Updated 2020-10-27

Starting a School

This resource is an introductory guide for starting a new school based on the author’s experiences of forming a Sudbury model school in Canada.
Carlo Ricci, Kristin Simpson author
Ricci, C., & Simpson, K. (2008). Starting a School. Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, 2(4), 1-20. Retrieved from https://jual.nipissingu.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2014/06/v2241.pdf

Description

As Holt suggests, we need to create gates so that those who want to escape the walled garden can more easily do so. To this end, creating an alternative school is one such gate. Not surprisingly, many believe that doing so entails a lot more obstacles than it actually does. Some believe that you would need many credentials, for example a PhD, or a Masters in education, or you would need to be or have been a principal in a public school or at the very least a certified teacher. The truth is that none of this is a prerequisite for starting your own school and that anyone with the will to do it can. Of course there are challenges, yet these are not insurmountable. The authors hope that those who are thinking about starting a school will use this piece as a resource and as an inspiration to start their own school and to continue to put up gates for those willing to escape.

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