Home Grown School

My husband, Steven, and I live in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas with our two young children, Forest and Raven. We moved here about 4 years ago. I work for the national headquarters of the Forest Service, in a program called Enterprise. Because I serve the entire agency, I can live anywhere and work from an office in my home.

At the local summer solstice party in 2007 there were a group of us mom's sitting on a quilt and talking about our kids. Between the 4 moms we had a total of 7 kids, 4 of them all the same age. The conversation got around to schooling and what our plans were. One mom, Laura Daly, shared that she'd always dreamed of starting a school and that she'd even studied early childhood development in college. Then I shared that Steven and I had a dream of starting a non-profit organization and that one of our ideas was to have a school/community center which would provide education for both kids as well as adults.

It could have been one of those "wouldn't it be nice if..." conversations, but because I'm an organizational developer I siezed the moment and gave a quick sales pitch about how we REALLY could do this. I offered to facilitate meetings and guide the group through the various processes.

It's now 1.5 years later. Our strategic plan is about 80% complete. On Friday we elected the director of our board and agreed to begin filing papers for our 501-3c. The local American Legion has agreed to let us hold the school there when we open up this August. The four families who've been in on the planning process have really worked hard to get this far. I'll have to see if I can post our brochure and/or strategic plan. In the mean time, here's some excerpts from the executive summary of the strategic plan:

Vision:
By Fall of 2009, Leslie Creative Learning Cooperative, a 501-3c non-profit organization, will open its doors to 12-15 students. Our facility will be eco-friendly with multiple learning environments which encourage holistic development and self-initiated learning.

Mission:
LCLC is a non-profit elementary school which provides affordable holistic education to children in Northern Arkansas. Our mission is to enhance the child’s natural ability to realize his/her highest potential. Our developmentally appropriate environment supports alternate learning styles. At LCLC we partner with parents and students to craft an individual learning plan about which each student can be passionate. Our goal is to create a partnership between children, parents, teachers, the school, and the community.

Educational Philosophy:
At LCLC we believe children learn best in an environment in which they are actively involved in their education. Children learn when they are excited about the subject and inspired rather than required to learn. We feel children learn best when the curriculum is both developmentally appropriate and centered on their individual learning style. Learning is enhanced when children are in a multi-aged classroom in which they are able to learn from and teach each other.

At LCLC we recognize that the parents are their children’s first educators. Diversity and individuality are respected, encouraged and supported in our democratic approach to both curriculum and decision making. We feel the process of learning is just as important as the subjects being taught. LCLC strives to place learning in both a local and global context.
Teachers partner with parents and students to design an individual learning plan which is tailored to the student’s interests and developmental needs. Parents elect part time or full time attendance so that a portion of the child’s learning happens in the home. We strive to create a learning community which not only supports the learning of each individual student, but also provides students with opportunities to collaborate.

Whenever possible the individual learning plans of the several students blend with communal projects. Communal projects are designed to provide experiential and integrated learning. LCLC communal projects are not only relevant to the developmental needs of the students, but also to the development of the community at large. Examples might include a coop school garden and farmers market.

I will periodically blog about the work to date and the next steps. If you, reader, should happen to find this blog post because you are dreaming of creating a school, please feel free to contact me and I will share our materials and experiences with you. Afterall, one of the best ways to change the world for the good is to start by giving the next generation of leaders the best education possible.