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Outdoor learning is the focus of a new elementary school near Port Orchard

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  • Roots Learning Center opens Sept. 1, offering nature-based education for grades 1–5.
  • Program limits cohort to 40 students with two teachers and two assistants.
  • Students learn in small skill-based groups with direct lessons and hands-on projects.

Teachers Leslie Ashby and Kimberly Burns believe that school should go beyond memorizing facts and taking standardized tests.

This fall, the pair, who became friends while teaching at East Port Orchard Elementary, will start something new: a learning center that seeks to help kids 6-11 years old explore the outdoors, lean into hands-on projects and learn in small groups based on skill rather than grade-level.

Roots Learning Center will open this fall at 9269 Phillips Road SE in the Port Orchard area.

“We’re here for the kids who are daydreaming in class, the ones who feel boxed in by worksheets, and the families who know that education should empower, not oppress,” their website says.

Roots Learning Center will offer a nature-based elementary school education to kids from first to fifth grade, though the school won’t actually divide kids into grade levels. Instead, students will learn in small skill-based groups and receive a blend of direct instruction in core subjects (reading, writing, math and science) with outside outdoor exploration and hands-on projects.

Roots Learning Center, a new outdoor-based school near Port Orchard, Wash., will open in fall 2026. The property also provides access to an outdoor classroom, “various green spaces for learning and play,” and a nature trail, according to co-directors Leslie Ashby and Kimberly Burns.
Roots Learning Center, a new outdoor-based school near Port Orchard, Wash., will open in fall 2026. The property also provides access to an outdoor classroom, “various green spaces for learning and play,” and a nature trail, according to co-directors Leslie Ashby and Kimberly Burns. Roots Learning Center Courtesy

The approximately two-and-a-half acre property will have access to trails and an “outdoor classroom tucked into the woods,” Burns said. The future school building used to be a house and is undergoing renovations.

A day at Roots Learning Center could look like a teacher pulling aside a group of students for a multiplication or phonics lesson, while other students work on a portfolio or project, or spend time on the trails with another teacher or teacher assistant. “There’s going to be these little groups of students doing things all throughout the day,” Burns said.

She said the school will keep the first cohort small, capping it at 40 students. Ashby and Burns will be the main teachers along with two teacher assistants.

A major focus of their model is fostering critical thinking and supporting students who may struggle in more traditional school models — an experience Burns said she can relate to.

Growing up with a learning disability, Burns said she struggled in school and had an Individualized Education Program.

This deck is part of the property that will become Roots Learning Center, a new outdoor-based school near Port Orchard, Wash. that will open in fall 2026.
This deck is part of the property that will become Roots Learning Center, a new outdoor-based school near Port Orchard, Wash. that will open in fall 2026. Roots Learning Center Courtesy

“And that was kind of where it started, that this isn’t working for me,” she said. The experience led her to seek a career in teaching.

Seeing her kids also struggle in school — a system “not built for everyone in the same way” — inspired her to seek a different model. Though she said she can’t speak for every public school, she’s found in her experience that teaching at public schools is significantly focused on preparing students for standardized tests. That boxes in what teachers can do, she said.

At Roots, she said they hope to offer a freer kind of education without compromising on academic rigor, where kids are encouraged to think critically and “really be a part of the learning process,” Burns said.

Ashby had her own motivations to start a new kind of program, Burns said about her co-founder. As a young student, Ashby found learning easy but school boring. She decided to pursue a career in teaching after discovering her passion for making learning enjoyable for other students and helping them grow their self-confidence.

“That’s kind of like where she started, and then as she got into education, she realized that it was more — despite her best efforts to do her job — she was still suppressing what was best for children,” said Burns. “So she had to, like, really analyze: ‘Am I becoming part of the system and part of the problem?’”

Children tromp through the woods on the property that will become Roots Learning Center, a nature-based school that will open near Port Orchard, Wash., in fall 2026.
Children tromp through the woods on the property that will become Roots Learning Center, a nature-based school that will open near Port Orchard, Wash., in fall 2026. Roots Learning Center Courtesy

Students at Roots Learning Center will attend school on a Tuesday to Friday schedule, which Burns said will allow students to spend more time with their families or in the community. It will also give the staff flexibility to schedule professional development, conferences with parents or other activities on Mondays. The school year will run from September to June, mostly following the South Kitsap School District calendar, said Burns.

This fall, the first day of school will be Sept. 1. Tuition fees can be paid monthly, bi-annually or yearly. The rates are as follows for the upcoming year:

  • Monthly: $900 for 12 months, due on the first day of each month
  • Bi-annually: $5,400
  • Yearly: $10,800 (10% discount to $9,720 for families who enroll at the school’s Open House or prior)
The interior of what will become Roots Learning Center, a nature-based school opening near Port Orchard, Wash. in fall 2026. The building on the property used to be a house and is undergoing renovations; the property hasn’t been fully set up for learning yet, the school’s co-directors told The News Tribune in February.
The interior of what will become Roots Learning Center, a nature-based school opening near Port Orchard, Wash. in fall 2026. The building on the property used to be a house and is undergoing renovations; the property hasn’t been fully set up for learning yet, the school’s co-directors told The News Tribune in February. Roots Learning Center Courtesy

Ashby and Burns also shared details for upcoming Meet and Greet and Open House events. Application fees will be waived for same-day enrollment.

Meet and Greets:

  • Meet and Greets:
    • Saturday, March 28: 9-11 a.m. at Hollydays Coffee in Port Orchard
    • Saturday, March 28: 2-4 p.m. at Olalla Bay Market in Olalla
    • Sunday, March 29: 9-11 a.m. at Fusion Donut Cafe in Gig Harbor
  • Open Houses (located at the school by appointment, sign-ups will be available on the website):
    • Saturday, May 30
    • Saturday, June 6
Profile Image of Julia Park
Julia Park
The News Tribune
253-274-7325
Julia Park is the Gig Harbor reporter at The News Tribune and writes stories about Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula, Fox Island and other areas across the Tacoma Narrows. She started as a news intern in summer 2024 after graduating from the University of Washington, where she wrote for her student paper, The Daily, freelanced for the South Seattle Emerald and interned at Cascade PBS News (formerly Crosscut).
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