Agile Learning at PFS
We foster creativity, resilience, and independence through play in Nature, year-round, rain or shine! Self-directed learning and inclusive support are at the foundation of our mission.
In Fall 2023, PFS launched the Self-Directed Education Committee (SDE), a group of staff and volunteers dedicated to planning, organizing, and fundraising to purchase land and a building to start our full-day school. During this planning phase we joined the network of Agile Learning Centers (ALCs).
Now we are so excited to announce the launch of our ALC this coming 2026–2027 school year! With the change in location to Little Creek Park W-S (the very first park PFS called home when founded back in 2020!), we will be licensed as a private school, offering a full day program, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, for ages 5–12 years. Thanks to a partnership with WS Recreation and Parks, our indoor offerings will take place at the Little Creek Neighborhood Center, which boasts a computer lab, kitchen, indoor bathrooms, and ballroom space.
As an Agile Learning Center our school will be a collaborative learning community where learners can be fully engaged in the planning of their own educational journey. At Little Creek, our ALC learners will create and participate in long-term projects and activities such as art exploration, board games, building structures, language arts and math, cooking, creative movement and music exploration, tool safety, environmental stewardship and exploration, and other STEM projects.
Our ultimate goal is to have land to call our own where we can continue our forest school programming, our full-day K–12 school, and offer accessible community space. The Forest School Principles will remain at the heart of all our programs and as the first ALC in the Triad, it is our mission to spread the power of play, self-directed learning, and inclusivity.
Watch our video to get a better look at our dream!
What Is an Agile Learning Center?
It is a learning environment and learning design that is highly responsive, adaptive and community oriented. Agile Learning is based on taking incremental steps, constant review and using an iterative design process, where trial and error, learning and doing occur. A typical Agile Learning Center day begins with a morning meeting where students and staff come together to discuss learning interests and plan specific offerings for the week or the semester. Offerings provide opportunities for individual work as well as group lessons and activities. All students are empowered to contribute to school culture and the decision making process.
The Principles
The soil we grow in is trust.
Learning is natural and happening all the time.
People learn best when they make their own decisions. Children are people.
People learn more from their culture than from the content they are taught.
Growth is catalyzed through cycles of intention, action, reflection, and sharing.
About PFS ALC
- Age range
- 5 – 12 years
- Schedule
- Monday – Thursday, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
Ready to learn more or join us? Complete the Agile Learning Center – Enrollment Inquiry form.
One of the most unique aspects of our vision for PFS ALC is our continued dedication to play and time spent outdoors in nature. With access to the Little Creek Neighborhood Center, we will be able to further grow with our learners' abilities and interests by offering opportunities for long-term projects.
Our ALC will be a full-day private school program for children ages 5 – 12. In the mornings, children will participate in our Nature Explorers and Forest Kindergarten programs. In the afternoons (1:30 – 3:30 p.m.), they will base their activities at the Little Creek Neighborhood Center. When the center is not available, we will hold full-day nature-based sessions or explore our community (within walking distance). Our highly trained staff will work with students to plan the activities or courses that fit their interests and educational goals, ensure students collect and reflect upon their bodies of work, and provide support for neurodivergent students.
PFS ALC is a self-directed education program, where the curriculum is shaped by students' interests and needs. This is referred to as an emergent curriculum. Our Learning Partners will support and facilitate learning through collaborative planning, independent and group exploration, and visits from community experts. We will use the tool Prism to help us document the emergent curriculum and build an electronic learning portfolio for each student that will be shared with families and in which families can also contribute!
The question isn't how to make learning happen. It's how to see it, and how to support it — Prism