ABOUT
Founded in 2017, The Middle Way School of the Hudson Valley is one of the first Buddhist preparatory schools for children in the West. Our mission is to empower students to take their places in the modern world. Our pedagogy and school culture draw upon foundational Buddhist teachings and traditions as well as the latest research in child development, neuroscience, and technology. MWS offers an exceptional education, creating conditions for wisdom and compassion to flourish.
ACADEMICS
We view education as a natural learning process that engages children’s innate potential and provides a way to understand the phenomenal world with grace and humor. Our students play, contemplate, engage with text and numbers, and are encouraged to use inquiry as the foundation for academic achievement. Our developmental approach to teaching and learning is highly personalized so that each student is experiences a balance of challenge and accomplishment. The aim is to tap into students’ intrinsic joy of learning while supporting their social, emotional and spiritual growth.
ADMISSIONS
The Middle Way School thrives on the principle of inclusion. We actively seek to build a community that is rich with diverse cultures, races, talents, interests, learning profiles, and economic and ethnic backgrounds. MWS is a pilot school with the support of a global community of friends and foundations who wish to see us succeed. Because of their support, we are able to offer ample financial aid to meet families needs. More than $100,000 in aid was given in 2019.
DAILY AND WEEKLY HAPPENINGS AT MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL
Changes at MWS Part 1: The growth and support of our team is of vital importance at MWS. Over the next week, we will introduce new teachers as well as the new roles we’ve co-created with returning staff, starting with Diana Jensen. Diana joined Middle Way in 2021-2022 to develop a new art program for the school. Diana’s experience, skills, and interests intersect beautifully with Middle Way’s mission, and we are thrilled to have her on faculty and as a parent to a Snow Lion. In the mornings, Diana will also be supporting the 6 and 7 year-olds in the Wild Horses class. We asked Diana to introduce herself. “What inspires me in my work as an artist and art educator is the joy of aligning hands, body and mind to sense, feel, discover, understand and express. I have taught art to children in schools for over 18 years, guided and inspired daily by the unique voices and expressions of my students. For the past 13 years, I have taught art to preschool and elementary school children at the Bank Street School for Children, where I have been immersed in a progressive school community committed to listening to, learning from, and supporting each child.
While my formal training as an art educator began at Teachers College, Columbia University, where I received a Masters in Art Education and learned an approach to teaching art grounded in an understanding of artistic development and child-led inquiry, I have been making art my whole life. I majored in art at Smith College, focusing on painting and other two dimensional media. It was at Smith that I first studied Buddhism and had a taste of meditation. For years I attended annual Theravadin retreats as a way to connect with these powerful teachings. In 2014 I joined a Soto Zen community in Brooklyn, where I met my life partner. Our daughter Oona was born in 2016.
Working at Middle Way feels like a special opportunity to bring together my passions for teaching and Buddhism. I’m thrilled to explore the intersection of art and dharma in and around nature. My daughter Oona will start Middle Way this year, and I’m honored to be a part of this special community, both as a teacher and parent.” Welcome Diana!
Happy autumnal equinox. May we find the middle way. Being in the balance doesn’t mean being ambivalent or wishy washy, it means expanding to hold a more expansive, moon’s eye view.
So grateful that the rain held off until after school today. The first thunderclap hit the moment the last student was picked up. Yay for Dondre’s soccer camp! Yay for Diana’s art on the platform. ⛈⛈⛈ it’s coming down hard now! We are 100% outside these days until Ulster County’s numbers go down.
A beautiful and sensitive book to read today, 9/11. “The Man Who Walked Between the Towers” by Mordicai Gerstein about local artist Philippe Petit. #philippepetit #twintowers #booksforkids #impermanence.
