The Seed has entered its 50th year. We’ve grown from a group of 9 toddlers and preschoolers, with 2 teachers, holding classes in our family home and garage, to a 4.3 acre property with 9 classrooms, a multipurpose room, and a huge playground. We’ve had up to 156 students and over 30 staff in years past. The Seed navigated the pandemic successfully, and has gained international recognition. Throughout the Seed’s history, we’ve partnered with ASU, NAU, and several of the local community colleges to support teacher training. Although we’ve grown and changed immensely since our beginning in 1977, Awakening Seed has remained true to its original vision of being a place where children and families of all walks of life can come together and be celebrated. We’ve also maintained our commitment to practicing planetary stewardship through gardening, composting, and recycling.
Throughout the last 50 years, the Seed has had seasons of abundance and seasons of opportunities for growth. As we focus on celebrating the 50th year milestone, we approach the year collectively working together to seamlessly provide the school community with creativity, flexibility, and teamwork. It has always been a tradition to reuse, reduce and recycle, being mindful of the resources we incorporate into our curriculum. This year we are focusing on using a lot of recycled materials for art projects at all levels.
This year, our vision is to be precise in the expression of our core values. Focusing on communication of what those core values look like in the classrooms is a priority. Our 50th year is a time to celebrate and communicate all the wonderful work going on here by teachers and students. The Seed is a living organism and, as with everything else in life, always in a state of change. We take pride in the school learning environment, small teacher to student ratios, and the emergent curriculum that allows the students to take a personal interest in the learning topics. We teach and learn to stretch our minds and think outside the box.
Leaning into the Seed’s shared values will sustain and guide us through our 50th year and beyond, as we remember that the Seed is more than a school. It’s a community committed to making a difference in current lives and those of future inhabitants of Planet Earth. We feel immense gratitude for each family who is here this year as we celebrate the last 50 years, while holding a light for new arrivals who will thrive and sustain the next 50.
(artwork by Danielle Dueppen)