Great questions! Thank you for asking them!

Why do I want to start this school: First, I feel like education is the most promising way to improve the way our country and world is right now. Second, I believe that the public education system is outdated and slow moving. While I believe that kids need foundational information, the idea that "you won't always have a calculator in your pocket" just isn't true. I believe children will best benefit from education that teaches them how to learn, how to think and problem solve, life skills, cooperation and productive debate etc. Third, I believe that children learn best from active engagement in the learning process and through subject matters that interest them. When you look at children from birth to 3, they learn how to walk, talk, eat, identify some basic shapes, etc. without any formal education. Also, as adults, we learn when we are engaged with things that interest us. I don't believe that system goes offline for the period of time we've determined as a period of formal education, and so I think it's important to continue to engage children in that way. Finally, I believe our public school options struggle to meet each student where they are at. There are families whose children need unique supports who have to fight an uphill battle to get the needed supports. There are kids that are gifted with high book intelligence that are not getting challenged. I believe that we can be more flexible to better meet the needs of individual students.

What Gap in my community: There are limited options for more flexible learning opportunities. There are a handful of private schools that are religious or college prep options, but I think there is a third category that fits well for some kids that we are lacking. The schools that are available are less continuous as well. There are some that are K-2, K-4, etc. I feel that it would be good for some kids to have a school that they can stay with throughout their early and middle education, and then take advantage of the natural high school transition point.

Background: I do not have a background in Educational Leadership. This is why I am looking specifically for a partner with an Education background. My background is in Marriage and Family Therapy and I spent the last 10 years working with kids and teens, often in the school system, whether supporting them in the classroom or school itself, or working with the family and school during IEP meetings etc. I believe that I have a vision that is of good quality, but I am able to recognize that I have some significant gaps and I cannot get this off the ground without having other people to fill those gaps.

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I hope I answered your questions, please feel free to ask follow up questions or reach out to me directly!