Blogs Archives - Rainbow Community School

The Student-Teacher Relationship

by Susie Fahrer | Jan 12, 2026 | Director's Blog

Exploring the Role of Student–Teacher Relationships

Hi, my name is Susie Fahrer, and I am the Executive Director of Rainbow Community School and Omega Middle School. One of the things that I get asked often when I’m sitting with a family, exploring the options for the educational choice and journey of their child, is about the ways that teacher and student relationships are developed.

The Student–Teacher Relationship

Many of us can recall back from our own educational experience a teacher who took the time to get to know us personally. We probably felt validated. We probably felt highly motivated to perform in that classroom because we understood that the teacher was there not only to encourage us to be learners, but also to help us advocate for ourselves and our full potential. At Rainbow, we have the privilege of a variety of ways that we foster really meaningful relationships between a child, a teacher, and their full classroom community.

Listening Conferences: Building Strong Partnerships with Families

It all begins every year with something called a Listening Conference. This is a time when we invite families in to sit with the educators in the classroom and share about the journey and values of the family. This partnership is so critical for our teachers to be able to then take what they’ve learned about this child’s journey thus far, and push forward their full-potential, support-areas of challenge and sensitivity, and grow them not just as learners, but as humans.

The Rainbow Seven Domains™

As you’ve probably noticed, one of the primary components of a Rainbow education is our Seven Domains model. This model is built to enhance the capacity of every teacher to really learn, witness, and connect to the children that they have in front of them in any given year.

Understanding the Whole Child

When we think about each learner above and beyond who they are and how they show up just in the mental domain, but also as social and emotional beings, the way they engage the natural world, their ability to express creatively and connect creatively, using their physical outlets and growth points, engaging their spirituality and the world of wonder and awe and community and connectivity.

Developing Powerful Student–Teacher Relationships

These are all things that dovetail and enhance their educational experience. Research suggests that the more a teacher can develop a really powerful relationship with the child, the more likely the child is to step into highly motivated experiences. They’re going to face challenges in a slightly different way when they know the adults around them are building the environment for positive risk-taking, that we’re celebrating mistakes as learning opportunities, and that they see that they can inherently grow and learn, fail and rise in ways that are supported by the adults around them.

Motivation, Risk-Taking, and Growth in Early Childhood

At Rainbow in preschool, the teachers are masters at looking around the classroom, watching the students engage in hands-on learning and play, and then designing skill-building with the students, leading in areas of interest. Already, an engaged brain is going to be able to push further in skill development when they have not only areas of excitement and interest, and wonder, but also teachers who are adaptable and able to engage those moments for learning. As we move into our elementary classrooms,

The Learning Environment

You’ll see the students start to become more partners in their learning environment. Now again, the areas of risk-taking grow – the more a child is faced with opportunities of rigor and challenge.

Multi-Sensory Learning and Individual Support

The teachers at Rainbow take the time to understand how they can best support each child through multi-sensory learning and different and various opportunities for engagement. So the child who’s maybe more willing to face a challenging task through a physical engagement is supported in that domain, while a child who’s going to show their best thinking in a quiet space for writing, and that type of expression is also going to be supported. Equally, we’re going to provide the spaces for children to grow in their areas of challenge and opportunity. They see their teachers as partners in their learning journey, as people there to support their best efforts.

Creating an Optimal Learning Environment

That’s critical in really creating not only an optimal learning environment for a full classroom, but for every child to start to see themselves as a really powerful learner. We want that to be embedded in their identity development.

Supporting Agency and Passion in Adolescence

As students matriculate into adolescence, our educators in our middle school program are truly trained to understand the adolescent brain and to optimize those learning experiences for our young people, who at this point are really seeking some opportunities for agency, guided choice, and investment in their own learning. Their passions are starting to develop, and our teachers have the ability to engage those passions with meaningful course content. We’re also there to open up their world to new possibilities as they’re moving into adolescence. There’s a whole world that’s opening up in front of them as they think about moving into high school and beyond.

Preparing Students for the Future

We want our students to feel really prepared and able to engage in their best learning as they move beyond our doors. As you start to explore the best possible fit of educational environments for your child, the relationship and development of really powerful connections with their educators is going to be at the heart of their success. We’re so grateful to have so many wonderful teachers here at Rainbow.

An Invitation to Experience Rainbow Community School

We would love for you to come and join us here and meet the educators. See this in action, and if you’re already a part of the community, we hope that you’ll continue to look ahead and see the next step in your child’s journey. Thanks so much for listening. Enjoy the day.

