Community Partnerships

Part of PSCS's curriculum has always been community involvement. It is important for students to experience and respect the greater community and come to recognize that they are a vital part of its success. Starting in Fall this year, students and staff have participated in community service projects and partnerships with several organizations:

Arboretum Foundation: Working at the Washington Park Arboretum and its foundation office, students and staff helped pack tulip bulbs in preparation for the annual bulb sale, organized and cleaned the warehouse, weeded, mulched and lent a hand in the office.

Giving Tree: The Giving Tree is a wood shop where handcrafted toys are created. A portion of the toys are donated to charities serving children in the greater Puget Sound area. Students cut, sanded and assembled and painted toys alongside seniors, former and current homeless individuals from the greater Seattle area.

Hamilton House: PSCS now has an on-going partnership with members of the Tallamadge Hamilton House Senior Activity Center in the University District. In the Fall, students and staff are worked on a wide range of activities including ground maintenance, knitting, cooking, computer set up, recreation, and a short story class. The short story class got so popular that, staff member Andy Smallman continues to facilitate weekly sessions that include both youth and elders. Another group cooks for the seniors on a monthly basis, while yet another is working on a mural to decorate one of the retaining walls.

Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition: Education at PSCS comes in umpteen flavors. For the group that created a video on toxins in cosmetics, this meant working in a client partnership to understand the impact of using specific cosmetics and then scripting, casting, staging, shooting and editing a public service video on the topic.

Oxbow Farm: Seven students and a staff member spent a whole week in February working on this organic farm in Duvall. The group cleaned up damage from November's floods, built a greenhouse, prepped for the planting season and built a partnership with the farmers through conversations on organic farming. The partnership will continue as the group returns on Mondays to continue the working alongside the farmers.

Hilltop Children's Center: Hilltop Children's Center is a pre-school founded on much of the same philosophy as PSCS. 4 PSCS students visited the center and engaged with pre-schoolers in storytelling and play activities. The students also spent time with long time Hilltop staff member Sarah Felstiner watching videos on the Reggio Emilia approach to project-based learning that is practiced at Hilltop.

Community Partnerships

Organizational Partners 05-06