by Ken Danford | Sep 17, 2023 | self-directed learning
Laura Meckler and I were on the Shaker Heights High School debate team together when I was a senior and she was a sophomore. Some forty years later, in just the past month, Laura has published a book about race relations in Shaker Heights called Dream Town, and has...
by Ken Danford | Sep 11, 2023 | self-directed learning
We are on our way! We’ve had our first week of welcomes, preceded by the first-ever “Pizza and Games Night” for new families in late August. For a mature organization, we have a lot of “New” this month. We have approximately 20 new families, including people moving to...
by Ken Danford | Aug 23, 2023 | self-directed learning
We have three new staff members for North Star this fall: Emily Provost, Teresa Jones, and Saleem Mizrachi. We received more than 30 applications for our openings, and we conducted 9 interviews. The process was inspiring: we could clearly staff three full centers with...
by Ken Danford | Jul 23, 2023 | self-directed learning
The highlight for me of the 2023 AERO Conference was meeting some new friends from One Crazy School in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Kateryna, Tania, Dasha, and Yasha traveled from the chaos of war to share their experiences with those of us gathered comfortably at the Long...
by Ken Danford | Jun 18, 2023 | Uncategorized
As the final moments of our year wind down, we are learning that three Core Staff members are moving on to fresh adventures. We celebrate what each of them has given to our community, and we wish them all the best on the next phase of their lives. We will miss each...
by Ken Danford | Jun 15, 2023 | Uncategorized
We lost a valued member of the community last month when Dan Bouquillon passed away. Dan was an alum who also was serving on our Board of Directors this year. I attended his funeral service and burial last week, and there was a chance to say a few words. In summary,...
by Ken Danford | Apr 29, 2023 | Uncategorized
I have continued my reading, listening, and talking about Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) through the past month, and I remain convinced we are at the beginning of a revolution that will change the landscape of education in the United States. Nearly 25 states have...
by Ken Danford | Mar 26, 2023 | Uncategorized
Since January, I have been researching publicly-funded support for homeschooling, and I have found out that I have been blissfully ignorant of the growth of states offering Education Savings Accounts over the past year or two, with quite a bit of new political action...
by Ken Danford | Mar 7, 2023 | Uncategorized
The North Star staff is currently working through a diversity and inclusion curriculum through the guidance of one of our parents who does this work professionally. One of the resources presented to us this month was a podcast series released in 2017: Scene on Radio –...
