Every school has an implicit curriculum, a term coined by John Goodlad in his book, A Place Called School, which describes the implicit messages sent by every interaction, relationship, and structure in a school. The River School focuses on the implicit curriculum and attempts to align these aspects of the school's culture to the vision and mission of our school so that we "walk our talk". Our Implicit Curriculum was developed thirty-three years ago in Hawaii by Sr. Joan Madden in collaboration with Dr. Raymond Corsini, an Adlerian psychologist, and was brought to the River School by its director, Linda Inlay, who was an assistant principal under Sr. Joan. The program is now called the Ho`ala Educational Philosophy.
Ho`ala School that Linda Inlay and Sr. Joan Madden established in 1986 and the River School are collaborating to develop a teacher training program with the help of a planning grant from the Shinnyo-en Foundation (www.sef.org). River School is also partnering with Humboldt State University's teacher preparation program. Our immediate goal is to establish a BTSA program to support new teachers in clearing their credentials.
More information will be forthcoming later this school year. If you are interested in learning more about the River School, please email Linda Inlay, linlay@nvusd.k12.ca.us.