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By Jerry Mintz

Our organization is founded on an awareness of the power and justice of learner-centered
education. We think that most teachers and administrators in the public school system agree
that learner-centered education is supported by experience and science, as well as by our
principle that schools must above all, take care of all children well and promote their well-
being. But the antiquated system with roots in the 18th century hasn’t kept up with that belief.

We think that now is an opportune time to change that. For two months we have convened a
think tank of mostly present or former public school educators to help develop structures that
can be used in schools across the country and the world to move the system toward a more
learner-centered approach when students return to physical schools, or even before. Many of
these ideas are not new, and have been developed by public school innovators who have
previously created islands of learner-centered, empowering education.

School Within School (SWS)

In this model, which goes back to at least the 1970’s, a group of less than 100 students are

based in a classroom in a school building, or sometimes a stand-alone site. The classes are co-
designed by students and staff members and decisions are often made democratically.

Sometime class attendance is optional and there are no grades, just evaluations. Independent
studies are encouraged. This idea has been so effective that there are SWS’s that were founded
in the “70’s and still are going strong.

Here’s a link to SWS in Brookline, Massachusetts that was founded in 1970:
http://bhs.brookline.k12.ma.us/sws.html

Here’s a link to another SWS at a public school in New York
https://thewheatleyway.org/tag/sws/

Independent Study Programs

In many states, notable California, almost every school district has an Independent Study
Program. In these programs, parents primarily responsible for their children’s education, but
they are part of their local public school systems There are many thousands of students in these
program is California and elsewhere.

Here is a link to the Independent Study Programs in California:
https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/is/

Public Micro-Schools

Some public educators have created micro-schools that are learner-centered. There are quite a
variety. For example the Big Picture Learning organization https://www.bigpicture.org/
is an umbrella for the MET schools. https://www.themethighschool.org

Started by two pioneering public educators, Dennis Littky and Elliot Washor, they started the
first ones in Providence, Rhode Island, but now there are over 100 around the country. They are
generally limited to under 100 students, have democratic meetings, and feature internships for
all of its students.

The 20% Idea

Pioneering public democratic education proponent Derry Hannam has proposed an idea that is rapidly catching on around the world. He suggests that every school should reserve 20% of their time for students to pursue their own interests, with the support of their school and teachers. You can read his proposal here:

https://www.progressiveeducation.org/the-20-project-for-schools-a-modest-proposal-by-derry-hannam/

The System of Public Democratic Schools in Israel

In 1987, with the support of the Israeli Ministry of Education, Yaacov Hecht started one of the first public democratic schools, the Democratic School of Hadera, now with over 500 students. There are now over 25 public democratic schools in Israel.

Here’s the Wikipedia story the Democratic School of Hadera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_School_of_Hadera

Here’s a story about public democratic schools in Israel:
https://forward.com/news/israel/349217/in-israels-democratic-schools-kids-are-in-charge/

They even have one of the few programs for training teacher to teach in democratic schools, the Democratic Institute.
https://www.democratic.co.il/en/ide/

Schools as Resource Centers

With the gradual reopening of schools, they may find themselves of most use by becoming local resource centers. It may be impractical to put large groups of students back into classes with one teacher at the front and the students in rows of desks. Resources and learning centers may need to be spread throughout the whole school and even in the community beyond.

Here is an example of resource centers in the Nyack, New York School System:
https://www.nyackschools.org/groups/6167/family_resource_centers/home

Here’s one in Oklahoma:
https://www.opsrc.net/

Here’s one in Arkansas:
https://www.apsrc.net/