Our program entails a partnership not only with parents and certified teachers, but with community experts as well.  We look to partner with individuals and businesses in the community that are experts in their field.  Our philosophy is that those that do something everyday and know it inside and out are outstanding conduits for passing not only knowledge and understanding of a subject area to our students, but a passion for it as well.  

You can look at any one of our community partners and you will find folks that not only know their stuff, but live it and love it.  Whether it is our martial arts instructor that has practiced, competed in, officiated over taught and excelled in tae kwon do for over 40 years or our horsemanship instructors that eat, live and breathe horses and have over 50 years of combined experience behind the reins, our community partners are top notch.  The depth of knowledge shared in our partnership doesn't stop there.  It continues through all of community partners.  Each one of them in an expert with what they are teaching and have years if not decades of experience to share.

We are always on the lookout for individuals and businesses that would like to share their knowledge, experience and passion with our students.  The key to becoming one of our community partners is to present a well formulated class proposal demonstrating your expertice, creativity and committment to quality.  Our families ultimately decide which courses get a green light when they register their children for them, so a good course description is key.

Some other things to consider include:

• Courses offered are not definite until student registrations meet the minimum number of students which is 10 for us, but may be higher for you
• Our courses are offered on a weekly basis
• Attendance must be taken every week (we provide an online method for this)
• You begin billing for your services following count day (the first Wednesday of October)
• You will receive payment for your first billing about 30 days after you submit it
• Billing occurs every two weeks after the initial billing
• Our program runs from September to mid June

If you are interested in partnering with us, please fill out this form if you are a business
community partner application

and this form if you are an individual:

individual community partner application

If you believe that you, the parent, are the best one to direct the education of your child, then you have a friend in Gull Lake Community Schools and it's Superintendent, Chris Rundle.  Mr. Rundle believes that the parents he serves are the best ones to make the educational decisions for their children.  Mr. Rundle's goal is to provide each family with a vast array of educational choices that provide the means for each family to select the program that fits their needs the best.

The Gull Lake Partnership is about so much more than elective courses.  It is about parental involvment.  It is about parents and students being given a vast array of curriculum choices.  It is about families being together in the learning process.

Bedford, as we affectionately call our building, is a place full of the things you don't typically find in a traditional school. 

At Bedford:

You will find, moms and dads physically present and actively engaged in the learning process with their children.

You will find children engaging children they don't recognize with a, "Hi, are you new here?".

You will feel welcome the moment you step through the door.

You will find more learning and social opportunities than you know what to do with.

You may see children roller blading down the hallway.

You will find all ages of children interacting and learning together.

You will find an atmosphere that is warm, welcoming and engaging.

You will hear your children say, "Do we have to go?" at the end of the day.

In the Partnership, we learn by doing.  We like to say it is learning you can touch because our students are doing, touching, feeling, experiencing their world and it just so happens they are learning in the process.  Sometimes they don't realize it, but make no mistake our students are learning and they are learning in a way that will stick with them throughout their lives.

For example, our students might taking an Anatomy of Movement class in which they learn about their muscles and how they move, but they are also given an opportunity to go out and experience what they have learned through a lab that involves using their muscles to move.  So, they have coupled their learning with their doing and they all of a sudden understand, talk about and remember what muscles they are using when they do a certain activity.