What if We All Led with Compassion?

by Susie Fahrer | Jan 12, 2026 | Director's Blog

Leading With Compassion

Hi, my name is Susie Fahrer, and I am the Executive Director of Rainbow Community School and Omega Middle School. Several years ago, I ran a workshop in partnership with a friend called “What If We All Just Led with Compassion? That title has stuck with me over the years as an educator, considering all the ways that school has the ability to cultivate compassion within our young people.

Cultivating Compassion at Rainbow

At Rainbow, we have lots of intentional strategies for building the capacity of our children to think, communicate, and learn with compassion. So it all begins in our earliest childhood classrooms and our preschool with a program called the “Zones of Regulation.” This is a program that was adopted at Rainbow because it so beautifully provides a foundation for understanding the emotional experience of a human.

Understanding Emotional Experience in Early Childhood

As you know, we all experience a really wide range of emotions. And for our littlest learners, we really want them to build a relationship to all the ways they express themselves, as well as understanding the nature of each emotion that they experience. So to that end, we make sure that our young students understand that there are no bad emotions.

The Zones of Regulation

There are just emotions that really are not meant to sustain them for long periods of time. So the Zones of Regulation provides a map that’s color-coded and allows our students to see different types of emotions that they experience, and code them to a color. So, for example, sadness might be a blue emotion. While frustration might be a red emotion.

Learning Strategies for Regulation

And really, our goal is to always give them strategies to come back to the more easeful experience of the emotions within a green setting. And so they learn things like breathing. They learn things like pausing and expressing their needs. They learn things like tuning into their body and seeing what their body is telling them that they need.

Building Toward Nonviolent Communication

And all of these pieces begin a really strong foundation that then builds as students matriculate with us and move into a more formal understanding of nonviolent communication. Now, for many of you, you might be familiar with the strategies of nonviolent communication, but this is not just a tool for young people. It’s a tool that all of us adults included at Rainbow Community School practice and utilize regularly.

Emotions, Needs, and Conflict

It allows us to build on the idea of understanding the different types of emotions and matching them to the needs that we have. The reality is that so many times when we experience conflict, it is because our needs are not being met. And one of the nuances of nonviolent communication is this understanding that our needs can never be in conflict with one another.

Practicing Nonviolent Communication on the Playground

It is merely the strategy we’re using to meet those needs. So for our students, when they experience a conflict out on the playground, perhaps they’re playing a game, and someone feels that they are unjustly called out of that game, or “They’re not playing fairly” is often a term we hear across those elementary ages. And maybe they walk away from the game upset, or perhaps they’re told they’re not allowed to play with their friends.

Expressing Feelings and Making Requests

Well, this is all a great experience for our young people to practice nonviolent communication. It asks them to express what they’re feeling. Perhaps they’re feeling disconnection or confusion, or worry because they’re afraid of the impact this conflict has had on their friendships in the classroom. And maybe their need is for a little bit of understanding, or patience, or to be heard, or to have an understanding of the exact rules we’re playing by.

Compassion, Scholarship, and Learning Readiness

And ultimately, they learn to make these requests so that we can build a more inclusive culture for our students. And the capacity for them to move out into the world and build conversations of regulation, support, and clarity. These skills that we’re cultivating in our young people are not just about social-emotional development. They are inherently impacting our students’ ability to be scholars and thinkers.

An Invitation to Visit and Connect

You know, let’s consider for a minute how critical it is for your emotional status to be regulated, for our brains to be grounded in order to truly learn and understand the knowledge that’s being imparted to us in school, in our workplaces, right? And so these skills are enhancing the experience of every child within Rainbow Community School, not only to lead with compassion for themselves and for others, but also to be ready for the powerful learning experiences that come when we are regulated, grounded, and ready for a day of classroom discovery, wonder, and awe. Thank you so much for listening to a little bit about how we cultivate compassion at Rainbow Community School. We welcome for you to visit our school. If you haven’t had a chance to swing by, or if you’re already a member, you know my door is always open to have conversations that further our ability to work in partnership towards cultivating compassion, care, and a culture of belonging.

The Power of Learning Outdoors

by Susie Fahrer | Oct 27, 2025 | Director's Blog

Rethinking What Makes a Learning Environment Powerful

When you think about designing a space for truly powerful education and human development, what comes to mind? Often, we consider factors such as how we engage with technology, the curriculum we offer, or the level of professional development our teachers have.

And yes—these factors are critical in supporting a successful learning environment. But there’s something incredibly simple and accessible to all of us that research shows provides deep nourishment for academic success: spending time outside.

Learning Beyond Four Walls

For students at Rainbow Community School, outdoor learning is woven into the fabric of our curriculum. From the earliest childhood settings, students spend time outdoors—studying seasonal changes, going on nature walks, engaging with the canopy around them, and exploring the rhythms of weather and landscape.

