August 30, 2009
PROJECT CHOICE SCHOOL MEETING #1 8/29/09; NOTES
Introductions
My Background Information
Maila White, Project Choice School facilitator
Previous experience: Counselor for learning disabled children, Teacher's Assistant in the public school system, Teacher's assistant and Lead Teacher in daycare centers
Currnet position: own and operate a home daycare business for 10 yrs, mother of 3 children 16, 14, and 9 yrs
Education:Certificate in Early Childhood Education, working towards B.S. in Psychology
Summary Of The mission For Choice School of Northern Virginia
The foocus for the education of the children at Choice School of Northern Virginia will be on the process of learning, on what the children are getting out of their educational experiences as people, on what new and creative ideas they come up with because of those experiences, and on what they can share with others about what they've learned.
Model Schools Named
These are schools with very similar philosophies to that of Choice School of Northern Virginia and are already established
http://www.choiceschool.com
Choice School in Kochi, India
http://www.parkschool.net
Park School in Baltimore, MD
Other Independent School References Named
These are other established independent schools which have opened on a similar premise, community members getting together to make a difference. These and many other resources can be found online by entering the keywords "democratic school", "independent school", "community school"
www.sudval.org
Sudbury Valley School -the articles page is of particular interest in regard to some inspiring and useful information on how other independent Sudbury model schools got started.
www.brooklynfreeschool.org
Brooklyn Free School
www.albanyfreeschool.com
Albany Free School
Outline For Opening An Independent School
http://privateschool.about.com/cs/startingaschool/ht/startaschool.htm
A simplistic yet practicle 13 step outline for starting a private school which we can use as a loose guideline to be adjusted as necessary
Step 1: "Finding Your Niche" -our niche is a holistic school for children
grades k-12
Step 2: "Forming a Committee"- in process
What's Next
Continue to gain additional community involvment; spread the word!
Research the criteria for opening an independent school in Prince William County
Applicable legislation
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/RegPrivSchl/virginia.html
US Dept. of Education, provides information on the state regulation of private schools
Research other sources for legislative information
Communicate with other oustide contacts that may have useful information in regard to opening/operating an independent school
Research areas that may have large interest in a holistic school
Other Topics Discussed During Q&A
Location
Legislation may weigh in on where exactly the school can be located
The ineterest generated in a particular area will also determine location
Grade levels
The goal is to offer schooling for children ages k-12, but if necessary to ensure a successful start we may begin with just opening as an elementary school grades k-5 and growing from there; "Start small, think BIG"
Funding
The goal is to offer schooling to all children from families of any financial background, so obtaining grants will be necessary
Creativ Arts
Creative arts programs (music, art, etc) will be incorporated in the regular curriculum
Upcoming meetings
At this time, Project Choice School meetings will be held on a monthly basis. The next meeting is TBA.
August 19, 2009
PROJECT CHOICE SCHOOL MEETING #1 UPDATED
The first meeting for Project Choice School volunteers and organizers will be held on Saturday, August 29th at the Bull Run Regional Library Community Room from 1-3pm. The previous date of Sunday the 30th was revised due to location and availability.
The address is:
8051 Ashton Ave
Manassas, VA 20109-2892
(703) 792-4500
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS
Please RSVP to ChoiceSchool_Info@ymail.com if you are planning to attend.
August 5, 2009
FIRST MEETING OF THE MINDS FOR PROJECT CHOICE SCHOOL SCHEDULED
The first meeting for the volunteers and organizers of Project Choice School will be held on Sunday, August 30th. The exact time and location is still TBA as our list of organizers is growing and an appropriate venue has yet to be finalized.
If you would like to be placed on the mailing list to receive updates for upcoming meetings and events for Project Choice School and/or would like to be placed on the list of volunteers please send an email to ChoiceSchool_Info@ymail.com
