Waterfall School
Okanagan - Salish Montessori
ʔaluspuʔús works to create fluent Native speakers by teaching them academic subjects while using the Native languages, as well as English.
By being immersed in the ancestral tongue, our children are giving a refreshing life-breath to the languages of the Colville Reservation.
Language immersion schools have developed as an alternative to the public school system in the knowledge that the students will have a far richer education when learning in their Native language and through a culturally rich curriculum.
We started ʔaluspuʔús in 2004 and opened our first school, skʷant sənm̓aʔm̓áyaʔtən (Waterfall School) near Omak, Washington, in 2010.
In the 2016-17 school year, we integrated the Montessori method of education, which provides a child-centered and self-directed educational experience in a carefully prepared environment.
We have two multi-age classrooms. Our Primary classroom serves children ages 3-6, and our Elementary classroom serves children ages 6-12. We will soon open the Assistants to Infancy classroom to serve children ages 0-3.
Mission & Purpose
MISSION
To revitalize the Native languages of the Colville Reservation by operating language immersion schools.
MISSION
To revitalize the Native languages of the Colville Reservation by operating language immersion schools.
PURPOSE
ʔaluspuʔús (Hearts Gathered) will preserve and promote the use of the Native languages on the Colville Reservation by creating and operating Native language immersion schools at which the Native languages will be used as the languages of instruction to produce fluent Native language speakers who are highly skilled learners and knowledgeable in both the Native languages and world academia.
