LEARNING AT PECONIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Learning to Cultivate Care.

At Peconic Community School, whether we’re out in the field researching with experts or in the classroom conferring with peers, the goal is the same: to engage insightfully in inquiry.  

Inquiring means, of course, asking questions and analyzing problems (these are hallmarks of active learning).  But at PCS, we also want students to care enough to seek answers to the questions they pose.  We want our students to want to solve the problems they encounter.  

Sometimes engaging means heading out to the field to track down an answer or see something firsthand, and sometimes it means slowing down where we are to take a closer look or turn to a friend.  

But always it is this quality of caring – caring to seek, caring to reach, whether outward or inward -- that we hope to inspire in our students.  For it is this caring that will in turn inspire children to change the world.   

We cultivate this spirit of care at Peconic Community School with an educational approach centered around hands-on, authentic learning experiences within and about our local environment and community (what we refer to as place-based and project-based education).

PECONIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Integrated, project-based curriculum that is relevant and responsive.

The PCS approach begins with a clear, and bold, vision: education should prepare students to change the world.  And, students who know how to learn about the world and who know how to care about the world are in the strongest position to initiate and support positive change.  

Learning to care about the world is a dynamic and courageous process shared by PCS students and educators; it is a process that unfolds in real time, both in our classrooms and in our community.  

Students at Peconic Community School are engaged and inspired by an integrated curriculum that is relevant to their lives, rooted in their place, and responsive to their interests and inquiries.

The PCS approach is integrated: academic disciplines are combined in thematic study.  Like real-world projects, student work at PCS is multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional and purposeful, incorporating elements of math, science, art, literature, and history within a social context.

Education at PCS is place-based, which means that students work from and within the environment and communities of Long Island’s East End.  This is where learning begins.

It is also where learning GROWS.

When education is connected physically and socially to the local environment and community, students form meaningful relationships with the people and places they encounter. 

The more students connect, the more they care.  And, the more they care, the more care they take.  What we see each year at PCS are students growing into caretakers.  We see local stewards: cleaning beaches, planting seeds, and making sandwiches.  We see global citizens: writing speeches, raising money, and speaking out. 

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6 FOOT WHALE TAIL SCULPTED FROM MARINE DEBRIS

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Learning to fly. 

RESILIENCE IS A COMBINATION OF STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY

Peconic Community School was founded in 2012 with a clear understanding that modern schools need to educate children for an uncertain future, one whose lifestyles and career opportunities are difficult to predict. 

And so, it is with the goal of fostering resilience, reflection, and compassion that PCS approaches educating children for the realities of the 21st century.

Children who are able face challenges with determination and grace, who are able to pause and look within to find strength and clarity, and who are able to reach out with courage and understanding (that is, children who are resilient, reflective, and compassionate learners) are uniquely prepared to soar into the future. 

The approaches used to implement curriculum at PCS (place-based education, project-based learning, and integrated study) foster these qualities of resilience, reflection, and compassion by engaging and inspiring the whole child.

We believe that children’s social emotional well-being is essential: for engaging the whole child, for achieving academic success, and for growing a thriving, productive community.  In turn, a strong, healthy community bolsters the spirit and success of each of its members.  
  
PCS commits to nourishing the emotional and social lives of its students with daily practices in mindfulness and intentional focus on shared Community Values.  These approaches foster respect, encourage reflection, and promote active, compassionate citizenship.

Learning from the heart. 

At the heart of a PCS education is a commitment to inspiring students to know and care about themselves, about their community, and about their world.  We cultivate this spirit of care by engaging children in a fluid curriculum that is relevant to their lives and responsive to their abilities, interests, and passions.  

Education unfolds at Peconic Community School through a dynamic progression of innate wonder, deliberate exploration, critical thought, and creative innovation, all within the context of community interaction.  

We believe this approach fosters resilient, reflective, compassionate learners: learners both confidently grounded and ready to head out and explore. 

Peconic Community School offers programs in Early Childhood Education, for children ages 3 and 4, Elementary Education, for children Grades K through 5, and Middle School for Grades 6-8, as well as a Summer Program on Long Island's North Fork.

If you think Peconic Community School is the right fit for your family, we encourage you to contact us to speak with our co-directors, to arrange a school visit, to meet with our administrators and facilitators, and to introduce your child to the school.  We look forward to meeting you!

LEARNING LIT FROM WITHIN