Bloom was founded with a fundamentally different vision for schooling, focused on how children learn and what they need to meet the challenges of the future.

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Bloom Community School is a progressive, independent, private school serving families with children in kindergarten through eighth grade in the Bloomington-Normal (IL) area. Bloom was founded in 2017 with a mission for rethinking schooling in ways that are student-centered and aligned with 21st-century skill-building. We support excellent teachers in leading play- and project-based classrooms where students make meaningful connections that prepare them for the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

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Innovation and collaboration are driving our changing world, and children need learning experiences that help them integrate their intellectual, physical, communication, and social-emotional growth as well as their ability to manage information and technology. Bloom’s exceptional teaching staff adapts and innovates alongside the needs of children -- thoughtfully guiding and supporting growth through inquiry-based practices within a structured daily schedule that emphasizes outdoor activity and play.

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Bloom Community School is truly a 21st-century education laboratory that integrates research-based practices in teaching and learning with community engagement. This approach prepares children to become empowered citizens in our communities, understanding the interconnectedness of our lives, economies, cultures, and futures. 

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Bloom’ s unique, responsive educational approach is supported by our immediate environment as a "third teacher." Located in historic Normandy Village, our welcoming building - originally designed for children - is surrounded by green space and adjoining a community playground, offering scalable space for exploration, inquiry, and play. Students climb trees, bring sleds to school in winter, and study or eat lunch in the gazebo in fair weather. Classes regularly visit The Refuge Food Forest, Normal Public Library, and the ISU campus, and ride with Connect Transit busses to navigate Bloomington-Normal. They develop confidence as they learn -- in developmentally appropriate ways -- to take responsibility for their environment, take care of their physical needs throughout the day, and to connect with peers of all ages. 

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Walking into Bloom Community School, you will see that it is organized to honor how children learn - with their whole selves. Bloom’s learning environment is designed to enhance both independent navigation and collaboration with its inviting, integrative, and dynamic learning spaces. As the parent of two current students said when she first visited the school, “It was like walking into my child’s brain.” 

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Bloom's experienced, thoughtful teachers bring diverse backgrounds to their classrooms, united by a commitment to creating a unique school environment that respects each individual's strengths and needs. Our teachers also offer caring guidance and work with families to provide frameworks of understanding for how they address learner goals through personalized learning.​

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