Our Fundraising Mission

At The Lupine School, our model has been providing a warm and welcoming learning environment focused on social-emotional learning in nature, while also immersing our preschool students in literacy and numeracy. Inclusiveness is one of our most important values.  Our Reggio Emilia inspired program works well for neurodiverse learners, in particular.  It is a model centered on social-emotional learning, including cultivating compassion, critical thinking, and creativity.  Children spend ample time outside: interacting with farm animals, exploring nature, and noticing what is happening all around them.  Learning opportunities and projects spring from these interests, and children are encouraged to learn about their interests and explore big questions.  
 

The Lupine School has operated as a preschool since 2018 and added a kindergarten program starting the 2023-2024 school year at the request of existing families and interest from the community. Each year, the school remains full, and we unfortunately have to turn families away. Each year, we receive requests to expand the school beyond kindergarten. 
 

In 2023, we created the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Lupine Community School in hopes of expanding our school through the elementary grades as a private school that will be accessible for all members of our community. After renting since our inception, we have purchased a 7 acre parcel of absolutely beautiful farmland!  We envision light filled classrooms, outdoor pollinator and food gardens, and a place where children can learn happily. This school will be a welcome addition to the community, as we do not currently have any other Reggio, nature based elementary schools in the area.  Additionally, we plan to partner with local universities to offer internships and

pilot research into our methods with the long-term goal of partnering with public schools and making the model accessible to all learners. 
 

As the Triangle area grows, The Lupine Community School will also seek to preserve the rural character of Chatham and Orange county’s roots-offering children ample opportunities to garden and grow food, interact with and care for animals, and explore their natural surroundings.  Part of our place based model of education encourages students to learn more about their local community and how to be good stewards of the land and all that nature gives us. 
 

The environment at The Lupine Community School creates a safe space for children to ask big questions and pursue the answers! We encourage creativity, wonder, self-reflection, and cultivating compassion. Much like the title character Mrs. Rumphius who inspired the school’s name, we prepare our students to do something to make the world a better place.   
 

For the past few years, the Faculty and Staff have been working together to manage the demands of a growing student population within the limited footprint of the existing campus. This strong demand has led to the creation of The Lupine Community School and its Board embarking on a thoughtful strategic planning process that has culminated in a purchase of land and a facilities design that includes key components to meet existing and future needs for growth.