For 40 years, NVS has been known throughout the region and beyond as an exceptional independent elementary school, with a unique, innovative approach to curriculum that builds confidence, community-building skills and a passion for learning in its students. Students gain a desire for life-long learning, and the enthusiasm, confidence, and imagination to sustain it.

Students are encouraged to be independent thinkers: to be curious, accept challenges and take risks. They welcome the benefits of mistakes and delight in the thrill of discovery and the pride gained from meaningful work.

Local watershed councils partner with NVS to involve children in propagation and planting of native trees and shrubs. Students explore soil ecology and grow vegetables through the NVS Garden & Grounds program.

Frequent field trips expand student experiences with visits to nearby natural areas such as the state Insect Museum, a salmon hatchery, a dairy, and the Children’s Clean Water Festival. The Olders class takes an extended trip each fall, where they might visit museums, historic sites, and wilderness or metropolitan areas.

Our location in a Coast Range watershed that flows to the Pacific means the study of a rich, temperate rainforest is right out the door. Slab Creek, a habitat for salmon and other freshwater organisms, lies just beyond the soccer field. A neighboring meadow is ripe for science studies and forays into an imaginative wilderness.