APV SCHOOL

Ashram Paryavaran Vidyalaya (Ashram Environmental School / APV)

Ashram Paryavaran Vidyalaya (Ashram Environmental School / APV) has provided holistic and mindful education to the rural poor of Uttarakhand’s Garhwal hills near Anjanisain.

The project was founded in October 2003 and has been led by Anand Dwivedi, a local educationalist who has taught at some of best progressive educational institutions throughout India including Shantiniketan [ made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now the university town Visva-Bharati University ] and Rishi Valley [ a school dedicated to the philosopher J. Krishnamurti‘s vision of education.

SCHOOL

Creativity

Hands On TEACHING

Compassion

Nature Learning

morning assembly

educator resources

We are APV SCHOOL

our

vision

Children are helped to explore not only the external world but also the internal world. Self-awareness helps them to gain a better balance between body and mind and to contact the infinite source of intelligence within.

Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye

Knowledge is that which liberates....

Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye – Knowledge is that which liberates….

Taken from the Vishnu Purana, our motto symbolizes the true ancient Indian meaning of education – to free us from all bondages.

The philosophy and methodology of the APV School springs from the simple belief that education, at its core, is not the accumulation of information but an inner evolution, an insight into the self, a refinement and deepening of awareness, and a flowering of compassion.

Meditation & music

It is no secret that music education is undervalued in mainstream schools.

MUSIC

Every morning we start the school day with meditation and a handful of these songs….

Listen here

Books

Our books for sale help support the school

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Support APV

Himalayan Education Fund

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Videos Teaching

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OUR TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Mindful Community & Practice

APV teachers live together in a community where all practice mindfulness. This community is at the heart of APV and the school is guided by the same principles by which the community lives: equality, empathy happiness, inquiry, and mindfulness. There is no divide between our work, service, personal practice and home life.

Morning Assembly

Each school day begins with an assembly where students and teachers gather to practice mindfulness, sing, and perform dramas. Classes are based on practical, experiential learning activities and teacher-student cooperative investigation; everyone teaches and learns together. What students have learned are then shown to all grades in the Morning Assembly. This assembly is a chance for the entire school to come together as one family.

Whole Brain Learning
Curriculum design is based on the LINK syllabus, which links state and national standards to the interests, needs, and context of the student. To this aim, the vast forests surrounding APV are often used as a classroom. We use practical methods with real life learning to impart both left and right brain learning. Due to the great success of the model and community, APV is currently focused on expanding its influence and spreading its message of Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye, or “knowledge is that which liberates" as a model school for teachers' trainings

See Our Students Photo Gallery!

all about

our history

APV began in 2003 on the Anjanisain campus of Shri Bhuvneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA). Cyril Raphael, the Secretary of SBMA, Marc Alongi, an American India Foundation (AIF) Clinton Fellow, and Mohan Panwar, a long-time SBMA employee, asked Anand Dwivedi to help develop a progressive school on the campus. Anand ji came to implement a 10 day training, and has continued on since.

Anandji was given the freedom to implement his progressive ideas about holistic and mindful education written about in his book “Dance of the Bee. APV was founded on the principle from the Shri Vishnu Purana, “sa vidya ya vimukyaye,” or “knowledge is that which liberates.” From this founding philosophy, APV has grown into a community and model school who share a singular mission: to grow and learn through mindfulness.

Since 2014, our great ally and friend Sridar Iyengar has been supporting the school and community through donations and exposure trips. We are so grateful to his contribution to keep our school running, as well as all the individual donors who have made it possible.