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ABOUT OPAL SCHOOL
We are talking about an approach based on listening rather
than speaking, where doubt and amazement are welcome
factors along with scientific inquiry and the deductive method
of the detective.
~Carlina Rinaldi, Municipal Schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy 
What is Opal School? Opal School is a preschool and K-5 public charter school of the Portland Public School District and a program of Porland Children's Museum. Opal students come from communities throughout the Portland area and are selected through an open lottery process. Teaching and learning at Opal School is influenced and inspired by the principles and practices of the early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Why Opal school? Every child enters our world asking questions. Who am I? Who are we? What is my place in the world? Children respond to these questions with a capacity that is unique to humans, a rich imagination with the ability to reflect and wonder. Children are fortunate, and their communities blessed when adults listen, pay attention, and create responsive environments that support the innate desire of children to make meaning and find purpose in their lives. When schools support children to uncover, recognize and develop their potential, the entire community and the nation is strengthened. The mission of Opal School is to strengthen public education by provoking fresh ideas concerning places where people, creativity, and learning thrive. Oregon’s Public Charter School Legislation Act of l999 was designed to strengthen the K-12 public education system by creating opportunities to innovate, rethink, and explore new ways of educating children within the public system. The values that guide our work: Opal school is based on the belief that education must provide opportunities for ALL children to participate fully in creating and shaping their own lives, and to contribute fully to the quality of life around them. At Opal School, all children contribute from who they are. Every child brings a particular “uniqueness” that is made visible by the group. It is our intention to dive into the uniqueness of both the individual and the group. We carry a deep respect for differences, however they may be expressed, and a belief that listening, dialogue, and exchange open doors to unimagined possibilities. We hold the view that quality academic practice happens when people form relationships with one another, the environment, the academic disciplines, and the content of their own research. We value the rights of children, families, and educators to participate together in forming and shaping environments that are rich with opportunity, challenge, and choice. Our Image of Children: The work of Opal School begins with a strong image of all children as competent, resourceful, intelligent, creative, imaginative, and full of curiosity about the world around them. With this image before us, we try to listen, pay attention, plan, and co-construct with children. We strive to create a learning community of children and adults where our image of children and the thinking of students is visible to children, teachers, parents and the public. Click here to learn how to support Opal School
What children learn does not follow as an automatic result from what is taught. Rather,
it is in large part due to the children’s own doing as a consequence of their activities
and our resources.
~ Loris Malaguzzi, Reggio Emilia, Italy 
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