Academics
7th-Grade Study on JEDI at TEA: How Can Our School Be A More Inclusive, Welcoming, and Open Environment?
Seventeen 7th grade TEA students sat on Sproul Hall’s concrete steps at the University of California at Berkeley. Beth Vallarino, Loren Trux, and Alex Pugenot were supporting students as they composed questions to ask university students about their experiences with Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) at UC Berkeley. The goal was to use this data to help inform their pitch to our school’s leadership about how TEA can grow on its journey to be a more inclusive, welcoming, and open environment.
Learning Math, Science, Art, and Craftsmanship by Building a Gigantic Camera Obscura
Imagine seeing an image that has never been altered and it never can be, just a clear original piece of art that looks just as it did through the lens of the camera. That is what the camera obscura captures, an unaltered image. This year in our High School film intensive, we worked with Ian Ruther and his partner Will to capture a photo of our own in a creative and unique way that exemplifies craftsmanship. Thank you to Truckee Tahoe Lumber Company for supporting our project!
Marching from Selma to Montgomery
Through anchor readings, expert conversations and experiences in the epicenter of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, these 11th-grade students were aiming to understand the conditions that led to the need for an organized movement towards civil rights. Students would end up walking 30-40 miles in the very footsteps of Voting Rights marchers of 1965 as they journeyed from Selma to Montgomery.
Middle School Students Examine the Impact of Car Culture on the Environment, People, and Society
How can cities overcome the challenges of making it more bike-friendly? How do we develop, protect, and enhance the Tahoe/Truckee bike experience through trail stewardship, advocacy, collaboration, and education? TEA Middle School students recently traveled to Bend, Oregon to examine these very questions.
Pre-K Science Photo Gallery
A huge thank you to our HS Program Science Teacher Jessica Svoboda for spending some time with the Pre-K crew recently for a little Pre-K science! What better way to understand the literal meaning of “kind heart” than by examining actual hearts!
High School Students Study Biomimicry to Inspire Design Thinking
This field study was successful in pushing students to think of nature in a new way and appreciate what it has done well. Students learned how we can be inspired by natural phenomena. They learned how to look to nature to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them creatively.
HS Film Students Partner With a Local Artist to Build a Giant Camera Out of Wood
In order to understand the steps required to produce high-quality content that inspires viewers, we need to understand the tools and skills used by professional content creators at the highest level. To gain this knowledge specific to cameras, our Film Intensive students are working with Ian Ruhter, a professional artist based in South Lake Tahoe.
4th-Graders Visit Yosemite to Explore Land Ownership, Use, and Stewardship
For their first semester thematic unit, our 4th-Grade Snow Valley Crew is exploring land ownership, use, and stewardship from various perspectives, and through the lenses of social studies (history & policy), science (erosion, climate change), and language arts (art & writing that champions wilderness).
3rd-graders seek to protect our local waterways
Our 3rd-grade crew is currently looking at water quality and various factors that influence it. In these first few weeks of school, students have begun their study of water by learning about the water cycle, studying the concept of one “global well”, and looking at threats to our freshwater resources.
2019 Senior Passage Presentations
Through their Passage Presentations, our 12th-graders are challenged to prove to themselves and the CommuniTEA that they are ready for life after TEA.
Bears Ears Expedition – Conflicts of Interest
A group of our high school students traveled to southern Utah in an effort to better understand the controversy surrounding the Bears Ears National Monument. The students met with various stakeholder groups representing tourism, uranium mining, and Native American activism.