These experiences help children attune not only to the natural world, but to their own growth and development.

Nature as Curriculum

Being outside inherently creates a hands-on learning experience. As students matriculate through the grades, the level of complexity in their outdoor learning increases.

They move from observation to integration—cultivating a farm-to-table experience, growing their own food, engaging in composting systems, studying local ecosystems, and exploring the rivers, mountains, and geology of our region.

Outdoor learning extends beyond our campus, connecting students to real-world field studies that deepen their sense of place and purpose.

The Research Behind Outdoor Learning

Educational research continues to affirm what we see daily at Rainbow: that time outdoors amplifies a child’s capacity for curiosity, awe, and wonder. It nurtures critical thinking and builds the dispositions of a healthy learner.

Beyond the cognitive benefits, there’s also a spiritual connection that emerges when students spend time outside—a quiet sense of belonging to something greater, a reconnection with rhythm and balance.

A Sensory Awakening

You’ve probably experienced this yourself—the subtle shift that happens when you step outdoors. Maybe it’s the first breath of fresh air as you leave your home, the breeze across your skin, or the vivid colors of the changing seasons.

Each moment outdoors invites us to slow down and become present. The songs of birds, the rustle of leaves, the textures of the landscape—all awaken our senses and remind us of the living world we are part of.

Bringing Outdoor Learning Home

In this month’s Kaleidoscope, we’ve included resources to help families bring the benefits of outdoor learning into their own homes. These are simple, accessible ways to integrate time outdoors into daily life—no matter your setting or schedule.

Even five minutes outside can transform your mood, reset your attention, and bring a brighter sense of possibility to your day.

An Invitation to Step Outside

I hope that this gives you just a moment to remember that even five minutes outside can change your whole disposition, and can bring a brighter sensation and opportunity to the learning that’s here before you.

May you have a wonderful time exploring the natural world.

Designing Spaces for Learning

by Susie Fahrer | Oct 20, 2025 | Director's Blog

What do you think of when you hear “school” or “schooling”?

Hi, my name is Susie Fahrer and I am the executive director of Rainbow Community School and Omega Middle School. Have you ever stopped to wonder what comes to mind when you hear the words “school” or schooling? For many of us , we were transported to a large building, often with a wide hallway, usually having classrooms on either side, particularly designed with tables and chairs, oriented towards the front of the room, where perhaps the teacher is standing delivering their content for the day.

How do you design a space for learning?

And more often than not, nowadays we’re probably picturing a classroom filled with computers or iPads where students are behind a screen engaging technology as a primary part of their schooling experience. While much of this is creating a foundation, perhaps if we would change the scope, if we considered reframing the question. What would you think about if we actually asked, how do you design a space for learning?

The Elements of Space

Well, for many of us, we start to imagine the beauty of a space. Natural light and beautiful materials. Creating a space that feels welcoming. Or maybe we think about how we engage a diversity of learners through design for flexible seating and hands-on materials. And maybe still, we think about that technology, but we recognize that it’s integrated with intention and balance.

Designing for Learning at Rainbow

Also offering space for discourse and project-based learning and meaningful curriculum. And finally, for some of us, the walls might even dissolve, and we consider stepping out into the natural world, engaging space for play and physicality. Understanding that brain science allows us to know that optimal learning is spent both indoors and out. So here at rainbow, we have the ability to design for learning.

A Learning Village

For many people, when they first step on our campus, they describe it as a village. And this couldn’t be a better imagery to capture the vibrancy with which we design our classroom and our campus spaces, to meet the needs of preschoolers through middle schoolers in an engaging and joyful learning experience. If you are new to rainbow, I invite you to look at our website or perhaps book a tour and come see what we’ve built here and designs for learning and an optimal experience for children where they are nurtured and supported through a learning journey from the earliest childhood experience into adolescence.

The Door is Always Open

For those of you who are already part of our community, I invite you to come and sit with me and continue the conversation. My door is always open.

Kaleidoscope – November 2024

by Susie Fahrer | Nov 4, 2024 | Blogs, CEO's Kaleidoscope, Director's Blog

Dear Rainbow Friends and Families,

If you like, you can listen to this recording.

It has been over a year since I have published a Kaleidoscope. This pause has been a mindful one, offering time for reflection on Rainbow’s communication practices, with the goal of designing an intentionally integrated set of publications that support an informed and engaged community.

