our approach
Child-led Construct
Teamwork amongst the children is promoted within our school environment. Additionally, the children are encouraged to practice their own negotiation and conflict resolution, with a teacher standing by honoring the group's process, and stepping in only as needed. The learning is play-based and, as far as possible, child-initiated and child-led.
Hands-on Learning
Forest School is an inspirational process - as we believe children achieve and develop confidence through hands-on learning. It is fundamentally based upon early childhood principles of freedom in play, creativity, socialization skills and emotional stability.
Nurturing the Whole Child
The Forest School approach benefits children in a number of ways, it supports physical development and stamina, builds self-esteem, develops problem solving skills and risk awareness, helps to build positive relationships, prepares our future citizens, promotes good mental health and wellbeing and supports children with their communication and collaboration.
Educational Growth
Our school is filled with rich opportunities for growth, individualized recognition, trust, and support, as well as organic learning along an array of developmental domains, including the arts, science, literacy and math.
OUR TEAM
Mia Lugassy
Born in Los Angeles, Mia proudly comes from a mixed family of Cuban and Moroccan immigrants, and was raised in a boisterous bilingual home. Since before she could even talk, Mia was a natural caregiver. She had an affinity for all babies and children, and seemed to have an almost magnetic effect on them.
As she continued to follow this calling, Mia received her B.A. in Child Development, with an emphasis in Early Childhood, from San Francisco State University, and has been steadily teaching (and learning from) children ages 0-5 for the last 10+ years. Once she began her studies, Mia became passionate about the Reggio Emilia Approach, which only further validated her belief that our youngest citizens are curious, competent and social learners. This was the pivotal moment which propelled Mia on her own personal ‘spiritual journey’ of finding and healing herself, through authentically supporting children along on their own healing journeys.
Mia aspires to create a more human school- where the “image of the child” is one of empowerment, resilience and curiosity; future generations full of radical thinkers and reshapers of the world; and nature-based pedagogy just happens to activate those potentialities in every child beautifully. Mia trusts in the joy of process and is endlessly inspired by the patterns, cycles and overall interconnectedness of nature.
Some other things that fill Mia’s heart with immense joy are: helping and watching things grow, thrifting through peoples old things, tight hugs, fairy folklore, holding space for people who need it, creek hangs, writing/reflecting, tea parties, photography, mushroom hunting, cuddles from her cat and dog, listening to a good song on repeat, cooking food from her heritage, helping others see the unique magic that they offer to the world, and at the moment reading up on herbalism and energy medicine.
Ashley Langton
Ashley is a born teacher to whom children are naturally drawn. Her formal teaching experience started in college at San Francisco State University, paired 1-on-1 with children in various preschools through Americorps and the Jumpstart program. She switched her major to early childhood development, starting a journey that has lasted 15 years so far and touched many lives.
The teaching philosophy of Reggio Emilia was a perfect match for Ashley's talent to link concepts and activities together dynamically in response to the children's changing interests, to enhance and deepen each child's connection to the world and the people around them.
Ashley has always been an outdoor enthusiast, and the opportunity to teach in a purely outdoor classroom has been a long-term dream come true. Children from all backgrounds tend to flourish in an outdoor setting, where their deeply rooted impulse to run, jump, climb, and explore can always be engaged.
When she's not leading children through the woods, Ashley lives in San Francisco right up against John McLaren Park, with her husband Gabe and three children: Holden, Zia, and Emery. She is a lover of animals and critters, and enjoys crafting, baking, museum-going, riding bikes with her family, and camping.