Last Friday our class visited PSII. PSII stands for Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. PSII is very different compared to public schools because the students learn through inquiry pathways that act as the umbrella for projects and other learning activities.

Personalized learning paths are created through the teachers and students. Currently at PSII there are 95 students, and 7 teachers. The students who have chosen to go to PSII often feel like they fit into regular high or school, or struggled, or didn’t feel challenged enough. Their parents most likely noticed this as well. The 7 teachers who work at PSII all have different specialties and collaborate together to give the students the best opportunity to learn and grow. Having only 95 students at the school allows for teachers to develop unique relationships with their students that in turn will benefit the students immensely. From the students I spoke to directly, I got the sense they enjoyed the freedom and independence of inquiry-based learning. Having freedom and independence for students when learning is so beneficial because it allows students to be in the drivers seat, but at the same time it puts the responsibility on the students to critically think for themselves.