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10 Steps To Start Your Own Educational Alternative

  1. Visit a variety of educational alternatives: Progressive schools, democratic schools, Montessori Schools, Waldorf schools, homeschool resource centers, and charter schools, etc.
  2. Think about your own vision of what a good alternative would be and what would suit your philosophy.
  3. Decide what you think is the best way for your school to be governed, including whether you want to be a for-profit and own the school, a non-profit with a board, and how much decision-making power you want the students to have.
  4. Start having meetings to find out more about your local community, its needs, and what they want. See if your vision is compatible with it.
  5. Find out what the education laws are in your area, what the requirements are to start various kinds of alternatives.
  6. Decide what kind of learning environment you want and start looking for local buildings and spaces that would work to do that.
  7. Start looking at potential costs such as rent, insurance, staff salaries. Start planning fundraisers and looking for sponsors.
  8. Start recruiting potential students and staff members. Use relevant networks such as food co-ops, alternative health practitioners, alternative education networks. Use the media.
  9. Map out what the first days of your alternative might look like and organize a two or three-day demonstration program.
  10. Write out an overall action plan. Make sure it is clear that this is YOUR alternative and that the other people involved are simply helping you to get it off the ground!

The School Starters Consultation program is now open. It is offered between the full September to January School Starters Course and gives the participants full access to all the course materials but is unguided. The $300 fee can be applied to the full course. Go here for more info. 

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Breaking: John Gatto to Keynote AERO Conference in August!

Renowned educator and author John Gatto has agreed to keynote the AERO conference in August. Details will be coming soon.

Gatto, who has been recovering from a serious stoke several years ago, has started writing again. He has a new children's book that will be released soon, "Snider the CIA Spider," and has been working on a revision of the "Underground History of American Education."

Gatto has spoken all over the world. He once rented Carnegie Hall to introduce people to educational alternatives. He made headlines during his acceptance speech as New York State Teacher of the Year by calling the education system "psychopathic!"

He said to us, "I will write something really good for you!"

Other Keynoters for the AERO conference include Dennis Littky, founder of the MET Schools and unschool expert Dayna MartinJoanna Faber will do a presentation on her new book, "How to talk to Little Kids Will Listen."

You can still register for the early bird rate of $225 until Tuesday.  If you plan to be a presenter you can still register at the presenter rate of $175, which is also the student and volunteer rate

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Network With Wayfinding Acadmy

Hello friends from AERO,

 

I am very glad I got the chance to meet a lot of you in Portland a couple months ago during the annual AERO conference. As a brand new alternative college it has been a joy to find other like-minded folks to collaborate with. 

 

I am reaching out today because we just launched our search for our 2nd ever cohort of students and I am wondering if any of you might be able to help us find some of them. Do you know someone who may be searching for their next steps?  

  • A high-school senior about to graduate who isn’t sure what they want to do, but are curious, passionate and interested in how they can contribute to the world?

  • Someone who has tried traditional higher education, found it didn’t work for them and are now looking for something different?

  • Someone who is deeply interested in something, but needs help figuring out their next steps in realizing their dreams?

 

We know a few of these someones too – and they’re students at the Wayfinding Academy. Wayfinding Academy is a new, 2 year, nonprofit college in the historic St. Johns neighborhood in Portland, Oregon at the heart of a movement to revolutionize higher education. We believe the current higher education system is backwards and our mission is to flip it frontwards. You can learn more about our program and why we started Wayfinding Academy here.

 

We’d love to talk more about how we can partner and together, introduce students looking for their next steps to the Wayfinding Academy.  

 

We invite you to:

  • Connect with us for a conversation to learn more about about Wayfinding Academy and tell us more about your organization!

  • Invite one of our team members to speak to your organization or students you may know who may be a great match for Wayfinding Academy

  • Share the invitation for our prospective student open house on Saturday, November 12th at our campus in Portland with any students, parents or community members who would want to learn more

 

Graduates of our program have an online portfolio to show the world who they are and what they can do, a network of support, their next steps in place, and earn an Associate’s degree in Self & Society (vetted and approved by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission).

 

Answers to many other questions can be found on our FAQ page, but we’d love the opportunity to tell you more about Wayfinding in person.  

 

I look forward to connecting with you and please share this message with others who may find it of interest.

 

To life on purpose,

Michelle 

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Circle of Seasons Charter School 2017-2018 Teaching Opportunities in Grade 1

Circle of Seasons Charter School, the only Public Waldorf Charter School in the eastern United States, is seeking two PA-certified Grade 1 teachers for the ***2017-2018*** school year. (Yes, we are already starting to interview for next year! We have a very lengthy and comprehensive interview process.) Please note that Grade 1 teachers will loop with their classroom of students for several years in a row!

We are looking for three unique, talented, dynamic, passionate, and skilled individuals! Applicants should have a high joy-factor and positive energy and enthusiasm; superb classroom management and leadership; emotional maturity; excellent organizational and communication skills; a love of learning and a love of playing; and, a drive for excellence with a commitment to each child.  Applicants should display a strong capacity for kindness, compassion, and thoughtfulness. Ability to sing, play a wind instrument, draw/paint, or create original stories is a plus! 

To get a general sense of what we do at Circle of Seasons, please feel free to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ZSeepDmPE.

Public Waldorf Education is grounded in many, many things, but two of the key characteristics include differentiated, arts-based instruction in every classroom every day for every student and a profound commitment to age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate instruction. COS students are physically active inside and outside of the classroom on a daily basis. Our students are engaged socially and emotionally throughout the course of each day. We recognize that cognitive and intellectual development occurs over time and that academic progress and success is a marathon, not a race. You will not find technology, textbooks or tests in our early grades classrooms. Instead, you will find students working with beeswax crayons and watercolor paints, doing handwork activities such as knitting and woodworking, and spending significant amounts of time outside playing, gardening, and going on walks and hikes. You will also find teachers singing in the hallways, telling stories by heart in their classrooms, and creating beautiful drawings on the classroom chalkboard. 

Previous Public Waldorf teaching experience or training not required. All COS teachers will receive training during June-July- August and then during the school year. A solid background in understanding all aspects of child development is expected; interest in brain-based learning and progressive approaches to working with children is a plus. Individuals hired for 2017-2018 teaching positions will be required to attend Public Waldorf Education training(s) taking place at the Sunbridge Institute (Chestnut Ridge, NY) in June and/or July 2017.

Additionally, all COS teachers will be required to perform the following duties:

  • Believe deeply in the mission and values of Circle of Seasons Charter School
  • Demonstrate strong Public Waldorf Education pedagogy and effective classroom management
  • Hold high expectations for each student and exhibit positive rapport with students
  • Continually improve teaching skills by seeking out constructive feedback and professionaldevelopment opportunities
  • Demonstrate initiative and integrity
  • Establish and maintain strong communication lines with all parents
  • Attend all staff meetings
  • Other duties as assigned by the school leader

Please submit your resume along with a letter of interest describing how or why Public Waldorf Education resonates with you personally and/or professionally. Resumes and letters of interest should be sent directly to Phil Arnold at parnold@circleofseasons.org.

Equal Opportunity Policy:
Circle of Seasons Charter School is a public school under the Supervision of the Commonwealth and equal opportunity employer . Circle of Seasons Charter School fully supports a policy of equal employment opportunity in all job classifications and this encompasses recruitment, selection, assignment, promotion, transfer, dismissal, compensation, and training of all personnel.

 

See the job ad here in pdf form.