Primerly field report

Gardner School of Arts & Sciences

a private school in Vancouver

PK–6 · Private · Progressive

16413 NE 50th Ave, Vancouver · Courtney Tomlinson (Head of School)

Founded in 1995 and inspired by Harvard professor Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, the school honors multiple ways of learning and "being smart", rather than labeling children with a single strength. The curriculum integrates homeroom instruction in math, language arts, and social studies with five specialist disciplines (science, music, art, Spanish, and physical education) all woven together through year-long thematic units that spiral across grade levels and classrooms. Students learn experientially: they plant and monitor learning gardens, conduct hands-on science experiments outdoors, take walking field trips, and collaborate on end-of-unit presentations for family audiences.

Preschool emphasizes play-based learning, while elementary students (organized in multi-age classrooms) get at least 65 minutes of daily recess plus abundant outdoor learning time in all weather. Upper grades take field trips: a Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership stewardship/canoe trip for Klickitat (5th/6th), a Reading Buddy trip pairing Wy'East (3rd/4th) with Kalama (Kindergarten) at the Oregon Zoo, a Bonneville Dam trip for Loowit (2nd), and an on-campus overnight sleepover in the Great Room for 2nd graders. Small class sizes allow teachers to differentiate instruction. Families appreciate the joyful, inclusive atmosphere where all teachers know all students, and graduates leave as confident, curious, compassionate global citizens prepared for a range of middle school environments.

Tuition: $22,250 (2026-2027)

Address: 16413 NE 50th Ave, Vancouver WA 98686. Phone: 360-574-5752. Website: gardnerschool.org.

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PPS rightsizing · a proposal, not a decision

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The basics

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Your odds in the lottery

Seats here aren’t first-come; they’re drawn by lottery. Each circle below is a tenth of the families who applied over the last two springs and stayed in the running (didn’t take a higher-ranked school). Filled circles got a yes.

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Official PPS lottery results, 2025-26 & 2026-27 combined: offers made ÷ families still in the running (offered + waitlisted); applications cancelled for a higher-ranked school excluded. pps.net › prior transfer data. Slots reset every year.
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