The return of this publication marks a few adjustments. To begin, Kaleidoscope will be published seasonally, in support of a cadence of strategic communication that is digestible and meaningful. Also, you will always find a recording of the document for readers that would prefer to listen to the contents over taking the time to read it on a screen. May these adaptations offer you all a meaningful and worthy read, supporting your participation and understanding in the full Rainbow journey.

Following Nature’s Wisdom: What Can Be Learned In The Wake of Helene?

As we grapple with the destruction and loss of the past several weeks, I hope you are finding ways to honor, process, and attend to your wounds and needs. The work of facing trauma, while personal, is something that can be done in partnership. Please be reminded that Will Ray, our Director of Counseling, is available to support students and families in the coming weeks, and to help you engage in additional therapy services. He can be reached via email will.ray@rainbowlearning.org or by phone (828-424-4733).

In nature, power and force are often equally integrated with beauty and strength. This past month I have been humbled by the collective humanity growing all around us. Fellowship, care, service, love, awareness, engagement, understanding, compassion…the list goes on. These, I hope, are the experiences and memories that rise above the flood line. May they buoy our grief and guide our resilience.

In support of parents and caregivers

One of the most natural instincts we have is to protect our children. They are born into this world depending on us for the most basic of needs, and as they grow it can be difficult to know how and when to provide autonomy and engagement with challenge, failure, fear, and sorrow. The reality is, there is no single way to parent a child through the complexities of this world. As humans, we benefit from a personalized approach that accounts for our strengths and vulnerabilities.

That being said, many families come to Rainbow with some level of shared values around developmentally appropriate access to media consumption, technology, social/emotional discourse, and so on. However, when our world increasingly surrounds our children with unavoidable complex and dynamic realities (Covid, Climate Change, Social Media, etc) it is our obligation to pause and consider how best to move forward as a community. In these moments, allowing our children to guide the inquiry often inspires the most profound and appropriate learning.

In the coming weeks as we digest the impacts of the storm, the outcomes of the election, and the process of rebuilding in our community, we can be mindful of keeping Rainbow a student-centered environment. Recalling that each child will be looking to the adults around them for cues to feel safe, grounded, and ready to learn. As adults, we are not immune to the emotional toll of our current circumstances. Even so, we have the ability to create a collectively conscious atmosphere at Rainbow that supports our children.

A conscious return to our school programming

The first few weeks back have felt wonderful. The teachers created a compassionate re-entry process supporting the children emotionally, providing familiar routines, and engaging their love of learning.

We also have a few upcoming events that offer opportunities for community fellowship, spiritual connection, and a pathway for matriculation.

Movie Night- We are publishing this event internally, but Rainbow families are welcome to bring extended family and friends. For folks who choose to attend the potluck before the movie, please label any food you anticipate sharing. Everyone should bring their own lawn chairs, blankets, and snacks.

Day of the Dead- We are grateful to have our Hispanic families leading us in the preparation of the Ofrenda and planning of this sacred holiday. Anyone that is able to offer donations for the altar or sign up to be a firekeeper on the day of the event, can find details in this LINK.

Tamales will be served free of charge, sponsored in collaboration between Rainbow and a parent donor. They will be shared on a first come first served basis while the altar is being created on Wednesday.

Omega Open House- Omega Middle School will be hosting our fourth and fifth grade students and families for a visit on November 8, 2024. It will be an opportunity for our current students to get a personalized understanding of how the 7 Domains model shifts in adolescence to facilitate scholarship, encourage healthy autonomy, and inspire long-term thriving. More details will be shared directly with Fourth and Fifth grade families.

Winter Performance- Our annual winter performance will be held on December 19th at 3:00pm. This performance will feature preschool-5th grade classrooms and Omega elective performances. Since it is a school-wide event, we will not host afterschool that day, and Omega will dismiss prior to the event. More details will be provided soon. This is a beautiful celebration of music and art that will be a welcome culmination of 2024.

Yours In Partnership and Appreciation for the Journey,

Susie Fahrer
Executive Director

Kaleidoscope – May 2023

by Susie Fahrer | May 8, 2023 | Blogs, CEO's Kaleidoscope, Director's Blog, Home Page News, News

The Hero’s Journey

As IMAGINE, our Spring school-wide performance quickly approaches, I find myself frequently returning to the arch of the hero’s journey in several aspects of our school programming. May Day invites us to cross a threshold from the ordinary to the extraordinary world where costumes, dancing, and berries and cream fill our morning with joyful fellowship. This ritual also marks a movement into the final weeks of school filled with trials of character and adventure. End of year trips, performances, learning celebrations and more. Finally, we arrive at graduation. The ultimate ritual of accomplishment and reflection. Yes, this is a full and emotional time for our young heroes. Let us guide them with wisdom, heart, and love. May the magic of the journey surround us all.

