Episode 1: Is it Time to Start a School?

This post is part of a series. See Episode 0 here.

One of my professional dreams has always been to start and run a school. The school in my mind has changed over the years. When I was working in universities, it was a small university, something like Colorado College, where the students engaged in experiential curriculum largely in nature or in the community or from a campus that felt alive and innovative and organic. Lately it’s been a school for children, probably since I’m seeing the world through the eyes of my own young children, and care very much about where I’m sending them every day.?

I’ve been obsessing about their school choice, since we found out their Montessori school would be closing. The director/teacher retired at the end of this school year and sold the property, partly because she’s had a long successful career that’s coming to an end, but more because she’s super fed up trying to keep the place staffed. It seems that the Great Resignation has hit an industry already challenged by staffing shortages and under-recognition extra-extra hard. I can’t blame her for throwing in the towel.?But it does leave me wondering what's next for the kids, and nothing available seems quite right.

So the combination of “Where will I send my kids to school?” and, “I need to rethink my work-life” has me re-engaging with this dream. Is it time to start a school? One that my kids could attend??

Today I have a clear vision of the type of school that I think would create impact, fill a niche, and be the kind of project I’d be excited to helm. My favorite models are the Bush School in Seattle, SEEQs School in Hawaii, and the Teton Science Schools in Wyoming. It will be in person, preschool through grade 12, with a focus on environment, STEM, project-based and experiential learning, and strong connections to career experiences in the upper grades through apprenticeships and internships. The campus will be nature based and community connected, taking the learning beyond classroom walls every chance we get. It will be rigorous, personalized, and student-driven, but also cohort-based, because I believe in both learner agency and forging strong supportive relationships with peers, developing accountability and lifelong relationships. We would center on our community, with an emphasis on serving whole family systems and the world around us. This would happen through features like family take-home meals, an extended school day, volunteer service, as well as student service learning. The result would be students exceptionally prepared to lead lives of impact in the world, and families who are fully supported in raising them. This all feels like a tricky combination to pull off, but worth trying, and the promise of it could be a school environment that addresses the needs of learners, the needs of families, and the needs of our world, in a time and place where parents are overworked and students are feeling disconnected.?

In looking at different models, I researched Acton Academy again this week, a franchised school model based on Montessori (which I love), but adapted to K-12 learners and modified with a sort of entrepreneurial and self-governance flair. I had filled out an application to start an Acton Academy a few months ago, and was rejected, possibly because I asked too many questions about the franchise piece and brand requirements, which both feel like they could sour the experience for me a bit. Schools are notoriously high capital investments and low margin, so to give even 3% of revenue back to the parent org feels tough. And I do love my freedom when it comes to designing a school. But, maybe it’s worth reconsidering or re-applying. There is support there, in a network of other school founders. A community of other working parents with similar concerns about the mix of work and parenting in their life would certainly be welcome as I navigate a transition in my career. And access to systems and resources also feels like it would make this kind of founding journey easier.?

Or, maybe I begin with preschool? I can’t fathom 12 toddlers in my living room, but there is a new early childhood licensing process in Washington state for outdoor and nature-based preschool programs. I attended an orientation for that a month ago and am intrigued. I’d need to find the right space (which is non-trivial, actually), hire two or three teachers, set up a website, buy equipment, and recruit other families who feel great about sending their kids into nature for 8 hours a day rain or shine. Not small feats, but that feels possible, and then perhaps there is expansion potential the year after into the early elementary grades and beyond.?

Some next steps here might be to stand up a test website and do a little market research with parents in our local area to check in on level of interest for any of these options. Or, to join a fellowship program like Transcend to get some support around the first steps and testing the market.?

So is it time to start a school? If you are a parent, does this sound like something you'd send your kids to? What other school models, examples, or networks should I look at? Or if you've done this, what advice do you have for me? I'm looking forward to exploring it more.

#career #parenting #worklifebalance #workingmom #workingparent

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This post is part of a series by Janet Matta exploring career decisions that could better integrate parenting and work life. Links to each episode in the series:

Episode 0: Can I be a mom at work? Let's find out.