Primerly field report

Premier NW Kids Forest School

a public alternative program in Vancouver

PK–5 · Alternative · Progressive · Micro School

Pacific Community Park, 1515 NE 164th Ave, Vancouver · Not listed

PNWK Forest School is an all-weather, 100% outdoor education program serving children ages 2.5 to 10 across Snohomish and Clark counties, with Clark County classes meeting at public parks in the Vancouver and Camas area (currently sessions at Pacific Community Park in East Vancouver). The model is child-led and play-based, drawing on Forest School pedagogy along with Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio-Emilia philosophies. The curriculum is place-based and seasonal, weaving local natural and cultural history into language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Each class day follows a consistent rhythm: a Welcome Circle with stories, songs, stretches, and ASL; Exploration and Discovery, where teachers guide open-ended play with emergent curriculum and tools such as magnifying glasses and mud kitchen supplies; Story and Snack Time, with snacks open throughout class on an intuitive-eating model; seasonal Guided Activities in science, art, math, and literacy; and a Goodbye Circle to reflect and share.

Classes are grouped by overlapping age bands rather than grade: Sprouts 2.5 to 6, Saplings 4 to 7, Jr. Explorers 5 to 10. Mixed-age grouping is intentional, so older children practice leadership while younger ones learn through peer modeling. School year classes run September through June in a single 3.5 hour session per day, either 9:00 to 12:30 or 1:30 to 4:30, with 2 to 3 days per week encouraged. Family Classes for ages 1.5 to 5 with a caregiver and school break camps run alongside.

Tuition: See 2026-2027 tuition tables

Address: Pacific Community Park, 1515 NE 164th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98684. Phone: (425) 242-3099. Website: premiernwkids.com/forest-school.

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PPS rightsizing · a proposal, not a decision

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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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