Today we welcomed nearly 80 students ages 3-10 to Middle Way for their first day of school. We dove right into reading, math, making art with Diana, playing sports with Dondre, music with Megan, outdoor ed with Dorothy, meeting (and interviewing) new friends, and much more. It was a beautiful, sane, sunny day. #joy
Why do we offer flowers? Flowers offer their beauty and scent without hesitation, spontaneously, no fees or strings attached. May our own generosity bloom as spontaneously as a flower. The act of offering is a reminder. During our orientation tea parties, families walk our Offering Path and experience the eight offerings along the way. It’s been a beautiful week. Nearly 80 students in 6 classes this year!
The Fawns are back! With teachers Gillian and Yinan. This week we are hosting orientation tea party picnics. Life is sweet.
New additions to our library. Can’t wait to dig in! #balakids
And then …Harry stopped by. Something so special happened. In the simplest of terms he helped the teachers find true and meaningful connections to the story of the Buddha, the four noble truths, simple practice techniques and finally the five wisdoms. Look at the next five images, slowly and watch your mind. What energy do you associate with these colors? We went deep and we had fun. Thank you Harry Einhorn. We love you so much.
Seeing what's happening in Afghanistan, we remember back to a time before the Taliban was in control of the country and the stunning Buddhas of Bamyan presided over the desert and the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha flourished. The Buddhas were destroyed in 2001. We honor the work that so many people have done to restore this important piece of Buddhist, Afghan, and world history. We pray for the peace and dignity of the people of Afghanistan and we invite all of you, as part of our community, to do the same.
Another day of tuning into ourselves and the space around us with the help of the marvelous Barbara Bash, who led a moving session on contemplative big brush calligraphy. In the silence and simple ritual of making marks on paper, our teachers gained insights and deepened our sense of community. Thank you Barbara! And also to Catherine @top_salt for making this such a wonderful experience. This is what teacher training can look like! We spent the rest of the afternoon sprucing up the classrooms and connecting on curriculum. Students will be stepping into something very special this fall. #barbarabash #calligraphy #bigbrush
Oh so good to be back on campus with this extradordinary bunch of dedicated and delightful educators. All the familiar faces are back for another year, plus two new amazing humans. We’ll be introducing them all in the coming weeks.
More options!!! And note the tag line. 🙂
What do you think of our new tote bag design options? Thanks Anna for the design and Tenzin Thardoe for donating the original drawing. There are a few others to choose from. @art_by_thardoe
Supporting our students means supporting our teachers. In June, we invited Responsive Classroom to lead MWS teachers in a workshop that focused on classroom management and developmentally responsive teaching. Many of these techniques were familiar but the coherent way they were presented helped frame them in a new way. Big thanks to workshop leader Deanna Ross for making the day a memorable one. @responsiveclass
We are very happy to announce that Vanessa Zuisei Goddard has joined the Middle Way School Board of Trustees. Zuisei brings decades of experience as a dharma practitioner and community member, as well as a depth of understanding of children through her work as co-founder of the Zen Kids program at Zen Mountain Monastery. She has been involved in MWS since before we opened, leading ikebana and storytelling at an early open house and participating in our Dialogues gathering. Welcome Zuisei!
Zuisei trained full-time at Zen Mountain Monastery from 1995 to 2014, fourteen of those years as a monastic. In 2018 she received dharma transmission (authorization to teach) from Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Roshi, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and Head of the Mountains and Rivers Order.
For the last ten years, Zuisei has been leading retreats and workshops on a wide range of teachings on Buddhism and meditation for children, teenagers, and adults, all with special emphasis on the power of stillness and silence to transform people's lives. While at the Monastery, Zuisei co-founded Zen Kids, a monthly program designed to introduce children ages 3-10 to the teachings of Buddhism. She also led a number of weekend family retreats at the monastery, some of which involved camping, and helped start a teen program. Zuisei’s work with children and teens is based on her firm conviction of the importance of exposing young people to teachings that can show us all how to live saner, kinder, clearer lives.
Zuisei lives in New York city, where she works as a writer and lay Zen teacher.
MWS parent Fukiko Ostensen wrote a comprehensive article about Middle Way and our pedagogy for a Japanese publication now available on Amazon: “I’m delighted that I had an opportunity to introduce MWS to a Japanese audience in this Buddhist publication, ‘Tibetan Buddhist World’ published by Hozokan in Kyoto. Our school’s effort to establish a new educational model incorporating Buddhist philosophy and a holistic approach is so unique. In the article I tried to give an overview of the school as well as how kids are thriving in the experiential learning environment infused with Buddhist wisdom and compassion. 日本語で書かれた記事なので、日本語がわかる方はぜひ読んでみて下さいね。“
https://amzn.to/3vGVt9z
You can search Amazon for Tibetan Buddhist World Tankobon Hardcover – June 10, 2021 @siddharthasintentjapan
Yes. Bagpipes. And a parade. And that was it!
As part of the knighting ceremony the Owls received a key representing their entry to the path, vowing to at least try to keep a compassionate heart for the benefit of all. Each student from the Fawns to the Owls received a blessing cord from a Tara puja conducted in India. The owls concluded by saluting the Quan Yin in each other and the Quan Yin in their own hearts. Then the bagpipes!
Putting this bit of beauty right here before posting the final series of photos, the Dragons became Guardians and the finale was the Owls were knighted as the Knights of Quan Yin, entering the path of compassion.
Finally processing the last week of school. Here the Ravens took their roles as stewards of the event, keeping aware of the well being of their classmates and offering refuge under their umbrellas. They were guided in their stewardship training by our dear friend Catherine Fordham @top_salt. The graduation ceremony was conducted by Vwneralble John Perks pictured with his partner Julia. The day was captured by MWS mom Winona Ballantine @shelterupstate
The Fawns, Snow Lions, and Wild Horses also had a key role at the ceremony. They were entrusted with the important role of filling the space with their rainbow love energy, the energy of compassion and of Green Tara. They graduated as Witnesses.
A bird’s eye view of Middle Way thanks to @shelterupstate. Does this give you a better sense of our place in the world?
We are so grateful for all the causes and conditions that brought the marvelous Laurie Ylvisaker to this world. Laurie has been a constant support to Middle Way in multiple ways. In particular she has fostered a more diverse community for the past two years by generously offering tuition assistance to students of color at Middle Way. Thank you Laurie! And Happy Birthday! We asked Laurie if she had any words to share and here’s what she said: “I began hearing about the Middle Way School in 2017, before it opened. I learned of the mission and curriculum that was being planned and was immediately drawn to the School's vision and message of wisdom and compassion: love in action. I attended the first open house filled with children and their parents who were seeking a special opportunity and a place where their young ones might truly flourish. The school had no furniture, just a vision. I knew this would become an oasis in our world. I even wished to become a child again so that I might go to the Middle Way, I knew it was a special place that integrated education, spirit and a very close relationship with the earth itself.
Since then I’ve been in awe of the joyous way that the Middle Way has grown- even down to the bright and spacious new classroom buildings. On a recent visit I saw the children at their school work both indoors and out; in classroom settings or individually pursuing their mission of discovery. Quite ideal, and all orchestrated by teachers and staff who place the mission of the schools teachings and programs first.
I’m happy to support Middle Way's equity and diversity program by sponsoring tuition assistance for students of color who wish to attend the school now and into the future.”
It’s a wrap! Today after a week of professional development and planning, the amazing Middle Way teachers and staff gathered to reflect and celebrate a year like no other. Now it’s time for a well earned summer break. So much love for these incredible humans. We are delighted to announce that all of our teachers and staff are returning for 2021-2022 with some wonderful news additions. We bid farewell to Josie who is pursuing her career in New York City but hopes to return to our beautiful community in the future. It was a tearful, joyful love fest and we feel beyond lucky. Thank you!!!
