An alternative school for Durham Region
Alternative school is a broad phrase covering everything from unschooling to a very structured Montessori room. It's worth being specific about which parts we take and which we do not, because the label alone tells a parent almost nothing.
We take individual pacing, mastery before moving on, and a day built around doing. We leave behind the idea that children will find their own way to literacy and numeracy if left alone.
Mastery before moving on
In a conventional class the calendar decides when a topic ends. A child who has not understood long division in the week allotted to it moves on anyway, and the gap travels with them into every year that follows.
Here a student moves on when they have it. That means some children spend longer on a thing and some spend less, which is only possible because the groups are small and mixed in age. It's the single change that does the most for a child who is behind, and the one that does the most for a child who is bored.
Self-directed, within a structure
Students take real responsibility for their own work: what to do next, how to plan a week, when to ask for help. That capacity is taught rather than assumed, and it's most of what character education means in practice.
What it does not mean is being left to it. Reading, writing and mathematics are taught deliberately every morning, by an adult, to a standard.
Questions about Alternative school
Is this a Montessori school?
No. We share individual pacing with Montessori, but we're not a Montessori school, don't use the materials, and have no affiliation with any Montessori body.
Is this unschooling?
No. Unschooling waits for a child's interest to lead; we teach reading, writing and mathematics deliberately every morning whether or not a child arrives interested in them that day.
Join the founding families list
The Academy opens when the founding cohort is full. Families on the list get first places, help set the first year's calendar, and keep the founding rate for as long as their child is enrolled.