Puget Sound Community School

Puget Sound Community School (known within the school community as PSCS) is a very small private middle and high school located in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1994 by educator Andrew Smallman and his wife Melinda Shaw, and has no religious affiliation.

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PSCS belongs to the tradition of schools known commonly as "free schools" or "progressive education." A common feature of this style of school is that the students are actively involved as partners or collaborators with the teachers, instead of being passive vessels waiting to be filled with information. PSCS students are given "special privelages" as compared to other students. An example of this are the offsite hours that are given to each student. Offsite hours are used for taking snow days, if a student is sick or if they would like to go to an outside establishment for lunch.

The basis of the PSCS educational program is to help its students learn to use their minds well while becoming thoughtful, sincere, and respectful global citizens. It begins through the ongoing maintenance of a safe, nurturing, and respectful educational environment. The students are also a very active part in the making of their own schedules. The school goes through a process which usually lasts for two days that has been dubbed the "Scheduling Circus" by community members.

To maintain this environment necessitates the students being present at school. PSCS students are required to be involved in school activities for a minimum of 1000 hours each year. Dubbed “community hours,” these are accrued through student presence on campus and through participation in school-approved independent study activities. Independent study time is used if a student would like to pursue a passion of theirs outside of school while still engaging the other students and staff members through some form of presentation. All hours are tallied through the use of a computerized "check-in" system that was created by a group of students under the guidance of a teaching staff member in February of 2014.

Each PSCS student is assigned an advisor who acts as her/his personal coach and guide. As well as helping students track their community hours, advisors help students align their interests and affinities to their goals, and then match these to the school’s open structure. Where mainstream educational models promote one-size-fits-all memorization and conformity, the multi-approach educational structure of PSCS fosters creativity, flexibility, and a genuine diversity that stems ultimately from the uniqueness of all human beings.

In order to graduate, a student must be at least 16 years old, have been enrolled at PSCS for at least three full years, and complete requirements specific to her/his final year. These include but are not limited to completing a graduation project and presenting a personal statement of belief to the community.

Bestselling author "Daniel H. Pink" referenced PSCS in his book "Drive," released in December 2009. Pink writes, "This tiny independent school in Seattle, Washington, gives its students a radical dose of autonomy, turning the 'one size fits all' approach of conventional schools on its head. Each student has an adviser who acts as her personal coach, helping her come up with her own learning goals. 'School' consists of a mixture of class time and self-created independent study projects, along with community service devised by the students. Since youngsters are often away from campus, they gain a clear sense that their learning has a real-world purpose. And rather than chase after grades, they receive frequent, informal feedback from advisers, teachers, and peers. For more information, go to "www.pscs.org"."