The Board of directors for MRA has created a vision for a school that emphasizes the following values:

• An understanding of natural and cultural history 

• Artistic expressions which enrich our  interaction with our land and our planet

• A sense of the importance of community in our lives

• A high level of academic achievement
  

To achieve these values, innovative programs were developed using the vision of teachers and administrators, collaborations with partner organizations, and applications of real-world experiences with community members.

Learning through the Natural Sciences

Using the area's geological and cultural resources as a locus and its community of scientists and specialists as mentors, MRA enriches classroom experiences with discovery-based learning outside the classroom. Education focuses on experiential learning, making learning multi-sensory and relevant to their daily lives.

Learning Through the Arts

MRA provides an enriched arts curriculum offering a spectrum of opportunities for learning and exploration through the visual and performing arts. Students experience the arts, both by being exposed to the artistic expression of practicing professionals and by expressing themselves individually and in groups through a variety of media and tools. Studios, classrooms, theaters and the environment are familiar arenas for self-expression. In addition, students gain an overall understanding of the language and concepts of art, the history of art, and the applications of art in today's world.

Modeling a Community-Wide Learning Network

The school is supported by the diverse partnering organizations that make up Molalla and the surrounding community as well as other community resources such as agricultural entrepreneurs and senior citizens. MRA is a model for communities in Oregon that wish to take advantage of their own specialized environments to teach their children and to exercise local governance of the learning process.

It is our belief

That education is more meaningful to children when presented in an environment that is familiar, that relates to their home life, and that allows for discovery-based experiential learning and multi-sensory activities that reinforce curriculum instruction.