An education that brings together academic depth, emotional intelligence, and a deep respect for childhood.
Vida is a small, intentional school community built on the belief that how children feel while learning matters just as much as what they learn.
Learning here is both rigorous and responsive. We meet children where they are and challenge them thoughtfully, supporting academic growth while honoring curiosity, creativity, and confidence.
Social-emotional learning is woven into everything we do because we know that children who feel safe, understood, and capable are better able to take risks, think deeply, and grow.
If this resonates with your family, we would love to meet you.
With appreciation,
Randi
Vida School is dedicated to educating the whole child through academic rigor, social-emotional development, and a deep respect for childhood.
We cultivate critical thinking, creativity, and meaningful engagement through inquiry-based learning, strong relationships, and a connected community.
In an age where information is instantly accessible and artificial intelligence continues to reshape the future, we believe education must go beyond memorization and standardized performance. The next generation of changemakers will be defined not simply by what they know, but by their ability to think critically, communicate clearly, solve complex problems, and engage thoughtfully with the world around them. Quite simply, their humanity will matter more than their test scores.
Our students grow into confident, capable, and empathetic individuals who are prepared not only for academic success but also for meaningful participation in an ever-evolving world.
Vida is a close-knit learning community where each child’s experience is intentionally shaped around who they are.
Students are challenged academically in ways that meet their individual level, whether they are advancing beyond grade expectations or building foundational skills. Learning is responsive, thoughtful, and grounded in each child’s unique pace and development.
Our approach integrates strong academics with social-emotional learning and hands-on, engaging experiences. Children are encouraged to think critically, explore creatively, and build confidence through meaningful work.
Set within an outdoor, nature-rich campus, learning extends beyond the classroom. Fresh air, movement, and natural exploration are woven into the daily rhythm, supporting focus, curiosity, and connection.
Whole-Child Education and Social Emotional Learning
Personalized Academic Rigor
Nature as Teacher
Small, Connected Community
Vida School was founded by educators who are deeply experienced, highly trained, and devoted to the craft of teaching.
Long before Vida existed, Michelle, Randi, and Leslie had each spent decades in the field of education: in classrooms, in leadership roles, and in ongoing study and practice. They held advanced degrees, but more importantly, they held a lived understanding of children, how they learn, how they grow, and what they truly need to thrive.
That foundation is what sets Vida apart.
In 2020, the world changed.
When the pandemic hit, the education system—as families and educators had known it—collapsed almost overnight. Classrooms closed. Routines disappeared. Children were suddenly cut off from the places and people that had grounded them.
In the uncertainty, parents scrambled for solutions.
Michelle did what many families did in those early months: she gathered her own children alongside neighbors and close friends, forming a small home pod of nine kids. At first, it was simply about survival—keeping children safe, learning, and connected.
But something unexpected happened.
When the focus shifted from systems to individual children—when learning became hands-on, relational, and responsive—when “school” was experienced as something joyful rather than something to endure—children didn’t just keep up. They thrived.
Michelle could feel it. This wasn’t a temporary workaround. This was a glimpse of something deeper—something truer.
She picked up the phone and called Randi, a trusted colleague from their previous school:“I think we’re onto something here,” she said. “Do you want to start a school?”
For Randi, it was as if a door she had been standing in front of for years finally swung open. Within twenty-four hours, those long-held visions became a written philosophy. Invitations went out for a Zoom information session to families they knew and loved.
The response was immediate.
At the same time, Leslie—another deeply respected colleague—said yes. Her presence completed the picture. The leadership team was whole.
In September 2021, Vida School officially opened its doors as a private school. What began as a home pod became a community of thirty-five students, their trusting families, and five courageous, dedicated progressive educators willing to take a leap—and to reimagine what learning could be.
There was just one challenge: the pandemic was still very much present. State mandates required masked indoor classrooms, and the team could feel that this wasn’t what children needed after a year of isolation.
So Vida made a bold decision: they would spend the year outdoors.
What followed became one of the most joyful years of education the team had ever witnessed.
Under open skies, Vida focused on something essential: healing. Children were gently supported as they relearned how to be together. Anxiety softened. Confidence returned. Teachers met each child exactly where they were—some having surged ahead during homeschooling, others needing careful academic rebuilding.
