JP Free School

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For those interested in building a democratically run Free School in Jamaica Plain, including parents and students looking for alternative educational options.

Location: Jamaica Plain
Members: 38
Latest Activity: May 15, 2012

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Why a Free School?

The Jamaica Plain Free School would be built on the principles of democratic education and the free schools movement, founded in 1921 by A.S. Neill, founder of the Summerhill School in Leiston, England.

According to the Alternative Education Resource Organization, "democratic schools generally share most or all of the following characteristics, although there is no exact definition or requirement for a democratic school:
* shared decision-making among the students and staff
* a learner-centered approach in which students choose their daily activities
* equality among staff and students
* the community as an extension of the classroom

I am currently looking for parents and students interested in building such a school in Jamaica Plain that would take advantage of all the great resources available in our neighborhood, city, and surrounding areas. Students would collaboratively decide on learning activities while teachers at the school would serve largely as mentors and guides for the students.

Once freed from the confines of the traditional educational system, our only limit is our imagination. Some possible student activities include:
* trips to art museums, such as the MFA, ICA, and Gardner Museum (to name a few)
* apprenticeships with local artists and entrepreneurs,
* visits to history museums and historical sites,
* attending local theater productions and films festivals,
* conducting oral history projects,
* writing stories and poetry in the Arnold Arboretum and Forest Hills Cemetery,
* producing documentary films,
* running civic action campaigns,
* volunteering at youth and community organizations,
* attending and speaking at City Council meetings and other public hearings,
* attending public forums at universities, Copley Library, the JFK Library, and the
Old South Meeting House,
* growing vegetables in a community garden, and
* participating in community service projects.

I am currently looking for parents and students in Jamaica Plain and surrounding communities who are interested in exploring this exciting education alternative. If you are interested, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Roy Karp at karp@civicedproject.org.

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Comment by Zillah Glory on March 14, 2009 at 9:09pm: what i could offer is my interest, history, and time as a teacher, particularly in performance/creative free-thinking and improvisation. i had a particularly fine teacher once who defined "at-risk" as everyone who did not have access to exploring their imagination and a floor upon which to be heard. any solution for any problem, enacted or expressed bodily, was the first step to accepting the self as a source of knowledge. this can't be radical, but gets so easily forgotten.

Comment by Dana Ortegon on March 10, 2009 at 2:04pm: My son (7.5) and daughter (5) go to Sudbury Valley. It's a magical place. I would love to help build a "school" like SVS here in JP.

Comment by Ben on March 10, 2009 at 1:03pm: I'm excited to watch this grow! A friend of mine was planning on founding a free school in VT upon completing his masters and had asked me to teach (he ended up pursuing his PhD instead). After beginning Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich, I'm very interested in non-curriculim-centric education for both kids and adults. Perhaps as this project gets underway, a skillshare-based, "continuing education" program will develop!

Comment by Andrée Zaleska on March 4, 2009 at 2:57pm: I just posted a longer note on the Discussion Forum for this group, about the possibility of using the JP Green House as a site or hub for the school. Please see our website at www.jpgreenhouse.org to get a sense of what we're doing. I invite responses--here or in private at greenhousejp@gmail.com

Comment by Robin Maxfield on March 4, 2009 at 1:47pm: So happy to see this....I have an 'unschooled' 15 year old. After reading all of John Holt I started a cooperative here in JP with 5 families that lasted from kindergarten until 5th grade. I have also read the book on the democratic school in England. After visiting Sudbury though I saw some huge room for improvement on the concept! We should talk....

Comment by Stacy B on March 1, 2009 at 7:05pm: I've lived in JP for 13 years now...I loved it as a 20-something and I love it now as a mom. JP is an amazing community and has so much to offer for both adults & children alike. I think a school like this, with a child-centered and hands-on approach, could really take advantage of all that our neighborhoods have to offer & would be a great fit for many families here who share a similar vision! Please keep me in the "loop" :)

Comment by Linda Goodrich on February 27, 2009 at 8:43pm: Hi Roy! It's Linda. Remember me from Codman Academy? I just saw a post about this on JPmoms and thought I'd take a look and I noticed your name and photo. What a great idea. I am very interested. Please keep me posted!

Comment by Danielle on February 27, 2009 at 9:25am: We're interested- we live in JP and homeschool, and this sounds very similar to some homeschool groups that currently exist. I think it sounds wonderful~~

Comment by Andrée Zaleska on February 27, 2009 at 4:32am: This is tremendously important for our kids and our community. We run an ad hoc kid's program - called "Kid's Saturday Morning Bash & Build" and are planning a summer camp, partly to give our kids & their friends opportunities to do stuff that's just, well, fun (like building rockets, breaking up stuff we pull from the trash to see what's inside & building a boat), but mostly to give them free space to do with as they wish. But we need to break the kid's out of their school/prison altogether. Would like to help in any way we can. Ken & Andree, co-founders, JP Green House