The educational philosophy of Pacific Ridge School is distinguished by its emphasis on academic excellence, ethical responsibility and global engagement. Integrating content and values across educational disciplines and throughout the school’s program is central to the mission of Pacific Ridge School.

This philosophy is realized by a strong collaboration between our Head of School, Dr. Mullady, and our faculty, who together have designed an integrated curriculum that emphasizes rigorous academics while at the same time achieving balance and perspective through participation in artistic, athletic and service activities. We believe that a deeper, more meaningful education is achieved through a well-rounded approach that considers the variety of personalities and intellects among our students, and this approach in turn provides students with a broad range of tools with which to succeed.

The aim of the overall program is to engage students in an integrated, dynamic understanding of the past, present, and future of the world they inhabit. All people learn best in an understandable context -- some learn only that way -- and Pacific Ridge School students will enjoy the benefits of a program that has been carefully developed to ensure that the real issues they will encounter in their lives are recognized by their curriculum. In this way, Pacific Ridge School seeks to educate responsible, involved citizens of both the local community and the world at large, and to show all students that their studies can make a meaningful impact on their lives and the lives of others.

Study will respect academic disciplines so that students may learn to distinguish the different ways in which an historian, scientist, writer, literary critic, mathematician or artist views the world. But the program of study in all disciplines -- in history and science, or in science and literature, or language and art -- will align, intersect, and cross over in a well-designed curriculum throughout each trimester of each year so that students may recognize thematic patterns and ask and answer big questions about what makes us human. The integrated curriculum works because teachers participate in related service programs and in each others' classes, allowing them to see the full picture of what each student is learning.

In each trimester and in smaller curricular units, ethical questions will guide study, stimulate critical thinking and discussion, and encourage students to see the world and their humanity through an ethical lens. Students will put ethics into practice, locally and globally, in an annual experiential program of service learning.

Classes of students around seminar-style tables inspire teachers to combine the best of one-on-one instruction with the dynamics of group discussion. Small classes allow teachers to devote more time to developing thought-provoking assignments and offer students substantive feedback on their work. Intimate class sizes also enable teachers to know each student’s unique mind and personality, and engage both to enhance learning. We invite you to watch our video on seminar learning to get a taste of education at Pacific Ridge School.

Ethical Responsibility
Ethical responsibility is one of the three key components of our mission, grounding academic excellence and global engagement as all three components lead students toward a purposeful life. At Pacific Ridge School, students will be encouraged to develop ethical convictions and the courage to act on those convictions. One over-arching question will inform each grade, with more specific ethical questions focusing the curriculum across the disciplines. Students will develop responses to the questions in school meetings, during class discussions, on service learning teams, in club activities, in school governance, and in the school community at large.

The overall ethical question for 7^th grade: Is Community Important?

The following specific ethical questions will be discussed across disciplines as the year progresses:

1. How do individuals fit in?
2. How can a young person make a difference?
3. Who is responsible for a community in peril?

The overall ethical question for 8^th grade: How do we balance the needs of the individual with the needs of the community?

The following specific ethical questions will be discussed across disciplines as the year progresses:

1. Why and how do we create order?
2. What forces influence change? (in individuals, communities and the natural world)
3. How can conflicts lead to positive outcomes?

The overall ethical question for 9^th grade: How does our understanding of the past inform our actions in the present and our vision of the future?

The following specific ethical questions will be discussed across disciplines as the year progresses:

1. How do we make sense of the world around us?
2. What are the values that keep community together?
3. What creates purpose or meaning?

The overall ethical question for 10^th grade: What are the possibilities and costs of growth?

The following specific ethical questions will be discussed across discipline as the year progresses:

1. Does might make right?
2. Should progress be our most important product?
3. Are there universal values?

The overall ethical question for 11^th grade: What are our responsibilities as founders?

The following specific ethical questions will be discussed across discipline as the year progresses:

1. What constitutes a foundation?
2. What are the limits of boundaries?
3. How do people redefine themselves to meet new responsibilities?

Global Engagement
With global engagement as a cornerstone of Pacific Ridge School’s mission, the curriculum inspires students to grow from local citizens, to world travelers, to world citizens. Through technology that allows teleconferences with other students around the world, a diverse and international teaching staff, relationships with sister schools in other parts of the world, individualized study in the senior year, learning western and non-western languages, and service learning projects in local and global communities, students come to understand our interdependence with other cultures and are inspired to act for the good of the world.