Editor,

I was surprised to see that Calyx Community Arts School was left out of your article last week on Whidbey’s private schools.  I’m not sure if the community is aware of how much Calyx has grown over the last few years and the value that this small private school brings to the island.  It is an alternative that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Calyx’s classroom is the 347-acre South Whidbey State Park where kids get to serve as stewards of the park. Stewardship is a core element of Calyx’s progressive, multidisciplinary arts and nature integrated curriculum.  It includes all the basics kids get in a regular classroom…applied science, math, literacy, history and social studies done through hands-on research and documentation of the Park, its trails, its inhabitants and its history.  What better way to learn but through nature and being outside.

Because Calyx offers scholarships, it is able to attract a diverse group of kids from 5-10 years old.  This year, there are 16 children enrolled and it reaches many more through its summer camps and nature programs. It’s not too late to consider Calyx for this year….they still have room in this wonderful experiential school.

Sincerely,

LINDA TALLEY

Calyx supporter and Greenbank resident