What we Wanted for Middle School:

My daughter looked up to older kids since she was born, having an older brother, but it was more than that. I noticed she would defer to her older friends with what they should play and do and would even ask them if SHE was hungry. I knew we couldn’t let that continue. The first thing I did was have her be the oldest in her public school class (not test in to Kindergarten because she has a September birthday) and the second thing I did was switch her to the Portland Forest School for middle school (6th, 7th and 8th grade).

I wanted her to gain the self assurance, confidence, strength and resiliency that comes with being outside in all weather, connecting to our natural world and learning survival skills that reminds her she can preserver on her own. That innate knowing- you can be ok in uncomfortable circumstances, you can take care of yourself if needed- is what I want her to be equipped with in life and also what I want her to have walking in to a public high school, in a big city.

My daughter has become herself at Forest School and has been able to connect to the land around our home in Portland, OR like she connects to our ancestral land in the area where our tribe is from in California. This connection has brought her closer to and more appreciative of who she is as an Indigenous women and I deeply appreciate that we have access to all weather outdoor education here in Portland.

- Mom of now high schooler in Portland Public (all pics below are of her at Forest School)