Values
The Land School embodies the core principles of Montessori education for adolescents, providing an environment where students thrive through purposeful work, meaningful responsibility, and deep engagement with the natural world.
Values and Principles
- Hands-on Learning: Encourage children to explore and discover connections through work with the hand and the land
- Sustainable Farming: Commit to organic farming and land stewardship
- Harmony with Nature: Strive for a sustainable balance between cultivated and wild areas
- Simplicity and Beauty: Prioritize simplicity, order, beauty, and the practice of restoring and recycling over new construction
- Sacredness of the Earth: Recognize and share the sacredness of the earth and the child's unique opportunity to experience it
- Urban-Rural Connection: Foster meaningful relationships between urban and rural life
Dual Campus Benefits
Having both an urban and a rural campus provides a unique experience for Lake Country School students and families.
Our dual-campus model aligns seamlessly with Montessori principles—particularly the emphasis on experiential, nature-based, and self-directed learning—while also appealing to modern families who prioritize environmental values, balanced screen time, mental health, and experiential learning.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge this land as ancestral and traditional Dakota, Anishinaabe, and Ho-Chunk land, ceded by the Anishinaabe in 1837 as a result of U.S. government pressure. As we continue to learn about the land, the history, the present, and the act of publicly acknowledging the land, we commit ourselves to a process of ongoing relationship building and learning. We strive to develop programs, policies, and actions to combat Indigenous erasure and honor treaties moving forward in the ways we can as a school. We welcome you to join us on this journey and look forward to continuing the conversation. Learn more about how we honor our land and its ancestral roots.
“I tell the students that this is your farm and it always will be. The Land School is for everybody at Lake Country School, and you will always have a place here.”
— Doug Alecci, Naturalist
“When you love one place, that builds your love-of-earth muscle, and then you can love the whole earth. This is one of the places that these children get to call their own, and they can love that place.”
— Andy Gaertner, Land School Guide & Garden Manager
“By far, the Land School had the biggest impact on my time at Lake Country. I was able to develop a closeness to the land and independence not often found in urban settings. I truly believe if it weren’t for my time at the Land School, I wouldn’t have the passion for nature, food, soil, and biology that I now have.
I have continued to spend time at the Land School since I graduated from Lake Country, and seeing the way students of all ages open up there and see it as their own is truly astounding. There is no substitution for the experiences gained by spending time on a farm as a child. The Land School will always be a second home to me.”
— Benjamin Tanner
LCS Class of 2014