Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos! Soo Dhowaada! Nyob Zoo!
Share the joy of an intellectually rigorous learning community by discovering Northern Lights, a free, K-8 public charter school. We are reimagining education through responsive inquiry in thought-provoking indoor and outdoor environments.
View our 2023-2024 calendar here !
Our school day runs from 8:45am- 3:35pm.
On Fridays, we have early release at 2:00 pm.
“When we adults think of children, there is a simple truth we all ignore: Childhood is not preparation for life; childhood is life. A child isn’t getting ready to live; a child is living.”
— John A. Taylor
NORTHERN LIGHTS GAZING
Articles about our school
Sports and Reggio-Emilia: Rigorous Elegance and Grit
Even if you’re not a sports fan, you are likely familiar with the idea that athletes and their coaches deconstruct competitive footage in order to guide future performances. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to draw parallels between an Italian teaching philosophy and American football, but I can’t help but notice how they both are gritty and elegant in process. Read more…
Play in learning
Opal School in Portland inspires St. Paul School of Northern Lights. Opal School uses the phrase “playful inquiry” to describe their approach to learning…Rather than play being what children do in their “off” time (recess), they incorporate play as school work, recognizing that play and learning are not separate times of the day. Read more…
Curriculum and Staying in bounds
We get many questions about what curriculum will look like at Northern Lights. As these questions continue to emerge, I have been pondering what families are truly wondering. Or what they’re nervous about. So, here we go with another sports metaphor, because they seem to help even non-sports fans! Read more…