Puget Sound Community School

Specialties

Turning passion into achievement.

History

Established in 1994.

PSCS was founded by Andy Smallman and Melinda Shaw on the belief that young people thrive when they’re supported in pursuing their strengths and following their intrinsic motivation to learn.

Andy studied human development at The Evergreen State College and Pacific Oaks College and set out to build a new kind of school based on the most compelling research in the social sciences. In 2003, PSCS moved into the University Heights building in Seattle and became a state-​approved independent school. To accommodate an ever-​increasing need for more space, the school moved into its current location in the fall of 2008. PSCS gained recognition in 2009 with the publication of Daniel H. Pink’s best-​selling book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. vPink, a former White House speechwriter in the Clinton administration, wrote,

«PSCS gives its students a radical dose of autonomy, turning the ‘one size fits all’ approach of conventional schools on it’s head.»