Redmond, OR – Redmond Proficiency Academy is a charter school serving students in the 6th through 12th grades. Their mission is to provide students with a proficiency-based education in a personalized learning environment through the creation of learning opportunities that are aligned to state, national, and industry standards.  They value the individuality of their students and strive to create an inclusive school environment in which all students aspire to high levels of academic achievement and personal growth.

Sandy Cloud, the school’s Community Liaison, organized a group of faculty who read and discussed The Art of Learning.  The result was a podcast on the school’s “Three Minds, One Book” series, hosted by Executive Director John Bullock, and including Science instructor Amy Mitchell and Spanish instructor Troy Longstroth.  Over the course of their conversation they touched on ideas such as the importance of Investment in Loss in science and language learning, Using Adversity, Building Your Trigger, and Loving the Game. They shared ideas about how to include a depth over breadth approach to teaching in an educational system in which there must be a breadth of study, and how to encourage students to discover and follow their passions, even when it is difficult to do so.

RPA is using their Yoga classes, Band classes, and Freshman Seminar classes to teach the Power of Presence through various forms – gratitude, silence, meditation, slowing down – in order to create space for students to hear their inner voice and allow time to slow.  These practices will give students a chance to see more clearly, know the choices available to them, and handle stress in healthier ways.