Recommended Reading
Books and articles to further your journeyRecommended Reading
Dig deeper! Here are quick bits to view online or read in print. For book suggestions, scroll way down. The Circle School is part of an international movement of democratic schools with a rich body of literature, so there’s more beyond this if you want to go deeper still.
Online and download
FAQ: Basics and more
What’s a democratic school? How do students learn? Reading? College? Theory of education?
What Are Teachers Good For?
Three things that teachers are good for, and three things they’re not. From our friends at The Open School.
Self-Directed Education's Optimizing Conditions
Six ways The Circle School optimizes education.
The Meadow Campaign Five Years Later
Built our forever home, the Meadow Campus, in 2016-17.
Alumni Stories
Why did they come to The Circle School? What did they learn? What are they doing now? A dozen or so tales.
How Does It Work In Concept?
Mix two PURPOSES of education with two IDEALS in schooling, and bake in a simple metaphor for what school can be. Then ice the cake with “secondary ideals” and “daily practices”. Enjoy.
Circle School Graduates in College
A 2015 look at Circle School graduates
Is This School Really Self-Directed?
The term can be misleading. Consider drag-alongs, tag-alongs, stumble-ons, and happenings.
Movements in education
Illustrating the character and values of traditional, modern, and integral education
Life at The Circle School
Video interview of staff member Cody Unger and student Pepper Loucas. Hear stories of life at The Circle School and how “practicing life” makes for better education and happier kids.
It's the process, not the content.
The content fades over the years, but the process is formative and enduring.
Mission and Methods
A 2-minute outline of the school’s mission, beliefs, values, and methods.
Ends We Seek
Thirteen ideals The Circle School strives for. Built into the school’s bylaws.
School Governance
At-a-glance guide to The Circle School’s governing structures, functions, and ideals — in three colorful illustrations.
Wanted: A Few Good Females
Don’t sell your daughter short. Here’s why self-directed democratic schooling is right for her. By a mom who knows girls and schools.
Books
When Kids Rule the School
by Circle School
co-founder & staff member
Jim Rietmulder
Free to Learn
by Peter Gray
Empowered Kids / Liberated Parents
by Cassi Clausen
& Aaron Browder