Neskowin Valley School has a unique approach to education; it is spelled out here for your review.
Please direct any questions you may have via our contact page. You can also direct your questions to
the administration office or call 503-392-3124.
What We Teach
The curriculum at Neskowin Valley School fosters confident life-long learners. Our small size and the high ratio
of adults to children strengthen connections between families and the school, giving teachers more flexibility in
developing new curriculum that is more responsive to individual student interests. In the safe, friendly
environment of NVS, teachers provide a solid academic grounding with a strong emphasis on critical thinking,
reading and writing clearly. Math, science, history and literature are geared to each grade level and include
projects engendered by specific student interests. At NVS, art, music, drama and physical education are
fundamental to the curriculum.
To view each class, click the links below:
Small is Beautiful
Our teachers use limited class sizes to their advantage, creating independent learning experiences that allow
frequent one-on-one teaching with their students. The children of Neskowin Valley School learn as a group,
but the multi-age classrooms tend to erase the boundaries of age and grade level, giving individuals the
chance to understand material at their own pace. Advanced writers can be given more challenging projects,
while students who struggle with writing can receive the help of teachers dedicated to using multiple teaching
approaches to reach everyone in the class. Most teaching involves an interdisciplinary focus, using a long-
term study approach; for example, a multi-week history project might include assignments in literature, writing,
math, science, art and drama. Staying with the same teacher for at least two years gives students a strong,
familiar mentor who has watched their learning patterns, their developing talents, and their evolving maturity.
Rural Setting
Neskowin Valley School's campus sits in a meadow amongst creeks at the edge of a mossy coastal forest. The
children are given the opportunity to study the outdoors and learn from direct observation of the environment
about the unique plants, animals and weather of the Oregon coast. They may, for instance, test the water
quality of the creeks or record the development of apple blossoms in our small orchard with drawings of
springs unfolding. The school building, with its classrooms opening onto the two-story center room where
“Gather’rounds” take place, reinforces the idea that individual students are connected to a larger community
and environment.
Out In The Field
Small classes, the can-do attitude of our rural neighbors, and supportive parents make formal and informal
field trips a snap. Students travel off-campus in carpools for tennis and swimming lessons and for field trips to
visit local marine life centers, estuaries, farms, schools and artists’ studios. The wide community that supports
the school brings adults with diverse jobs and interests to the campus for our weekly Gather’rounds at the
center of the school.
Students as Teachers
Students at Neskowin Valley School receive academic and moral support from their peers. Multi-age
classrooms naturally encourage students to teach each other. On a typical morning in a classroom, students
will form clusters around the room, solving science problems, building structures, comparing notes, or reading
together. NVS teachers model good teaching techniques and provide engaging independent work spaces
within classrooms, knowing that peer teaching involves the mastery and reinforcement of learning. Outside the
classroom, older and younger students are paired as “buddies” who sit together at all-school functions, read to
each other, and practice their writing skills year-round through the exchange of “buddy notes.”
Please direct any questions you may have via our contact page. You can also direct your questions to
the administration office or call 503-392-3124.
What We Teach
The curriculum at Neskowin Valley School fosters confident life-long learners. Our small size and the high ratio
of adults to children strengthen connections between families and the school, giving teachers more flexibility in
developing new curriculum that is more responsive to individual student interests. In the safe, friendly
environment of NVS, teachers provide a solid academic grounding with a strong emphasis on critical thinking,
reading and writing clearly. Math, science, history and literature are geared to each grade level and include
projects engendered by specific student interests. At NVS, art, music, drama and physical education are
fundamental to the curriculum.
To view each class, click the links below:
- Beginners
- Pre-School & Kindergarten
- Youngers
- Middles
- Olders
- Drama
- Athletics
- Music
Small is Beautiful
Our teachers use limited class sizes to their advantage, creating independent learning experiences that allow
frequent one-on-one teaching with their students. The children of Neskowin Valley School learn as a group,
but the multi-age classrooms tend to erase the boundaries of age and grade level, giving individuals the
chance to understand material at their own pace. Advanced writers can be given more challenging projects,
while students who struggle with writing can receive the help of teachers dedicated to using multiple teaching
approaches to reach everyone in the class. Most teaching involves an interdisciplinary focus, using a long-
term study approach; for example, a multi-week history project might include assignments in literature, writing,
math, science, art and drama. Staying with the same teacher for at least two years gives students a strong,
familiar mentor who has watched their learning patterns, their developing talents, and their evolving maturity.
Rural Setting
Neskowin Valley School's campus sits in a meadow amongst creeks at the edge of a mossy coastal forest. The
children are given the opportunity to study the outdoors and learn from direct observation of the environment
about the unique plants, animals and weather of the Oregon coast. They may, for instance, test the water
quality of the creeks or record the development of apple blossoms in our small orchard with drawings of
springs unfolding. The school building, with its classrooms opening onto the two-story center room where
“Gather’rounds” take place, reinforces the idea that individual students are connected to a larger community
and environment.
Out In The Field
Small classes, the can-do attitude of our rural neighbors, and supportive parents make formal and informal
field trips a snap. Students travel off-campus in carpools for tennis and swimming lessons and for field trips to
visit local marine life centers, estuaries, farms, schools and artists’ studios. The wide community that supports
the school brings adults with diverse jobs and interests to the campus for our weekly Gather’rounds at the
center of the school.
Students as Teachers
Students at Neskowin Valley School receive academic and moral support from their peers. Multi-age
classrooms naturally encourage students to teach each other. On a typical morning in a classroom, students
will form clusters around the room, solving science problems, building structures, comparing notes, or reading
together. NVS teachers model good teaching techniques and provide engaging independent work spaces
within classrooms, knowing that peer teaching involves the mastery and reinforcement of learning. Outside the
classroom, older and younger students are paired as “buddies” who sit together at all-school functions, read to
each other, and practice their writing skills year-round through the exchange of “buddy notes.”
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Neskowin Valley School
instilled within me a
desire to learn. This
alone has undoubtedly
served me better than
anything else learned in
grade school. To grow up
wanting to learn, thirsting
for knowledge, and
having fun learning is
what grade school is and
should be all about.
-Darren Kowalski, MD
NVS alumnus
instilled within me a
desire to learn. This
alone has undoubtedly
served me better than
anything else learned in
grade school. To grow up
wanting to learn, thirsting
for knowledge, and
having fun learning is
what grade school is and
should be all about.
-Darren Kowalski, MD
NVS alumnus
