Why Our School?
Our School Mission
The school’s mission is to provide students with a balanced education of body, feeling, will, and intellect in preparation for meeting life’s diverse challenges.
What We Teach
- Self-Discovery: Students will gain increased levels of awareness about who they are, what they love & value, and how they can contribute to their community.
- Maturity: Students will expand their awareness to relate to realities beyond their own with empathy, appreciation, and compassion.
- Balanced Development: Students will build life skills that balance the development of body, feelings, will, and intellect as a means of finding greater success and happiness.
- Personal Excellence: Students will learn to put forth their best energy and effort in school activities as a preparation for doing their best in meeting life’s challenges.
Admissions
What to Expect
- Parents / guardians meet with the School Directors, Joy Horsfall and Jaya Bottaro
- Parents / guardians submit an application online or hard copy, along with school records and any other pertinent information.
- Prospective students meet with the classroom teacher
- If in session, kindergarten students participate in a small group visit.
- If in session, older students come in for a shadow morning or day.
- School Director and faculty review applications for final decisions.
- Letters of acceptance go out on a rolling basis.
Enrollment
- Schedule a call with our School Directors:
School Directors: Joy Horsfall & Jaya Bottaro
Email: joy@livingwisdom.org - Phone: 530-478-7640
- Preschool (Applications available in-person. Call Joy: 530-478-7641)
- Kindergarten – 6th Grade
- Middle School
- Online International High School
Other Important Information
- School Start Date: Sept. 7, 2022
- Tuition Information
- Immunization Requirements: Ananda Living Wisdom School is required to follow CA law concerning student immunizations
- School COVID Safety Plan
- Ananda Living Wisdom School follows COVID-19 guidelines from the California Department of Health
Who Are We?
Our students range from ages three to eighteen and come from a diverse background of both local and international origin. Our online International High School student body currently hails from five continents! More than our small class sizes and holistic education model, the essential ingredient that makes Living Wisdom School special is consciousness.
Nestled in the heart of Ananda Village, a spiritual community based on yoga principles and founded more than fifty years ago, our approach is naturally energy-based and the result is a nurturing environment where many youth thrive. Our faculty are members of Ananda, but our school family comes from a wide range of spiritual traditions. All are welcome.
Jaya Bottaro, Co-Director
Jaya Bottaro is the new co-director of the Living Wisdom School. She is a certified Education for Life teacher who has been living at Ananda Village for almost 10 years. Originally from Buenos Aires, Jaya has a natural love for children and currently leads teacher training for EFL International, sharing the principles with aspiring educators in the Spanish speaking world.
Joy Horsfall, Co-Director
Preschool Director and Teacher
Joy lives up to her name and can be found guiding the youngest members of our campus with her namesake quality daily. Joy is certified in Education for Life, Early Childhood Development, and earned a Masters in Social Work. She keeps her classroom chalk full of creativity, play, and care. She happens to also be a fabulous baker, so watch our for her cookies and cakes at Masters Market!
Narani Morehouse, Teacher & Early Childhood Education Director
Named Teacher of the Year in Nevada County in 2020 to honor her 40th year of service, Narani is a cherished faculty member. She brings her boundless compassion, meticulous care, and treasure trove of wisdom to our whole school family. She specializes in the lower grades and has taught three generations of students to read!
Matthew Fredrickson, Teacher
Matthew is our newest faculty member, hailing from our sister Living Wisdom School in Portland, Oregon just last year. Matthew is already beloved by his students for his kindness, enthusiasm for learning, and his ability to relate to each individual student. Matthew has a BA from Ananda College in Education.
Balarama Betts, Teacher
Balarama has been bringing his enormous creativity, adventurous spirit, and keen intellect to our middle school youth for 16 years. An engineer by training, father of four grown boys, farmer and beekeeper, Balarama is simply phenomenal and loved by all.
Nitai Deranja, Director of Education for Life & LWS Online International High School
Nitai is the founder of our school and has spent his life proliferating the Education for Life (EFL) model around the world. Today Nitai directs our online International High School in addition to his global work with EFL.
Kathy Scovel-Rodrigue, International High School Coordinator
Kathy has been with our school for nearly two decades and has led our music and arts programs, classroom instruction for a range of grades, and now supports our growing high school. Kathy is an avid outdoor enthusiast and an amazing support to our diverse teens.