Olympia Community School was founded as a non-profit elementary school in 1973.
Our curriculum is based on thematic learning.
Olympia Community School's mission is to provide quality elementary education that inspires, motivates, and challenges students. We empower children to reach their potential by nurturing their natural curiosity and desire to learn, their belief in themselves, and their ability to participate fully in their community with respect for self, others, and the earth.
Olympia Community School's mission is to provide quality elementary education that inspires, motivates, and challenges students. We empower children to reach their potential by nurturing their natural curiosity, desire to learn, their belief in themselves, and their ability to participate fully in their community with respect for self, others, and the earth.
Olympia Community School is Thurston County’s oldest independent school, established in 1973 as a non-profit by two teachers and a small group of parents. The original name was the Open Community School, a reference to the quality of the community of teachers, parents and students which they hoped to create. Since then, the school has operated at several locations and added classes up to the 5th grade.
In 2020 OCS acquired its current location off Karen Frazier Road. This site provides ample space to incorporate our school’s love of learning in harmony with the outdoors.
Maximum of 14 students per classroom
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Curriculum that is driven by children’s developmental readiness and interests
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Teachers using classroom-based assessments to measure progress along a continuum of skills
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Multi-aged classrooms that foster a student-teacher relationship, as children have the benefit of being both “older” and “younger"
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Student-led S.M.A.R.T goal setting and self evaluation with teacher support and guidance
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Students involved with instruction via workshops while their academic feedback is valued and heard
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Focus on social emotional curriculum including conflict resolution, communication skills, and brain development through examples of teacher behavior
What you find at OCS
What you find elsewhere
20-30 students per classroom
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Uniform curriculum dictated by an external body
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Progress is measured by standardized test scores where students are ranked in grade percentiles
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One grade per classroom
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Educational objectives are preset and do not involve the student input
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Instruction is teacher-centered without space for student commentary
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Little opportunity for children to develop social skills except on the playground or lunch time where a mentor may not be available
