“Lucia really had a great time this summer. She has come home every day telling us about her adventures and newfound friends.”

“Thank you so much for introducing Lucia to a fabulous summer experience. It’s the best birthday gift for me to see her engaged, independent, and smiling daily!”

“I just wanted to let you know how much [my daughter] enjoyed camp last week. Her Dad and I are so happy that she will be going back at the end of Aug. It was really the perfect camp for her, at this age and especially after a year of social isolation. The places you went and explored were so interesting, and she came back excited to talk about all of it. She especially enjoyed interacting with the other campers. She talked about how welcoming and nice (and cool) everyone was.”

“City to Sanctuary has been a blessing during this pandemic and time of zooms, remote learning, sedentary quarantine life. My sons have been enjoying the opportunity to explore nature, and it’s seasonal rhythms on their hikes. They also enjoy meeting and learning about the animals at the Sanctuary.”

“We’re thrilled with the program and excited for [my daughter] to continue!”

“My son, Klin, attended the winter program at the sanctuary. I must say this program was a god sent for us, especially nowadays in this environment. When he gets home he tells me what they did for the day, and I get to see it with beautiful pictures online. He will be attending the spring program and I’m excited for him. Maysaa, the program director, is wonderful with the kids. It brings comfort that I know my son is in good hands. ”

“Pono has been an amazing learning experience for my daughter. She has been learning a lot about nature, biology, and geography. The teachers are highly skilled and multidisciplinary. One single walk can result in kids learning about one animal species and understanding the surrounding environment. Also, as there are kids of different ages, they collaborate and help each other under the supervision of the teachers. My daughter recognizes the footprints of animals and it helped to cope with the stress of the pandemic. Maysaa is phenomenal and her passion for the program shows off. I highly recommend Pono to all kids.”

“Ian looks forward to his City to Sanctuary excursions on Sundays. This is a perfect complement to his weekday, in-class school. It’s a synergistic and organic way for a child to learn, have fun and engage with his peers. As a city kid, with limited opportunity to interact with nature, the program expands his world, his senses and respect for the world around him.”

“[My daughter] LOVED her time with PONO - truly, she was so excited and engaged (and exhausted) and it reminded her how much she loves to learn. She got up this morning and asked if I could teach her multiplication…so we got started. She has asked to go more frequently.”

“Over the past ten years, I have witnessed again and again the healing effect nature has had on my child and more than 70 other children. It made me a believer in the power of the mysterious beauty of nature. Taking in the wilderness rekindles that seed of wonder and awe in a child’s psyche. It forces all of the unpleasant noise and disturbing imbalance out and helps engender a feeling of peace and harmony with all forms of life. Nature uplifts the children’s souls, minds, and spirits. It deepens their connection not only to all living things but most importantly to their own true selves and abilities.”

“Your camp is expanding my daughter’s horizon, literally and figuratively! She has traveled to Athens, Greece, twice so far and she is having a great time connecting with new friends from other parts of the world while learning about topics of her choice.”

“The pandemic turned the world upside down, but Pono’s summer camp has given my daughter an engaging way to stay connected with other children.”

“You’re doing a wonderful job with these online classes. The quality of all of them has been amazing.”

“Even though we are halfway across the world from where Pono is located, we feel that these virtual classes have provided space to share thoughts and ideas in a global context.”

“Pono is a remarkable child-centered, democratic community that truly exemplifies learning, kindness, and humanity. Our child can be quite reserved, but thanks to Jefra and fellow Pono friends being so welcoming, she jumped in immediately at her first visit. In fact, at the end of a full day, she did not want to leave.

What you all offer at Pono is amazing, including accessing nature in our city and beyond, the vast resources of NYC, especially Pono students and the community itself.

Our huge compliments to the teachers, in particular—they do amazing work and taught me a lot by example all day.”

“Pono is such a unique place. The kids were great and they seemed really interested in learning. I wish my own kids were that enthusiastic about science. Hope to see you guys again soon.”