The fresh air, sunlight, and freedom had a profound effect. Children’s mental health improved. Academic growth accelerated. School became a place of safety and delight again.
During this time, Vida brought on Dr. Stephanie Greenquist-Marlett to lead the development of Vida Values—a first-of-its-kind, deeply integrated Social Emotional Learning framework. These values were not born from theory alone, but from a lived understanding of what children truly needed: to be seen, supported, and held with care.
Word spread quickly.
By 2022, Vida had grown from thirty-five to seventy-five students. By 2023, the community had outgrown its campus and moved to its current home at the historic Cornell Schoolhouse—a setting worthy of the vision unfolding within it.
Today, Vida School serves students from Transitional Kindergarten through sixth grade, and is now expanding into Middle School—continuing to grow with intention, integrity, and deep respect for each stage of childhood and adolescence.
Every day, Vida stands as proof of what becomes possible when experienced educators trust their deepest knowing about children – when learning is rooted in relationship, joy, and respect for who each child is becoming.
Vida is built around a simple truth: Children learn best when they feel safe, known, and emotionally grounded.
Our role is not to shape children into a predefined outcome, but to support them in becoming confident, thoughtful, and grounded individuals who are connected to themselves, to others, and to the world around them.
Our approach translates these beliefs into daily experience.
Learning at Vida is intentionally designed to support the whole child, integrating academic depth, emotional intelligence, and meaningful engagement with the world.
Three core elements shape this work:
We educate the whole child intellectually, emotionally, and socially because these aspects of development are inseparable.
Academic learning is rigorous and intentional, but it is never isolated from the conditions that support it. Confidence, belonging, and self-awareness are treated as essential foundations for deep understanding.
Students are met where they are and supported in moving forward with clarity and purpose. They are challenged thoughtfully, in ways that stretch their thinking without disconnecting them from their sense of capability.
Mastery is valued over speed. Process matters as much as product.
At Vida, social-emotional learning is a core part of the curriculum, the classroom environment and the community as a whole.
Children learn how to:
These are life skills, and they directly support academic growth.
Research consistently shows that children who feel emotionally safe and capable of regulating themselves are better able to focus, problem-solve, and engage with complex learning.
We are raising children who understand themselves and know how to move through the world with confidence, empathy, and care.
Nature is an active part of the learning environment at Vida.
Children spend meaningful time outdoors each day, moving, observing, wondering, and collaborating within a thoughtfully structured daily rhythm.
This connection to the natural world supports regulation, focus, and curiosity in ways that extend far beyond the classroom.
Learning becomes sensory, embodied, and real.
Children are given space, physically, emotionally, and intellectually, to grow into themselves.
Vida is led by experienced educators. In title and in practice.
Our founders bring decades of combined experience in classrooms, school leadership, and educational design. This foundation shapes everything we do, from how learning is structured to how children are supported day to day.
Together, this team holds a shared commitment to building a school where children and the adults around them can truly thrive.
Our educators are experienced, thoughtful, and deeply committed to their work.
Each brings a unique background in education, the arts, psychology, or outdoor learning, but they share a common approach: seeing children as individuals, supporting their growth with care, and creating environments where learning feels meaningful and alive.
At Vida, educators are not only teachers. They are guides, observers, and collaborators in each child’s development.
Vida Specialists are committed to educating the whole child. Each of these educators guides our students to find new talents, see the world through new perspectives, and find creative ways to express themselves.
A team united by care, intention, and a deep respect for childhood. Together, they shape an environment where learning is meaningful, relationships are central, and each child is supported in growing with confidence and clarity.
There’s no better way to understand Vida than to experience it.
Supporting Vida’s long-term vision with care and responsibility.
Vida’s Board of Directors plays an important role in supporting the school’s growth, sustainability, and long-term vision.
Working in partnership with leadership, the Board helps guide strategic direction, ensure financial health, and uphold the values that shape the Vida community.
Their role is one of stewardship, supporting the school in evolving thoughtfully while remaining grounded in its mission.
Board members bring diverse experience across education, business, and community leadership, contributing their time and perspective in service of Vida’s continued growth.
