Mission & Vision

"In today’s competitive global ‘knowledge economy,’ all students need new skills for college, careers, and citizenship. The failure to give all students these new skills leaves today’s youth-and our country-at an alarming competitive disadvantage. Schools haven’t changed; the world has. And so our schools are not failing. Rather, they are obsolete"

--Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap

Mission:

To develop engaged, skilled leaders and innovators who can tackle the profound challenges and realize the extraordinary opportunities that emerge in the 21st century. 

Vision:

As Harvard University’s Tony Wagner and other leading minds in education suggest, it’s no longer about what you know, it is about what you can do with what you know. If we intend to prepare a new generation of young learners to succeed in the rapidly evolving 21st Century world, we must adjust our educational approach to make it current and relevant. Content and memorization yield to real world skills and critical thinking. Prescribed approaches are replaced by fluid thinking and applied problem solving. Students are empowered to be truly active learners who engage the world’s challenges with innovation and creativity.

At the center of its mission, the Ocean School strives to grow a generation of young leaders, capable of engaging the broader community in the kind of innovation and leveraged action that will be essential as we face a tumultuous future. In order to fulfill that mission, the school will form a robust network of partnerships with environmental non-profits, local businesses, universities, schools of education, and local school districts. In employing such a deeply integrated approach where Silicon Beach meets the Ballona Wetlands and the Santa Monica Bay beyond, the Ocean School will become a nexus of progressive education, leading edge technology, and environmental restoration.