Our story began with a great ‘Idea’…

La Sombra was built from the educational philosophy that was forged at the IDEA school in Tucson, Arizona for over a decade. IDEA was founded on principals of the Reggio-Emilia school of learning and was expanded upon and adapted to serve its individual student needs.

At La Sombra we believe in a child-centered curriculum that is play-based. We think children are capable of doing difficult and amazing things and we challenge every learner to give their very best and take charge of their own learning goals.

We utilize a Project Based Learning (PBL) model which allows greater exploration in learning while also teaching real-world values such as cooperation, conflict-resolution, and compromise.

Dalziel taught with the IDEA school for 8 years and in that time was able to create a curriculum that uses game play as a conduit for learning important life skills such as fairness, cooperation, sportsmanship, and humility. He also serves as the math specialist, as his novel approach to math makes it so that his students understand mathematics more holistically, and helps them to see math as a practical life skill.

Clint received his Master’s in Education at the University of Arizona and has a history of teaching from grades K-9. He believes that activating and exciting learners about the classroom content is the most effective way to teach, and also the most enjoyable way to learn. He also thinks that allowing students choice and giving students say in the learning process is important for making learning a personal process.