In my previous post, I shared the news that North Star has enjoyed a flurry of interest from potential new families in 2022. I’d like to follow up with the news that Liberated Learners, our network of centers using our approach and our consulting operation, has also received growing attention this spring.
The Network of Programs
Liberated Learners had nine members at the beginning of the year (North Star, Princeton–Raritan–Bucks Learning Cooperatives, Bay State, Deep Root, Embark, Alcove, and Abot Tala.) The staff of our current members find our near-daily emails, twice-monthly phone calls, monthly outreach events, and twice-yearly conferences to be energizing and helpful. Our mutual support is critical as we work through new questions and hard cases. We are also looking for more ways to have our teen members interact through shared classes, online gaming platforms, and actual in-person exchanges. For now, one important aspect of the Liberated Learners organization is connecting its member centers.
In addition to this work, Liberated Learners is also providing consulting and more information to people interested in our approach. As you may know, there is a lot happening out there!
Prior to and during the pandemic, many people have started programs catering to homeschoolers. In addition to “pandemic pods,” the range of opportunities for homeschooling youth is quite large. There really are “a thousand flowers blooming,” and I am fully inspired by this landscape.
At Liberated Learners, we are especially focused on those programs that have a mission of helping “school-bound” families leave school and embark on homeschooling. To be part of our network, these organizations must have an in-person meeting space that has enough programming to support any local child and family to consider opting out of school. We are interested in creating and supporting multi-day per week programs that welcome children to attend without their parents. At the same time, we are looking to support programs that do not require attendance or compel students to participate in certain classes.
As of 2022, many people have independently created programs that share our values. We have taken strides to welcome them into our Liberated Learners network by lowering our fees and adjusting some other criteria for membership. Our first new independently-created member is Passages, located in Toronto, Ontario. We have had ongoing conversations with several other existing programs, including friends and allies in Dover NH (Tree Fort), Las Vegas NV (Bloom Academy), Dallas TX (Wild Roots,) Framingham, MA (Life Rediscovered,) and Chennai, India (Quest.)
Consulting
Our primary consulting option is a six-session process for people we refer to as “Starters.” In these meetings, we support people to complete our “Planning Document,” which is something of a blueprint or business plan. We hope that by the end of this effort, people will know whether they are in a position to open a program, and if so, whether they would like to join Liberated Learners as a member center. This spring, we have had conversations with seven Starters, Louisville KY (PoP Louisville,) Des Moines IA (Liberty SDLC,) Queens NY (Cottontail Center,) San Diego CA (First Street Community Group,) Milton NH (Back to Roots,) Arlington MA (Pathfinder,) Kennewick WA (Spark Innovative Learning Project), and Pittsfield MA (Berkshire Freedom Academy). The program in Des Moines, IA (Liberty SDLC) has recently joined Liberated Learners as our newest member.
We also have some previous Starters who have programs in various stages that may join us in the future, including one in Brisbane Australia (Celebrate Learning.)
Webinars
For people just learning about the world of self-directed education and our model,
Liberated Learners hosts two free webinars each month, one with Joel Hammon (President of Liberated Learners and Co-Founder of the The Learning Cooperatives) and one with me. These webinar attendees are most often discouraged school teachers researching alternative models and experienced homeschooling parents interested in creating more options for their children and their communities. In 2022, we’ve had more than 40 webinar participants. The last few months have seen substantially more registrants than in the past, and we have appreciated meeting people from around the world, including Canada, South Africa, Australia, India, Spain, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Mozambique, Lithuania, and more than 15 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Some of these webinar participants have sought more individual time with us, and we enjoy learning about their personal visions for creating an alternative to school in their communities.
All of this work is optimistic and visionary. I enjoy meeting people from around the world who are interested in educational alternatives, and seeing how our model resonates with them. When we are a match, I appreciate being part of their process to plan out the actual program, and then having these people join our organization as colleagues. All of us involved with Liberated Learners look forward to having more allies and a larger network.
Other Good News: On Monday, May 17th I will be speaking by zoom to the Leaps Summit of the Qatar Foundation. These people have named North Star “one of the ten most innovative programs in the world.” When they asked me to summarize what is our “special sauce” that makes us unique, I wrote that we are not a school. This earned me the invitation. I’ll report more after the event.