But it can also be described a verb; an action word. Hope without action is reduced to wishful thinking, but hope with action becomes purposeful and transformative. HOPE as an acronym stands for HEALTH - OPPORTUNITY - PRIVILEGE - EDUCATION.

"Health" includes several domains, and is a necessary element in the positive growth and development of kids. Physical health, mental health, social health etc... all very important and worthy of focus. We strive to promote health in every domain for kids.

"Opportunity" is that which can be provided by self and others. We strive to create opportunities for kids, and to support their efforts to create opportunities for themselves.

"Privilege" is perhaps that which cannot be engineered as easily as opportunity, but we can compensate for lack of privilege by ensuring an equitable and fair environment for all kids.

"Education" is the learning domain, and in schools, it's all about learning. We strive to foster positive and purposeful learning environments for every member of our school community.

We take direct action to promote growth in the four domains above; hopeful action. In doing so we are able to move beyond what we want for each child's future and figure out how to actually get there. The learning we strive toward is framed in four contexts that represent the UNESCO Learning Pillars: Learning to KNOW - DO - BE - LIVE PEACEFULLY WITH EACH OTHER. below you will see how each of these contexts fits on a medicine wheel model referred to as the 'HOPE Wheel.'

The Joseph Welsh Sacred Tree represents 4 directions, each symbolized with an important word. These words teach us how to show respect for...

Self

Respect is the place on the Hope Wheel where young people gaze with wonderment at the world surrounding them and begin to simply realize they are part of this world; they are learning to be. They begin to feel an implicit purpose to learn. They need answers to the question, “why?” When we walk the path of discovery with students, we support finding the answers they seek; we establish value in learning… we help them define purpose. A template for interaction between themselves and others is established on the path of respect. Interacting with ideas and concepts in the domain of respect leads to the establishment of self identity, and orients kids toward the evolution from dependence to independence.

Learning

The domain of understanding is where kids learn to know. Skill acquisition, new knowledge and rationale for life-long learning are established within this domain. Students at this stage begin developing an independent nature as they take risks with learning and start to develop intrinsic motivation to discover. In the domain of understanding students sharpen their focus on the surrounding world; they look more critically at themselves and others in their quest to gain knowledge and make sense of things.

Others

When students move to the relationships phase of the wheel, they begin to understand the value of interdependence among people; they learn to live with each other. Kids who function competently at this stage seek extrinsic sources of support in their developing relationships, and they begin to understand that interdependence is about distributing strengths among a network of collaborative people working together to learn. In the domain of relationships students become more resilient by seeking the support of significant others. They learn how to think deeper and critically about ideas, and they establish self-imposed boundaries.

World

Students who have traveled full-circle on the Hope Wheel enter the domain of responsibility where they learn to do. They display an implicit understanding of the imperative to serve self first so they can responsibly serve others. They understand what taking action means. They become caregivers for those traveling the hope paths behind them. In the domain of responsibility students display intrinsic knowledge and insight as a result of their experience, and they begin to feel confident enough as leaders to engage others; to support and nurture them.