“[My daughter] and I enjoyed our visit very much. Sandra and Jefra are pretty wonderful! It was as described during the information session and [my daughter] went with the flow right away. She was in Jefra’s lap, holding hands with other students, and dancing with the guest teacher””

“It was such a joy to be surrounded by educators who shared my most sacred beliefs about children, their dignity, worth, wonder, and abilities.”

“Every kid is taught that their contributions are a necessity to the school’s wholeness and well-being. The abundant amount of outdoor learning shows them that their voices matter in the world, at large, too. This rare combination of democratic and outdoor learning is a sophisticated formula to prepare children for a world that they want to participate in.”

“I see the positive impact of regularly meeting new people on our trips, whether during our travels on the subway, or at our trip destinations. The students speak confidently to people of all ages and backgrounds. Moreover, they express genuine interest in others. The increased exposure to the world outside of our indoor space encourages them to consider others’ circumstances and points of view. My students contribute not only to their school community, but to the greater community as well, as they share the democratic principles they practice at Pono.”

“Pono is more than a school, it’s a community where children clearly feel loved. At Pono, children are happy. They spend their time smiling, laughing, engaged, and excited.”

“Pono students are more understanding of the uniqueness of discovery in Westmoreland Sanctuary’s ecosystem. They express joy and wonderment for the tiny things and magic that often goes unnoticed or are commonly seen as unimportant.”

“After a few times visiting, I started to understand the very subtle but magical experience the children were having. It was changing their ways of seeing, knowing and relating to everything around them… It’s like a corner of our neighborhood that we can always visit to re-center ourselves.”

“We love the caring, creative and community-minded focus at Pono. It provides a warm and stimulating environment for kids to learn and thrive, and also learn to care for each other.”

“I think Pono is really cool. It is revolutionizing education and proving a really great experience for its students, including me! My favorite things in Pono are my friends, field trips and Long Trips, art classes, and cooking classes. The gist of it is that Pono is amazing!!”

“We always love visiting Pono when we are in NYC. We marvel at how the children bloom and grow under the guidance of a wonderful staff of teachers. Such opportunities abound for releasing these youngsters’ creativity and intellectual curiously. Way to go!”

“Your documentary about Pono made me cry. What a wonderful school you have created! It makes me wish I still lived in New York...and that I could just come hang out with you all. And it made me wish that all children could be educated in such a way! You are opening New York City and the world to them like a big book, and you are filling their open hearts with love, joy, care and responsibility. Wow!”

“I really enjoyed working with the children and was so impressed by their interest and enthusiasm.”

“From the very first day, our daughter felt safe and comfortable and smoothly transitioned from being at home with her mom to staying at Pono without her parents. We find Pono really special because it does not have a rigid structure, where kids have to fit. Children are part of the creative process; they are involved; they co-create; they participate in decision making; they have choice; they are free to explore and they truly thrive. They learn to be part of a community, and of society, in a very active way. We have quickly noticed a very positive impact of being at Pono on our daughter. She loves it: she looks forward to joining her friends and teachers every single day and comes home happy and joyful. We could not be happier to see her enjoying school so much.”

“My daughter surprises me each week with the topics that have captured her imagination. She also seems so self-assured and can verbally express herself with a vocabulary beyond her years, while still being a happy, playful kid who enjoys both her older and younger friends. The multi-age environment, where students’ interests steer their education, is certainly paying off for my child. And best of all - she is excited to go to Pono each day.”

“Your students were wonderful!”

“I had such a great time! The creativity of the children was impressive! I would love another visit. ”

“Your students should be proud of their generous giving during the holiday season. They seem to have also been taught the valuable lesson of giving rather than receiving. Their excitement at being able to share something that they did with others was great to see.”

“Giving my child the opportunity to choose on his own is invaluable. Pono gives my son his own voice at a very young age and allows him to be confident with the decisions he makes growing up.”

