2025 Annual Report
Introduction
The 2024–25 academic year at Neskowin Valley School is best summed up in three small but powerful words: growth, innovation, and anchoring. Every day was seen as an opportunity not only to learn something new but to build skills, strengthen friendships, and take an active role in shaping both personal and collective success.
In September 2024, NVS welcomed its first Upper School students as part of a highly anticipated High School pilot. Designed to be student-driven and experiential, the program emphasized personalized learning, real-world application, and community connection. The Middle School program expanded its offerings with leadership training, interdisciplinary projects, and off-campus adventures. Outdoor learning remained central to the Lower School and Preschool, with students frequently exploring nature as part of their daily classroom. A major highlight was the completion of the school garden in spring, which provided hands-on lessons in ecology and sustainability and culminated in a community plant sale.
NVS continued its strong commitment to accessibility, awarding over $20,000 in financial aid and engaging supporters through a successful spring fundraising campaign. By May, interest in the 2025–26 school year surged, especially in early childhood and middle grades, with the Upper School pilot continuing to attract thoughtful, mission-aligned applicants.
While the 2024-25 academic year is officially behind us, we excitedly anticipate the first day of Wild Coast Summer Camp at NVS!
At the heart of it all is the character of Neskowin Valley School—steadfast, joyful, and rooted in connection. More than its programs, what defines NVS is a culture of kindness, creativity, and trust. It’s a place where students are known and valued, where teachers model curiosity and care, and where families feel a deep sense of belonging. As the year came to a close, that spirit was unmistakable—in muddy boots from spring garden days, in laughter shared during the Earth Day Run, and in the quiet confidence of students stepping into leadership and growth. It’s this enduring strength, the heart of the school, that carries us forward, guiding NVS into the future with purpose, imagination, and a community ready for what comes next.
Leveling Up Learning!
Every June, as NVS students reach the end of their 8th-grade year, they share the same wish as they walk through the Great Room one last time: I wish I could go to High School at NVS! After years of brainstorming, finding the right teachers for the job, and a lot of planning, the first-ever NVS High School pilot program was launched. This was a bold step forward in reimagining what secondary education can look like in a small, connected, and creative learning environment. Built on the school’s long-standing values of curiosity, compassion, and community, the pilot was designed to be student-driven, experiential, and deeply personal.
Rather than following a traditional model, the Upper School focuses on individualized learning plans that blend academic rigor with real-world experience. Students work alongside mentors to shape their own paths, integrating college coursework, independent projects, community engagement, and hands-on learning. This smaller-scale, more personalized model of pre-collegiate learning offers students the freedom to explore who they are, what they care about, and how they want to contribute to the world.
This inaugural year has been shaped in collaboration with a cross-generational steering committee made up of faculty, parents, alumni, and students. The program continues to evolve in real time, guided by the voices of those living it. With each challenge met and milestone reached, the High School Pilot has laid the foundation for a vibrant, future-facing Upper School rooted in NVS’s core belief that education should be as unique and dynamic as the students it serves.
Onward and Upward in 2025-26
The year ahead holds exciting possibilities for Neskowin Valley School. With the foundation of our new High School pilot in place, we’re ready to grow, welcoming new students, refining our model, and continuing to offer an education that’s both deeply personalized and rooted in real-world experience.
We’re also thrilled to introduce expanded auxiliary programming to better serve our families and community. Beginning this fall, NVS will offer before and after-school care as well as No-School Day Camps, providing safe, engaging, and values-aligned options for students outside of traditional classroom hours. These offerings reflect our commitment to supporting the whole child and the whole family.
Outdoor learning will remain central to our curriculum across all grade levels, and we look forward to deepening our community partnerships, growing our financial aid resources, and continuing to invest in the spaces that make NVS so special.
As always, what lies ahead is shaped by the values that guide us: community, kindness, resilience, and curiosity. With your continued support, we move into the future with confidence, imagination, and a strong sense of purpose.
