Welcome to Green School
What do you want in a school? When you step onto a school campus, what do you want to see, hear, experience and feel? Imagine this, a school without walls, a campus which ignites the senses and the natural curiosity of children, a place where innovation, creativity and learning flourish, a community, which has come together from all corners of the globe to share new experiences, a place of joy.
Seeing children learning by doing, hearing deep and meaningful student discussions, experiencing daily growth as a whole person and feeling the joy of being part of a vibrant community of learners is the Green School experience.
Welcome to your first glimpse of Green School. From wherever you are in the world, I invite you to explore what Green School offers to students, their families, the community and the world. Take a little time to look at all that we are able to share with you here.
Reach out to us to find out more and allow us to share with you, the Green School experience.
Sal Gordon
Head of Teaching and Learning – Principal
Mission
A community of learners making our world sustainable
Green School Way
We educate for sustainability, through community-integrated, entrepreneurial learning, in a wall-less, natural environment. Our holistic, student-guided approach inspires and empowers us to be changemakers.
Values
We believe in three simple rules underlying every decision: be local, let your environment be your guide and envisage how your grandchildren will be affected by your actions. The eight iRespect values that guide us are:
Integrity
Responsibility
Empathy
Sustainability
Peace
Equity
Community
Trust
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Our History
“Green School is a model we built for the world.”
JOHN & CYNTHIA HARDY, GREEN SCHOOL CO-FOUNDERS
Creativity often springs from the confluence of disparate ideas and events, and such was the case with Green School.
Green School was conceived by its founders, John and Cynthia Hardy in 2006, following their exit from their jewelry business. After years of homeschooling, the Hardys wanted their daughters to attend a ‘real’ school. John wanted the girls to attend a school that he believed in, a school that he would want to attend, and he wanted to stay in Bali. When he read Alan Wagstaff’s “Three Springs”, he was so inspired by the dream that he wanted to build it in Bali.
Then one day in 2006, John and Cynthia saw Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ and it changed their life. They were compelled to take up his call to action.
These events gave the Green School plan its reason and purpose, and in August 2006 John and Cynthia decided to build the school.
The School’s bamboo bridge, spanning 22 meters across the Ayung River, was completed in November 2006, creating a beautiful, strong symbol of the transition from the realm of idea to reality.
Green School opened in September 2008 with 90 students and a tailor-made campus that emerged from the jungle and rice fields. Since then it has grown to 400 students and to an inspiring example of education for sustainability and a beacon for the future of education, with a growing community of Green Schools opening around the world.
“MY GREEN SCHOOL DREAM”: WATCH CO-FOUNDER JOHN HARDY’S TED TALK
“Our shared vision is motivated by a deep concern for, and attention to, the wellbeing of our students and our planet.”
EIM CO-FOUNDER, KAREN YUNG
In May of 2021, Green Schools welcomed a new partnership with Education in Motion, a growing family of pioneering education brands. EiM began in 2003, when co-founders Fraser White and Karen Yung built their first school in Shanghai in order to provide the type of holistic education they wanted for their own children, one that would prepare children for the future and empower them to make a positive difference in the world. Today, EiM schools worldwide, including Green Schools, nurture more than 11,000 students to have a positive impact on society and the planet.
Governance at Green School
Green School operates in Bali under Yayasan Kul-Kul, a non-profit foundation registered in Indonesia. At its core, the governance structure and policy of Yayasan Kul-Kul operates Green School Bali in accordance with Indonesian law via the Board of Management. This governance structure also reflects the strategic position of Green School Bali within the international movement by using a “cooperation council” via the Governance Council to guide Green School Bali’s development and organisational health.
Our thoughtful approach to governance strikes the balance between compliance with Indonesian regulations, GSI’s strategic direction-setting and global alignment along with honouring and embracing and local community input and transparency.
The following detail sets out the roles and responsibilities of each body as they work together and interact with each other to fulfill Green School Bali’s mission: “A community of learners making our world sustainable”.
Governance Council (GSGC)
The Governance Council advises and informs Yayasan Kul-Kul through an appointed pembina (a legal requirement) in its decision making. GSGC is the guardian of the mission and values of the School. Its role is strategic in nature, not operational. It approves members of the Board of Learners, the hiring of key personnel, the School’s Strategic Plan, the annual plan and the budget.
GSGC Members are:
Lesley Meyer, Chair
Gede Witsen, Secretary
Matthew Simmons
Nick Magnus
Ronald Stones OBE, Advisor
Chris Saye, Advisor
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT
Yayasan Kul-Kul (YKK) Legal bodies including Pembina, Pengawas and Pengurus. This Board ensures that the Yayasan Kul-Kul complies with all applicable regulations, as well as its own articles and bylaws and guides the Green School Executive Committee to perform the administrative day to day functions of the School.
Ni Putu Tirka Widanti, President, YKK
Lesley Meyer, Pembina
BOARD OF LEARNERS (Dewan Sekolah/School Board)
Representatives of students, teachers, parents, our Balinese families and the leadership team of the School; this group meets twice per term (8 times per year) with a shared commitment to our School. The group supports, monitors, and guides the implementation of the School’s strategic goals and operational targets. It also serves as a solution-making forum for issues and ideas brought forward from the various stakeholder groups that make up our community of learners.
Members of the Board of Learners are elected yearly.
Kate Druhan, Chair
Board Documents and minutes are available to currently enrolled parents via our Parent Page/School Blog
Click here
- Password: (the current all-community password available in the Green School Bali Weekly newsletter).