“A few weeks ago [my son], [my daughter], and I were wondering through Central Park when [my son] asked to play on the Diana Ross Playground. In the midst of our running around, I was struck by the interactions I saw between a woman and a group of kids. Julietta, the adult, was pretending to be a monster and everyone was calling for her. The group was having a blast while being respectful of each other - and [my son] - and patient, when the game needed to pause. I was struck by the care of the group, and it came as no surprise when I heard “Pono” being called to gather everyone for their walk back to school.

Pono truly stands out.”

“I enjoyed talking to the kids. Very positive learning environment.”

“The kids were really amazing, I was so impressed with them. I’m so glad we were able to do this!”

“Learning through different tools is what keeps Pono unique and makes it the optimal experience for education!”

“I love the compassionate, caring, and reflective human being my daughter is turning out to be and I believe Pono plays a huge part in that!”

“As a Pono parent I see first-hand the wonderful progress my daughter makes, and marvel at the huge innate potential in children that is released and realized by this kind of education.”

“Our granddaughter attends Pono, and we would like her to continue having the wonderful experiences we keep hearing about!”

“The science we do at Pono involves content, methods and tools that most public school-educated children in this city won’t encounter until they are in 8th or 9th grade. Possibly even later than that. The reality is that children can be introduced to ways of thinking scientifically and to certain science content much earlier than we think!”

“I just wanted to thank you for coming yesterday to the Urban Farm. Both Jared and Caspar were incredibly impressed with your students’ knowledge and curiosity.”

“My child has been at Pono since it opened and has thrived because of it. The hardest part about the school is getting him to leave at the end of the day. The space is open with tons of natural light with inviting nooks for all manner of learning experiences. I’ve always appreciated their philosophy – his learning is felt as an adventure to him – always something new to discover and unlock.

The entire staff is as open, kind and as loving as an extended family and even conflict is handled in a manner that is respectful to all, teaching life-long skills. The kids travel at least once a week which is wonderful as they get to truly take advantage of all that New York and the Tri-State area have to offer.

In the school itself, they often bring in specialists to handle any topic the kids may be curious about: Drs for Biology, Chemistry, Botany, Math; Specialists for Literacy (something that has ignited a true passion for reading in my child), and even specialists in various sport. Finally, from the absurd teacher:child ratio to the daily experiences, there is no better home for learning for my child than Pono. Very Grateful to Maysaa and her entire staff.”

“Our daughter thrives in Pono’s nurturing environment where teachers listen to the children and allow them to explore their interests and discover new ones. Pono’s indoor site is a clean, safe, bright and sunny space with a variety of engaging activities, from science experiments to Legos to new books to dress-up clothes. Our daughter is also very enthusiastic about the variety of field trips she has taken, including outings to parks, museums, and even the kitchen of a master chocolatier. She can’t wait for more amazing adventures with her Pono friends!”

“Our son has been participating in this school since it opened and he truly loves it. Safe and clean environment (newly constructed) with maximum freedom for each child to choose their own activities. Lots of outdoor activities that are so essential for young children! The school is next to a beautiful huge park and the neighborhood was very safe and unexpectedly easy to commute from Midtown. It actually takes only 15 min from Times Square. Teachers are all very gentle and compassionate. We will definitely keep sending him to Pono and never even consider other places after finding this one. Highly recommended.”

“Our kids participated in this summer camp last year. It was a truly wonderful experience for them, with every day bringing new adventures. They learned so much, made new friends and had a fantastic time. Each child received close attention and the entire program was an inspired and inspiring place to grow. If you are looking for a kid’s camp that generates a respectful and safe environment while exploring many diverse activities in and around New York City, then we cannot recommend Pono Summer Camp more highly.”

“My cousin comes home from Pono with these stories about what they did that afternoon, and each is more amazing than those of the previous day. She and her classmates really get along! But it’s more than just “getting along”: They all seem to have a very deep appreciation of each other. They’re like a family!”