Glacier Lake School

EVERY DAY AT GLACIER LAKE SCHOOL (GLS), STUDENTS SELF-DIRECT THEIR LEARNING, SHOWING THE TRUST THAT THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY PUTS INTO EACH STUDENT TO TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR OWN LIVES AND LEARNING. ALSO, THE SCHOOL IS RUN BY THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, WITH EVERYONE FROM THE 4-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, TO THE TEENAGE CHAIRPERSON, TO EACH STAFF MEMBER - EACH HAVING ONE VOTE WHEN THE SCHOOL MAKES DECISIONS AT OUR WEEKLY SCHOOL MEETING. THE SCHOOL MEETING IS WHERE WE DECIDE EVERYTHING FROM RULES, TO HOW TO ENFORCE THEM, TO HOW TO DISTRIBUTE FUNDS. EVERYONE HAS A DIRECT VOICE IN THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE SCHOOL. BECAUSE STUDENTS FOLLOW THEIR INTERESTS, ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT WHAT A DAY WILL LOOK LIKE. AT GLS, ASK A STUDENT WHAT THEIR PASSIONS ARE AND THEYLL BE ABLE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THEM AND HOW THEY INTEND TO PURSUE THOSE INTERESTS. STUDENTS IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN ACTIVITIES WHICH ENGAGE THEM FROM INVENTING IN THE WORKSHOP, DOING SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS IN THE LAB AREA, PLAYING SOCCER, IMPROMPTU COMPUTER OR BOARD GAMES, READING, PLAYING THE PIANO, WORKING ON MATH THE LIST OF OPPORTUNITIES ARE ONLY LIMITED BY THE IMAGINATION AND PASSION OF THE STUDENT. DURING THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR, WE SERVED 31 STUDENTS FROM MISSOULA TO POLSON. WE ADAPTED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BY OFFERING A HYBRID SCHEDULE WITH THREE DAYS A WEEK ON CAMPUS, MASKED, AND TWO DAYS PER WEEK ON ZOOM. WE PERFORMED "LITTLE WOMEN" VIRTUALLY, PARTICIPATED IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA SCIENCE FAIR, HOSTED AN END OF YEAR ART EXTRAVAGANZA, AND HAD TWO STUDENTS GRADUATE.