We ended the year with a prayer parade with more than 150 members of our community led by a bagpiper into Manjushri field where we circled up to sing the school song and LOKAH SAMASTA SUKHINO BHAVANTU. May all beings be happy and free. A spontaneous little rainbow seemed to appear above our heads. That’s @swannamac for the photo. More to come!
The early grades became Witnesses who care for the community by paying attention and sending rainbow colored love energy. Each received a peacock feather. They watched as the Ravens became Stewards. Stewards are responsible for helping keep boundaries safe and for attending to those inside the boundaries. They immediately went to work offering shade and water to guests and friends. The Ravens received a turkey feather. Dragons received a pheasant feather and owls received a golden key to symbolize unlocking the door to the path of compassion. Much better photos and videos are on the way!
Graduation Day at Middle Way with special guest the venerable John Perks who conducted a knighting ceremony for the Owl class. The vowed loyalty to their own hearts of compassion manifested as Quan Yin. Victory over negative emotions! KI KI SO SO!
Oh what a day! For Air day we had countless activities and caretaking. Dondre MCd the talent show, Amanda hosted the ice cream party. We welcomed Venerable John Perks to campus, who will be master of ceremonies at today’s graduation. The children performed choreography from Mark Morris Dance Troupe with June. #markmorrisdancegroup #talentshow much more to come today. 🌈🌈🌈
Yesterday was Earth Day at Middle Way! We had an afternoon filled with gardening, Pottery, mani stone painting and so much more. Here we wrote in Tibetan.
Today was the first day of Gaton week at the Middle Way School. Every day is themed around one of the five elements. Today was water. Our new friend Joan Gutierrez brought her experience and knowledge about shibori dying to the children with great effect. We dyed our school shirts and bandannas and made a piece of group art. The dye Joan used was real indigo, which required careful preparation and temperature control and a very gentle touch. Many thanks to parents who supported this creative activity. #shibori
The Ravens singing to their parents during end of year picnics. Finally gathering again feels so good.
Indoor classroom/Outdoor classroom. Five classes at Middle Way have ample indoor classrooms as well as an outdoor tented space. Caretaking is an important part of the routine at school. Here the Wild Horses make the most of both spaces.
Who is Quan Yin? Who is Tara? Who is Avalokiteshvara? They are not external gods and goddesses. They are none other than your own compassion. They naturally arise when you see a fawn curled up near your outdoor classroom. Or when a friend is sad. Or when you hear a story about someone who was treated unfairly. But you can also summon your compassion with a mantra. OM MANI PADME HUNG. The jewel in the lotus flower. Today the Dragons traced the mantra in Tibetan and listened to a recording of the mantra that plays 24/7 in Kathmandu at the Boudhanath Stupa. #quanyin #tara #ommanipadmehum
The Snow Lions invited our four person administration team to their outdoor classroom and asked thoughtful, carefully prepared questions about our jobs. At the end they asked what they could do to help us make our campus more harmonious. Today they put that intention into action, helping tend to our learning spaces and gardens. We so enjoyed talking about our jobs. Because we love our jobs 🙂
When did you notice suffering? How did you feel? What could you have done or what did you do? When children touch into a felt sense of compassion we are honing attention on this most powerful superpower. Learning how to identify it and then to summon it through memory or even mantra will encourage a life long habit of generating bodhicitta for all beings. Here the Owl class contemplated compassionate moments and painted the color of compassion as they felt it.
Today we celebrate Vesak commemorating the life of the Buddha by sharing this excellent new book, the Elephant Path: Attention Development and Training and Children and Adolescents by Michelle Bissanti M.Ed., Daniel Brown PhD, and Jae Pasari PhD. It was given to the school by our friend Harvey and instantly became essential reading.
