Developing Beyond Sustainability

Young Spirit is an advocacy group which gives schools and communities the philosophical basis, financial support, curriculum development, and network outreach needed to create a fundamental shift in the ways children and young people are educated. Supported by grants, private donors, and sponsor organizations, Young Spirit is independent of any one religious or secular organization, yet it gathers the resources and endorsements of a wide range of groups in order to fulfill its mission: to cultivate with young people an active life of philosophical and spiritual meaning in the world.

The Foundation will change the conditions that prevent meaningful, philosophical questions from surfacing in classrooms. Through direct work with children and young people, and through educational outreach, we will influence the lives of tens of thousands of students. Our goal is for all students to become deeply aware of themselves and more connected to a greater purpose in life.

The Foundation aims first to create a high school based on a personal and philosophical search for meaning and identity, and its place in a life of committed activity. The school will operate as a laboratory school and a demonstration school of our core ideals. Our second project will be a professional development program for educators interested in understanding contemplative, holistic approaches to education.