About
The Native School offers nature-based learning where children play and explore outdoors in living classrooms and laboratories within the school's preserves and wildlife spaces. Children take part in activities such as climbing trees, swinging from high branches, and walking across logs as part of their daily experience. The program is inspired by Scandinavian Forest School models and Reggio Emilia teaching practices, with student interests and needs guiding embedded skill development aligned with educational standards.
The Native School states that it integrates California State Education Standards and developmentally appropriate, evidence-based literacy instruction into its outdoor program. The school describes the natural environment as a dynamic, ever-changing variable where students use skills in math, literacy, science, and social-emotional learning in real-world contexts. The program is founded on a passion for real-world learning and follows a Reggio Emilia inspired belief that children possess a hundred languages, with teachers acting as scaffolders who offer guidance while honoring emergent learning processes and challenging students to problem solve beyond their current abilities. The Native School uses ProCare Connect for enrollment and Jumbula for camps and online events.
According to its mission statement, The Native School supports children, parents, and educators in embarking on transformative, nature-based learning experiences and aims to ignite a lifelong love for learning by embracing the wonders of nature, encouraging exploration, and nurturing each child's unique interests. The school describes its educators as a passionate team of teachers and nature enthusiasts who guide children through engaging outdoor adventures while fostering resilience, environmental stewardship, and a connection to themselves and the world around them.
The Native School lists affiliations with the American Forest Kindergarten Association, San Diego State University, the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance, Changing Tides Foundation, Natural Start Alliance, and the San Diego Reggio Roundtable, and states that it enjoys partnering with like-minded organizations. One parent testimonial describes The Native School as a forest kindergarten that covers all of the standards with a focus on nature and being stewards of the earth, and notes that their child gained confidence through climbing trees, swinging from high branches, and walking across logs, and felt fully seen by teachers and friends. Another quoted statement the school shares is, "Children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls."
Last updated July 8, 2026.
The Native School states that it integrates California State Education Standards and developmentally appropriate, evidence-based literacy instruction into its outdoor program. The school describes the natural environment as a dynamic, ever-changing variable where students use skills in math, literacy, science, and social-emotional learning in real-world contexts. The program is founded on a passion for real-world learning and follows a Reggio Emilia inspired belief that children possess a hundred languages, with teachers acting as scaffolders who offer guidance while honoring emergent learning processes and challenging students to problem solve beyond their current abilities. The Native School uses ProCare Connect for enrollment and Jumbula for camps and online events.
According to its mission statement, The Native School supports children, parents, and educators in embarking on transformative, nature-based learning experiences and aims to ignite a lifelong love for learning by embracing the wonders of nature, encouraging exploration, and nurturing each child's unique interests. The school describes its educators as a passionate team of teachers and nature enthusiasts who guide children through engaging outdoor adventures while fostering resilience, environmental stewardship, and a connection to themselves and the world around them.
The Native School lists affiliations with the American Forest Kindergarten Association, San Diego State University, the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance, Changing Tides Foundation, Natural Start Alliance, and the San Diego Reggio Roundtable, and states that it enjoys partnering with like-minded organizations. One parent testimonial describes The Native School as a forest kindergarten that covers all of the standards with a focus on nature and being stewards of the earth, and notes that their child gained confidence through climbing trees, swinging from high branches, and walking across logs, and felt fully seen by teachers and friends. Another quoted statement the school shares is, "Children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls."
Last updated July 8, 2026.
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