The Owls (ages 9-10) read to the Snow Lions (ages 4-6), which gives them a sense of responsibility. The Snow Lions always look forward to spending time with their older schoolmates. Finding them engrossed in their stories sitting on logs in the fragrant woods...it’s pretty heartwarming. #readingbuddies #outdoorclassroom
Drumming with Amadou! The perfect blend of three domains: the arts, humanities, and embodiment. Friday enrichment classes are reaching new heights. #africandrumming
Thank You, Percival - written and illustrated by the excellent Sally Devorsine is lighting up our bookshelf with its wisdom and magic, and a little bit of poop too. “Percival is a puppy who, because it doesn’t know any better, poops on your pillow. Your mind is like that too. This book teaches children how to lovingly train them both. What happens if you don't take the time to train your new puppy?” The book is based on a story told by Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche to the children at a teaching event in France. We wish everyone could know this. Five stars from us!✨ #simonandschuster @sallydevorsine #buddhistbooksforchildren
Addie introduced harmony to the Dragons through quilting and jazz, thinking about harmony as many different pieces or parts coming together to make one whole. They listened to Duke Ellington’s "Take the A Train" and named the instruments they could hear. Watching a video of his band performing the song, they discovered there were even more instruments than they thought. One Dragon said, "Wow, all of those instruments came together to make one song, and they are all so different." Another Dragon connected it their recent simple machine study and said "machines are harmonious or have harmony because there are so many moving parts and they all have to do their job or it won't work."
Another chimed in "Just like our classroom. If someone is sad, we all get affected. Oh! Like cause and affect. Like the machine would break or not work if one decided to stop doing work."
In math, it was quilts and geometry.
They read The Greedy Triangle and walked the campus to find shapes in nature.
They learned new vocabulary words like parallel, quadrilateral, symmetrical, area.
They explored symmetry by making some symmetrical block buildings and completing drawings that were only half finished.
Using pattern blocks they found the area of different shapes using a triangle to represent 1 unit. They teamed up with the Owls to look at the Churn Dash style quilts and explore the shapes in these quilts and make their own. This week they will work with Hannah on their sewing skills. #buddhisteducationforchildren #quilting #dukeellington
An abundance of precious new books on our mantelpiece. We will show you some of the insides but here are the covers for now.
Oh what a delight to listen to Gillian and Josie singing in Harmony to the Snow Lions and Fawns on a sunny Thursday morning. #harmony #circlegame #jonimitchell #ukulele
Kuan Yin by Maya van der Meer and Wen Hsu tells the tale of the power of love and the true meaning of compassion with beautiful illustrations and attention to detail. The book helped us begin the Harmony unit. We look forward to Maya returning on Friday to read to the rest of the students. Small groups joined Maya in our Buddha Hall for storytelling and some engaging games that are available for download on the Bala Kids website. Even the endpapers are beautiful. @maya.vandermeer #kuanyin #quanyin @balakidsbooks #buddhistbooksforchildren
To introduce the Harmony unit, MWS requested a teaching from Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche on the how a Buddhist might approach the topic. He gave a thoughtful and sometimes surprising talk that is now available on the Middle Way Education website. Harmony is not typically a buddhist subject, it’s more rooted in the Confucian tradition but Rinpoche found links to the dharma, in particular how we should be swayed neither by individualism or nor group loyalty and to find a middle way when seeking harmony. Enjoy the talk and thank you @khyentse ! #dzongsarkhyentserinpoche #buddhisteducationforchildren @middlewayedu photo by @yoshiko.crow
Today we started the Harmony unit, the final unit of the year. When students learn to identify the causes of harmony and disharmony, they are on the path to becoming peacemakers within themselves and for the people and environment around them. There is rich learning potential in exploring how people can be individuals with different wishes, needs, tastes, and strengths, and still be in harmony together. In fact differences build stronger communities. Internally, we learn that happiness and material gain are not the goal, rather learning how to surf the highs and lows without getting too caught up. Not trying to win the game for yourself but winning it for everyone. We learn to work with our own minds and emotions first, then watch how natural the outside world falls into the groove.
