Meet Tricia Martin-Owen | Founder & Head of School at The Oak School, a nature-based, holistic school in Lakewood

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tricia Martin-Owen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tricia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I decided to launch The Oak School because I was confronted by an issue with our education system, and that issue nagged me until I made the commitment to do everything I could to change it.

The current school system is failing children. While this problem can seem insurmountable, there are proven steps to take that can incite steady, long-term change. The Oak School is an example of this.

While I was pregnant with my son, I spent a lot of time learning as much as I could about how to parent. My free time was filled with research, reading blogs and combing through parenting books. Shortly after giving birth to my son, I saw how difficult it was to find institutions that were an extension of everything I learned and practiced as a parent.

I saw a need for change and took the plunge. As a meditator, I initially approached this problem from a social-emotional lens – Our society is in dire need of a dramatic shift in education to bring the focus back to the whole child. Children learn what they experience – and act on what they learn – so a shift in how children are taught can positively and directly impact everyone’s future.

I began to analyze how we treat teachers and the ripple effect that has on children. I was also concerned with how kids are treated – disrespected, honestly – day in and day out. Then we turn around and expect them to be kind and respectful to us!

In order to see true change – change that promotes acceptance of others’ differences, choosing kindness and empathy, and connection – we need to change how we educate our kids. Unfortunately, these changes are not a priority, and we are all being forced to see the fall out of that choice in our society. But the thing is, we do have a choice. All of us. Our work at The Oak School is built on this very belief.

This culture shift starts with a choice: How do we treat one another, no matter what judgments come up from within? It’s taking responsibility for how we feel, understanding that our feelings are ours. It’s avoiding the urge to control one another, but instead to connect, learn, guide and be guided by one another.

Instead of searching endlessly for a safe space that fostered these beliefs, I built one.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My professional career took me down many different paths in my 20’s. I had experience in architecture, design, healthcare, education and social justice just to name a few. On the side, I pursued passion projects, like studying meditation, yoga and holistic health modalities. Learning so many different things and embarking on different paths was enlightening and exciting, but also frustrating because I couldn’t pinpoint a career where all these subjects that interested me intersected. And, in a world filled with so much noise about “career trajectory” and having a “progression in a professional path,” that made me a bit nervous. The entire experience made me pause and reflect, and once I realized I didn’t need to “make sense” to anyone else, it felt like there was more room to breathe and make decisions for myself.

During COVID, I gave myself space and time to give a voice to that big-picture problem that nagged me. I ended up writing a book in just six weeks: The Whole Environment Educational Philosophy. I felt strongly about making a connection between our future and the present moment, looking at education as stewardship of the future. We are here to take care of things now, so our children have a future to live in. And, I think we’ve lost sight of that in many ways.

It was soon after I finished the book that I realized I needed to put this work into practice by way of a school. Realizing this shook the foundations of my family because it meant we needed to make some big choices, like move to Colorado from Portland, Oregon. It was because of that move, however, that we are able to create this special place – plant seeds, if you will. I’m so grateful for the love and support of my husband and son!

Starting a new school in a new place had its challenges, but believing it could be done was my fuel. Along the way, the number one lesson I learned was to trust that things will work out exactly as they need to. Perhaps that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. There are SO MANY moving parts to starting a school, so many aspects to take care of, think about, consider, and put into motion, that if I were to get hung up about everything that didn’t go as planned (which was a lot), I’d be a nervous wreck. So instead, I focused on what I could change, or do. Where do I have agency right now? Where do I need to let go a bit in order for things to evolve more organically? It wasn’t easy (and still isn’t), but it would have been so much harder had I held on to the growing number of “changes” I needed to let go of or find new solutions to.

Because of this, things are still evolving constantly – and for the better! I think that’s important to know about entrepreneurship. It’s an amazing opportunity to dance with life, with what it’s showing you and how in turn you show up for it. You have to be pretty comfortable with change as an entrepreneur!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Less than a year ago, we moved here with the sole purpose to launch The Oak School, so we are just now discovering fun places as the world opens back up after the height of the pandemic. But there are a few places that I love love love for kiddos, one of which is the Denver Botanic Gardens Children’s Garden. It is like a magical wonderland where small children can immerse themselves with all five senses in lots of different play areas. Plus, it’s beautiful! I also love Bear Creek Park which has some nice, easy trails, and the creek itself is a great place to explore with kids. Lair of the Bear hiking trail is fun, with more gorgeous scenery, and a really cool climbing tree. Red Rocks is stunning and a fun place to go to – see if you can run up all the stairs to the top! New Terrain Brewery is a great place with lots of outdoor seating, space for the kids to run around, right next to a dog park and mountain bike trail, and the occasional outdoor live music, too. The Highlands neighborhood farmer’s market is huge with great vendors. If your child is really into climbing or obstacle courses (like my son), we’ve had a blast at Ninja Nation and Urban Air! If you’re visiting in the winter, Winter Park is a great, family friendly place to ski as is Eldora.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh my goodness, I’ve had so many incredible people encourage, mentor and inspire me throughout my journey in building The Oak School!! The first person that comes to mind is my son. I’ve always joked he’s my live-in-Buddha, constantly teaching me what I need to know and understand. It was with him that I experienced several types of alternative education methods, including the public system and, shortly after, a charter school. It was also because of him that I embarked in learning the fundamentals of nonviolent communication, observation, reflection, and relationships with children (thus deeply healing my own inner child).

As a child, I was raised pretty traditionally, so the idea of having a real relationship with my child or finding connection through pausing to observe and be present were not part of my parenting muscle memory. They were, however, what I had been learning about in my meditation practices so I had a little bit of a foundation. I was excited there was so much cross over in parenting and meditation, so I began to teach meditation.

I’ve had plenty of wonderful teachers, but the one I’ve learned the most from has been life itself. Seriously! It’s pretty incredible what you can learn when you’re open to the idea that life is a classroom and each experience or interaction is a lesson. As I began to view life this way, I certainly ran into a lot of frustration and anger, which is perfectly normal! But on the other side of those hard feelings were patience, acceptance, and most importantly curiosity. I’m still practicing and am a lifelong learner.

Website: http://theoakschool.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoakschoolcolorado