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| Stillpoint School Frequently Asked Questions |
Why is state approval important?
Legally, all school-aged children must be enrolled in a state-approved program. Stillpoint School is currently the only state-
approved private elementary school on San Juan Island.
What are your school hours?
Our school hours are from 8am to 2:30pm, Monday through Friday. Please see our Calendar for specific details about the
upcoming school year.
What are your class sizes?
sizes for students who learn best with a low teacher-to-student ratio.
sizes for students who learn best with a low teacher-to-student ratio.
Do you offer a full-day Kindergarten program?
Yes. Our full-day Kindergarten program provides significant benefits to our Kindergarten students. The extra time our
Kindergartners spend at school allows us to provide many more learning opportunities, address individual students’ needs,
spend more time on the curriculum instead of rushing each day, and providing more time for hands-on projects and
learning. Recent research has indicated that quality full-day Kindergarten programs result in greater progress and success
for children socially, academically, and emotionally than half-day programs.
What does "brain-friendly" or "brain-based" learning mean at Stillpoint?
Brain-based learning means that we intentionally use teaching strategies that are based on our current understanding of
how the brain works. When we teach the way the brain learns, we find that the learning process is much more effective and
successful for students and teachers. We see significant progress in students' learning, academic confidence, and success
levels by applying our current knowledge of the brain's systems and processes to education.
What type of students do well at Stillpoint School?
We welcome students who love learning and have curiosity. Our students tend to be independent workers who are internally
motivated and enjoy identifying and solving problems. We also look for creative thinkers who work well in
small-group situations, as our grade levels are flexible and we do many whole school projects along with grade-specific
learning projects.
What type of parents does Stillpoint School seek?
Our favorite parents are those who are excited about the opportunity for their child to learn in a caring, small school
atmosphere. We warmly welcome parent input, and encourage volunteer activities from parents, families, and friends.
Volunteering is not a requirement at Stillpoint School because we recognize that many parents cannot make that
commitment, but we welcome any and all participation in Stillpoint School.
What is your discipline policy?
As a classroom community, we begin the year by choosing rules that we all agree are fair and will help us work
cooperatively together throughout the school year. With ownership in deciding our classroom rules, we find that students
rarely misbehave because they helped create the rules and have agreed that they are fair.
When students are disruptive or when misbehavior occurs, we use an approach similar to Love and Logic to handle the
problem. We hold students accountable for their behavior and begin by asking how they would like to solve the problem
they created. Then we encourage ideas for solving the problem, or suggest different approaches if a student needs help
thinking of solutions. Although we encourage students to solve their own problems, we provide plenty of support so that
students can successfully handle a situation and learn from it.
Whenever possible, we try to discover what is behind misbehavior (for instance, a student is feeling left out, or an event
happened outside of school) to find the root of the problem instead of simply dealing with the surface. This eliminates
repeated or chronic misbehavior. And, of course, we use humor! Humor helps students realize that problems are a part of
life, meaning that one’s response to the problem is more important in the long term than the actual problem. This
philosophy provides students with tools to be effective lifelong problem solvers.
What are examples of your classroom rules?
While the wording of our rules will change from year to year as students provide important input into our school rules, a
few basic ideas always surface. First, we use kindness at all times, and recognize that we all want to learn in a safe, clean,
enjoyable environment. We are a community of learners, and we make it our goal to maintain a cooperative and caring
climate that values everyone. These basic concepts are always reflected in our school rules.
Respect is critical, but it must be earned, not demanded. We all respect each other equally, and we also respect ourselves,
our materials, and our building. Often we use a Love and Logic concept as our overall motto: you can do anything you
want as long as it doesn’t cause a problem for yourself or anyone else. (It’s harder to do that than it sounds!)
We model the behavior we want to see by respecting and caring for each other, our materials and building, and ourselves.
Finally, we always have general rules about listening when others are talking and making sure we use words to solve
problems– familiar rules that mean much more when we all write them together, as a small community of learners.
Will my child have to take the WASL?
No. Private schools are not required to take the WASL, which allows us to use all of our classroom time engaged in
effective teaching and active learning instead of focusing our curriculum on a standardized test. We teach to the learners,
not to the test.
Without standardized testing, how do you assess students?
We use authentic assessment, which measures student gains over a period of time in a variety of ways that go above and
beyond traditional testing. Portfolios are an excellent example of authentic assessment. We collect student work at different
points throughout the school year, such as writing samples or completed projects, and at designated times throughout the
year we evaluate the portfolios and students are encouraged to share them. We can clearly see monthly progress as our
students’ knowledge and skills increase, and students find portfolios of their work to be much more meaningful than a high-
stress, high-stakes test.
We also provide rubrics for projects prior to assigning them, so students know how they will be graded and how their
projects will be evaluated. Overall, we strive to make our assessments low-stress, personalized, and even fun for students to
complete. After all, our goal is to promote a love of learning, and we have found that testing often kills the joy of learning.
Do you use phonics to teach reading?
We use a combination of phonics and whole language to teach reading. Although the educational pendulum swings
dramatically between “whole language” and “phonics” approaches to teaching reading, our experience has taught us that
most students learn best through a combination of both. The key is context, which is our main focus as we teach students to
read. Without context, language is meaningless, and so are any strategies for teaching reading! We believe that both
approaches to teaching reading complement each other, and with dedication and patience, every student will learn to read
fluently and for the joy of reading.
Public schools across the nation are eliminating recess. Do you believe in recess?
YES! As a brain-friendly school, we know the research supporting the value of recess as a time for mental processing. We’
ve learned through brain research workshops that the brain can only handle a certain amount of new information at one
time. Studies show that students can handle a greater percentage of new information in a given day and will gain a deeper
understanding of that information when they are given time to absorb knowledge. This process happens unconsciously but
is extremely valuable for learning and retaining information. Recess is a built-in “down time” for the brain. Recess, like
the arts, is critical!
What is your policy on computers / technology?
We believe in technology, computers, and similar instructional tools– at the appropriate developmental age. We are
squarely in the Information Age. Computers and technology have vastly increased our ability to communicate and gather
information. We recognize the enormous impact technology has had and will continue to have on teaching, learning, and
education in general. In fact, our Master’s Degrees are in Instructional Technology, a field which is constantly growing.
We believe in teaching students how to responsibly use computers and technology, recognizing that they can offer
tremendous benefits but can also be misused.
As a brain-friendly school, we advocate a limited-to-zero computers policy for students under 8 years of age. Between the
ages of 0-8, students’ brains and eyes are not fully developed or prepared for computer screens and other similar
technology. Research indicates that computers can be damaging to brain development before the age of 8.
Nevertheless, computers are extremely useful tools, and we fully support them once students are developmentally ready. We
wait to introduce technology at appropriate developmental ages, and teach students at those ages how to make the most of
technology while learning to use it responsibly and safely.