Harmony has proven to be a very fun and fruitful unit to experiment with in the past. We talked about wabi sabi, how things don’t have to be perfect, just harmonious. Last year the unit coincided with our study of Japanese culture and art. The students also studied ants and bees. We made samurai hats, dumplings, wabi sabi art, we listened to Japanese stories and made a big beautiful mess to produce the most gorgeous shibori tapestries. In music we did rounds. Aikido or other martial arts are a perfect complement to this unit. In social studies we explore how people are different but can still work together, the differences make life richer, like a song in harmony. This is a wonderful time to reinforce the Four Immeasurables, joy, equanimity, love, and compassion, which are antidotes to disharmony.
Older students can examine power structures and leadership, the art of war, the importance of dignity and grace, strength and sacrifice. They adjust their aspirations to become resilient rather than constantly striving. They can also learn about non-duality from a Buddhist perspective.
Hello Maya in the window! How lucky were we to the be the first to host @maya.vandermeer reading her stunning new book about Kwan Yin (aka Quan Yin). The children were enthralled by the story and artwork. More photos to come. #quanyin #kwanyin #balakids #mayavandermeer
It was a lovely day for a tea party. Students are learning some etiquette and hospitality while enjoying each other’s company. They designed their placemats and set their own tables.
Our family community surrounds Middle Way with care. There is the visible—cakes, bouquets, sweet notes, furniture, groundskeeping, wall painting, graphic design, tent construction, platform building, gardening, showing up again and again (and on time!)—and then there is the invisible circle of trust and love that has kept us open in person all year. ❤️ #chooselove
The Dragons (ages 7-8) are building a garden. It requires teamwork, math skills, a good eye, physical coordination, and an appreciation of the interconnection of nature. All Five Domains of Learning. See our website for more about the domains and how they provide shape our curriculum.
Interested?
Interested in enrolling? Want to learn more? Fill out this simple contact form (link below) and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Middle Way School holds regular open houses. We also can arrange individual tours. This form will automatically sign you up for important notifications regarded enrollment.
Thanks for your interest in Middle the Way School!
ORIGINS
All major religions of the world have systems of educating children in their traditions, beliefs, rituals, and values. There are maktab and madrasas for Muslims, Catholic schools, Jewish day schools, Sunday schools, Catechism classes, all kinds of afterschool programs, camps, and specialized schools meant to teach children to become the stewards of their respective religious traditions. Buddhist education for children has, for the most part, been offered to monastic communities with grassroots initiatives few and far between. Because Buddhism is not culture bound, there are few broadly accepted holidays, festivals and customs to introduce to children. Often, the transference of the Buddhist view happens in the home. Some Buddhist parents have independently created programs for children, but there is no generally accepted content or method for teaching the dharma to children.
To bridge this gap, a team of educators and active Buddhists, inspired by the vision of Bhutanese Buddhist master Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, began exploring the possibility of creating such a model of education. It became clear that the model had to be developed in situ, in an actual school. Middle Way Education was established to spearhead this effort.
In 2017 after exploring options in Bali, Indonesia, India, and Taiwan, it was decided that the Middle Way pilot school should be located in Upstate New York. The Middle Way School opened in 2018 with 17 students in West Saugerties. In 2020 we enrolled 55 students in 6 classes.
The Hudson Valley is an ideal location for our pilot school. The welcoming and independent mindset in this area, along with supportive communities like Zen Mountain Monastery, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, Omega Institute, and other centers of study and practice, makes this a fertile ground for a new model of education to come into being.
We hire and enroll without discriminating against any identifying factor which may include race, age, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic background. We will make accessibility accommodations for individuals with disabilities to the fullest extent possible. As an institution and as individuals we recognize that we have the responsibility to actively change the power differences that perpetuate biases against historically underrepresented groups. Our inclusion efforts are a dynamic process. We welcome your experience and invite your input on how our school community can continue to evolve.
