Alumni Profiles
Sabine Blumenthal ’19
Sabine Blumenthal ’19 first experienced the warmth of the Methow Valley as a student at The Bush School during a cross-country ski competition against Liberty Bell High School students in Winthrop, Washington. Her team curated unforgettable connections with local students, who hosted and treated them to dinner, hospitality, and adventure.
“It was a really special experience,” Sabine said. “It showed me what being part of a larger community meant, and I was excited to see how The Bush School would continue to foster this relationship.”
As an Eleventh-grade student, Sabine attended a semester school at High Mountain Institute in Leadville, Colorado. While there, she became involved in trail work with the Colorado Trail Foundation (CTF), which drove her to conduct community trail work at Mount Mazama in Oregon. This memorable experience showed her just how powerful it can be to build an intentional community.
Similar to a study-abroad experience, a semester school consists of core academic classes, experiential education, and a way for students everywhere to bring different perspectives, learn, and live together in a place-based, experiential program.
Bush is targeting a 2027–2028 school year launch for its own semester program. Its goal is to bring students from Bush, the Methow Valley, and the greater Pacific Northwest to the Methow Valley for one semester of immersive study.
“Place-based learning has always been an integral part of the student experience at Bush. From trips to places like Utah, the Antarctic, New Orleans, France, Spain, Vietnam, Morocco, and India, Bush students learned independence, responsibility, and how diverse and interconnected our world is,” Head of School Percy L. Abram said. “We knew when we acquired the Methow Campus property that the Bush semester school would provide an opportunity for Blazers to live among students from around the country, stretching their levels of comfort, studying climate change and its various impacts, and engaging in meaningful learning experiences in a residential environment. This feels like a natural extension to the place-based learning that has taken place at Bush across generations.”
When Sabine heard the Bush campus was going in a similar direction, she couldn’t express her enthusiasm enough.
“Attending the semester school at High Mountain Institute changed my life,” she raved. “High school is a very confusing time, but by being in this small community, I fostered tons of confidence in myself, my leadership skills, and my independence.”
Sabine revisited the Methow Campus in the fall for her Twelfth Grade retreat and fell in love with the beauty of the North Cascades and its supportive community members. Years after graduating, she returned as a college sophomore and decided to make the Methow Valley her home away from home.
“My college friends and I got jobs at a trail crew in Winthrop and found someone that wanted people to live in and take care of the house for her while she was away for the summer,” Sabine shared. “That’s when I conducted more relationship-building in the Methow Valley.”
While she was in the Methow Valley, a think tank was hosted to envision what the campus would look like if it were turned into a semester school. Hillary Kaltenbach, the former Methow Campus program manager, helped orchestrate the event and invited Sabine to share her unique perspective. She toured various affordable housing complexes built around the campus and learned about the community restoration efforts to rehabilitate the nearby forests devastated by wildfires.
“I also had the opportunity to chat with locals from the community who supported the idea of a semester school,” she said. “They provided helpful insight into factors we should consider when integrating the campus into the Methow Valley community.”
Sabine emphasized the importance of utilizing place-based education modules for fostering community building, personal growth, and many other skills essential for students during their high school years. She encouraged students to take advantage of semester school and apply their unique perspectives and specialties to make a positive change in the community.
“What really excites me about a Bush semester school is the potential exchange between Bush and local schools in the Methow Valley and building more connections between the Methow Valley and Seattle,” Sabine said. “I’m sure that students from Methow Valley would be eager to come and be a student at Bush for a semester, and I think that would be a compelling way to build connections.”
The Bush School is an independent, coeducational day school located in Seattle, WA enrolling 735 students in grades K–12. The mission of The Bush School is to spark in students of diverse backgrounds and talents a passion for learning, accomplishment, and contribution to their communities
3400 East Harrison Street, Seattle WA 98112 (206) 322-7978
The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment, recruitment, admissions, or administration of any of its programs on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. In addition, The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment on the basis of age or marital status