongoing progressive education movement. For example, the quotes from John Dewey and George Herbert Mead–written into a Hanahau'oli School brochure published in 1919–are as relevant today as they were when the pamphlet was first printed. Listed under a section of the brochure titled, “Aim and General Methods,” the words of Dewey and Mead frame the overall philosophy and pedagogy of the school at its founding. They serve as a foundation, or starting point from which the architects of the school’s original design could lean ..read more

In this blog, I aim to share more about Henry Schuller (H.S.) Townsend. He was one of Hawai‘i’s leading American progressive educators who was “expected to be appointed the first superintendent of public instruction as soon as the territorial government was established” (Hunt, 1969, p. 297), but who was ousted from the position in 1900 because of the “aggressive Americanization campaign…[implemented in the] territory’s public schools” (Americanization through the school system, 2023). I was first introduced to Townsend while researching the chronology of public education leadership in Hawai‘i ..read more

It had been a rough day at school emotionally for my son and I was hearing all about it in the car ride home after school. After an argument with a friend at recess, he was explaining to me that he trudged up to the courtyard to meet Mrs Okano, Hanahau‘oli School’s beloved art teacher. She noticed he was upset, gave him a hug, and checked in with him while the class was getting ready to go. Then with one more hug she reassured him, "It's going to be okay....remember how you feel when you do art? You're going to feel much better in a little bit ..read more

We might imagine our very best self to be “the full flowering of our human potential” or, perhaps we might imagine offering our unique gifts to the world and accomplishing “all that we’re capable of as human beings.” Empirically, we’re fully capable of living peacefully among one another. We’re capable of living intimately and reverently with our non-human kin and integrating harmoniously with the vast tapestry of the cosmos. We’re capable of co-creative adaptation, imagination and transformation. Throughout our 300,000 year (or so) lineage as homo sapiens, we’ve already accomplished these th ..read more