Our Story

Our History

In the more than 30 years since our founding, we have helped thousands of students become confident, intellectually curious young people forging their own paths. Our high caliber, professional teaching staff is dedicated to crafting education for our students and building a highly engaged community of learners.

Our Mission:

We provide a collaborative, accessible learning environment that uniquely engages each student, embraces their potential, and prepares them for their future.

Our Vision:

Provide every child with the tools and encouragement to pursue their own personal journey, wherever it may lead. Each child can achieve their unique destiny, whatever it may be.

"It is my pleasure to welcome you to the dynamic learning community of Yellow Wood Academy. I encourage you to explore our website to learn more about our unique approach to personalized education.

Since its inception,Yellow Wood Academy has been dedicated to providing students with individualized education that encourages them to achieve their imagined futures. We do not prescribe trajectories for our students, but rather work with them as guides, to chart their own path. We recognize that everyone has unique goals and must find their own way to achieving them, and we see our job as supporting students in that journey.

Yellow Wood Academy strives not just to fulfill the promise of personally crafted education, but also to create a community of learners and foster social interaction. We know that part of any school experience is being social; students want friends and acquaintances with whom they can interact and collaborate. For that reason we have continued to intentionally build social opportunities into our program, including field trips, student-led clubs, group classes, and a robust selection of electives that provide students with opportunities to connect.

As a teacher, and now as the executive director, I continue to be inspired, witnessing firsthand how the relationships that students develop with our teachers can bolster their self-confidence and empower them to pursue their hopes and ambitions; how our program can elicit the latent love of learning that has been lost along the way, or how we can spark interest through curriculum that engages each student individually.   

Since I began my teaching career in the Seattle Public Schools in 1999, I have been a passionate advocate for the power of individualized education, and I am grateful to lead an organization that so effectively embodies that mission. We take pride in the work that our outstanding faculty does with YWA students everyday, and we would love to have you come visit the school to see it firsthand.

I am pleased you are considering our school and I look forward to meeting you.”