End of Year Trips: A Rite of Passage

A long standing ritual at Rainbow is the End of Year Trip. In our upper elementary and middle school programming, students experience the power of traveling together and immersing themselves in a different learning environment. Typically, this involves an expeditionary learning experience set in the natural world. From canoeing to dichotomous keys, barrier islands to wildlife preserves, the students are challenged to take positive risks, embrace environmental action, and build lasting relationships and memories with their Rainbow community.

Jubilee: Allies Along the Way

No quest is possible without allyship. I am pleased to announce a new partnership for Rainbow with Jubilee, a local nondenominational church in the Asheville community. For the past several months, I have been working with the Board and congregation of Jubilee to consider rental of Rainbow for their Sunday service and other evening gatherings. We hosted a trial event back in February, gathered feedback from Rainbow staff, and have found ourselves in a place of deep alignment. Their mission, “As a compassionate and inclusive spiritual community, Jubilee! celebrates the divine mystery in all of creation and calls each of us toward a heart-centered, compassionate, equitable and sustainable way of living and being,” echoes the principles and values of Rainbow Community School. The sale of Jubilee’s building downtown finalized our partnership. We are humbled and happy to be their “home” as they embark on their own challenges and transformations ahead. Their first service on Rainbow’s campus will be held May 21, 2023. Their website is filled with detailed information about their values, history, and more for folks who are interested. Jubilee and Rainbow are hoping to host an open event for both of our communities in June to celebrate this partnership. More details will be shared as available.

An Evening of Visioning: Every Quest Needs A Map

In my last Kaleidoscope, I shared that the Board has created a Futures Planning Committee to guide our facilities planning. On April 18th, a cross section of the community gathered with Altura Architects, to engage in a hands-on mapping activity for our entire campus. It was inspiring to see and hear all of the ideas and themes emerging for campus design. The Futures Planning Committee will meet next week with Altura to learn more about how the ideas from our community meeting will inform a more comprehensive and unified vision for our future.

IMAGINE: “Lets See What Happens”

On May 19th we will gather for a school-wide performance. We will be guided on a hero’s journey that incorporates vignette performances from each grade level. To help you prepare, here are some important general details. Classroom teachers will share more specifics, as needed.

Morning Performance:

Begins at 10:30am. Doors to the auditorium will open at 10:15am. Please be prepared to wait in your car or outside until the doors open. This gives us time to be sure we are fully set before audience members arrive.

This is the only performance including preschool and Kindergarten students. Families of this age should plan to attend in the morning only unless you have an older child.

Evening Performance:

Begins at 6:00pm. Doors to the auditorium will open at 5:45pm. Please be prepared to wait in your car or outside until the doors open. This gives us time to be sure we are fully set before audience members arrive.

This performance is for 1st-8th grade families. Students in first through fifth grade will be performing along with Omega students that elected to be part of the program..

This event is special and we are excited to share it with the community. Our auditorium seating is tight when we all gather. Please consider priority for your immediate family and limit additional guest invites. The morning performance will be recorded and shared with families.

Student Led Conferences: Everyone has a story to tell

On June 5th, Kindergarten through 8th grade families will be invited to participate in a student-led conference. Their child will guide them through the story of their school year by reflecting on their growth in the domains, sharing highlights from their experiences and artifacts from their journey. These conferences provide an intimate space for child and family to inquire, celebrate, and affirm the growth and development of a year of learning. As a teacher, I was always grateful to have this time for each child to speak their story and to be witnessed and honored in the process.

Graduation: A Ritual of Transition

Preschool will celebrate their end-of-year ceremony on June 5th at 9:30am, a sweet celebration that marks the natural progression for our littlest learners. On June 6th, Kindergarten through 8th grade families are invited to a graduation ceremony that will feature speeches from each graduating 8th grade student and an opportunity for each child to speak a memory from their school year. It is a powerful culmination of student voice, transformation, and transition. Several members of the graduating class have been at Rainbow since early childhood. We plan to host this gathering on the Athletic field starting at 6:00pm.

Community: The Cast of Characters Is Far and Wide

From Grandfriend’s Day to Spring Fling and Parent Council to Board service, this time of year embodies an inherent spirit of gratitude. Rainbow couldn’t thrive without all of you giving your time, wisdom, energy and support to all aspects of our programming. My heart is consistently overwhelmed by the beauty of this community.

Administration welcomes your feedback to help us continue to grow, learn, and develop. Our annual Family Survey is an excellent way for your voice to contribute to our evolution. Your contributions are anonymous and are reviewed alongside staff and student anonymous surveys. We thank you for taking the time to share your perspectives.