Summer Highlights and a New Core Staﬀ Member

Welcome, Emme Geryk, new Core Staff and Outreach Coordinator. Emme will primarily be in the North Star common room, offering her cheerful attention to our community. She will also be responsible for our social media accounts and other local outreach projects. With any remaining time, Emme will support other staff with various classes, building needs, and adventures. As she settles in, Emme may take on tutorials with teens and advising as needed.

Emme was a member of North Star for three years, 2015-2017. She has most recently been the Programming Coordinator for the Holyoke Children’s Museum, after attending Concordia University in Montreal.

Emme brings a deep concern for the well-being of our teens and community, and has a strong capacity for noticing how people are managing around her. We welcome her commitment and vision for making North Star a welcoming place for everyone.

Other Summer 2025 Highlights include:

1. Major Grant from The Novo Foundation: While the primary purpose of these funds is to enable me (Ken) and others to share our model for self-directed learning with others, the first step in that process is to make myself more available for that work. In addition to Emme’s presence, North Star is hiring a professional bookkeeper to take over those tasks from me, and we will have some staff training for intake meetings with inquiring families.

2. New Upstairs Hallways: Valley Home Improvement has constructed two new walls upstairs to rearrange the traffic flow and to create a new quiet room. Who knew hallways could be so exciting? Aaron is working on organizing the books in the new library as well.

3. VELA Conference: I attended the VELA Con in Washington DC, a weekend focused on supporting people starting new programs and microschools around the United States. Liberated Learners may gain some new members from Oakland CA, Chicago IL, and Pine Ridge, SD.

I also moderated a conversation about offering programs for high school students, and met many interesting people, including some offering programs near the schools where I taught in Prince George’s County back in the 1990s!

4. Publicity About North Star: North Star was featured in two major articles over the summer, one in the online education magazine The 74 and another on the front page of The Boston Globe! Also, our friend and colleague Kerry McDonald has published a new book, Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling. Kerry features both North Star and Liberated Learners, situating us as pioneers in the movement. Her book is an inspiring overview of the current school choice landscape and introduces many creative people starting programs in their communities.

5. North Star Starting Strong: As of the end of August, North Star has 63 members registered for the coming year, a very high number for before Labor Day! We held a new families Pizza Night last week, with a solid turnout, giving all of us a chance to connect names and faces before the chaos of opening week. We have a full calendar of classes, a cohesive staff, and an improved building. As always, the introductory letters from teens and parents are heartwarming and inspiring, and perhaps can be part of my next blog post. Meanwhile, I will look forward to spending more time consulting about our model. I’ll be attending the Liberation of Education Conference in San Marcos, Texas at the end of October, and we are currently working with starters in Kingston, NY (KEEP), Clearwater FL, and Zurich, Switzerland! I’m also having a fascinating exchange with a fellow in Vietnam. Stay tuned.