For years, I taught upwards of 150 students a day, in 46 minute intervals. It was not ideal. I also spent years teaching classes capped at 16 students, and the difference is staggering. With small groups each student can get personal instruction, and this greatly accelerates mastery. Having small groups with individual attention allows students to move at their own pace, which is often far faster than the pace of a 30-student class room. This creates more time for enrichment and additional subjects. Classes here are capped at 14 students in total, and most courses will be offered in groups containing between 2 and 6 students. This ensures all students get the most out of instruction without waiting for a huge class to catch up to them. It also means no student will fall behind because the teacher is focused on the individual rather than the middle 80% of a large group. Lastly, a total student body of 14 allows us all to fit in the 15-passenger van for weekly field trips.

• The kids will plan, prepare, cook, and serve lunch for and with each other, sharing the labor of planning, preparation and clean up.

• There are physical fitness and mindful awareness exercises embedded in the daily routine.

• There is daily independent reading time.

• There are weekly field trips.

• The student body is treated as a single team, engaging in regular team-building activities.

• Students will identify and pursue areas of study according to their own interest (in addition to core curriculum, not in place of it).

• The daily curriculum is a blend of traditional teacher-led instruction, thematic/experiential/project-based learning, and individualized web-based learning.

• Regarding pedagogy, we strive for a middle path. Rather than subscribing to a single approach, we freely borrow from many methods, including: Waldorf, Montessori, Forest School, traditional direct instruction, Socratic seminar, thematic and inquiry-driven learning.

It IS a place where students can:

Pursue personal academic interests, have regular access to nature, manage their own daily tasks of living, be included on a single team, be called by whatever name they want, speak freely about their perceptions of truth and reality, pursue a rigorous academic college-bound track, pursue a practical skills-based vocational track, receive individualized accommodations for their learning plan.

It is NOT a place where students can:

Evade responsibility (either to their work, themselves or their classmates); behave disrespectfully (being such a small school means acts of violence, harassment, or abuse will impact the entire school, and cannot be abided); only study what they want (to be clear, this school leans in to self-directed learning, but certain courses are required for all students, including most core academics, philosophy, and nature studies).

For the first year at least, the school will operate out of my home in west Deland. Whole group activities will take place in the large back room, and individual work can be completed at the long front table, around the kitchen counter, on couches, at group work tables, and at several individual work desks.