A different kind of school

Classes at Oakland LEARN are optional.

Our core principles are simple: students set their own learning goals, in one-on-one planning sessions with their teacher. We help them set goals that are achievable, ambitious, challenging and fun - and that meet each kid where they’re at. Our job as educators is to make meeting their learning goals fun and achievable.

Classes at Oakland LEARN are optional. If a student isn’t enjoying a class, they’re always allowed to play in the playroom or outdoors instead. It turns out that students mostly skip classes if they’re bored, frustrated, or not getting their other needs met. As educators, we want to know that. Forcing kids to sit in their seats doesn’t make them learn (and our super-soundproofed playroom and gorgeous outdoor space means they won’t disrupt other students). If they’re hungry, they can eat, as long as they clean up afterwards. If they need to go to the bathroom, they can go without asking permission.

Do the kids actually learn if they have the option to play instead? Yes. And not just ‘fun’ subjects like art and music and cooking; they also engage in science, geography, history, math, and even handwriting worksheets. Students earn small rewards for schoolwork, but they’re frequently motivated by the lessons themselves. Because each student has learning goals aimed specifically at them, students don’t feel that their schoolwork is a waste of time. If they start to, it’s up to the teacher to talk to them about it and find better material.

How do you make all this work? Small class sizes, and a lot of teamwork with parents. With between 4 and 10 kids, our educators have time to figure out where each kid is at, design lessons uniquely for them, and work with them one-on-one, which is how many kids learn best. We continually communicate with parents about what each kid is studying and what challenges they’re facing, and many parents drop in to teach guest lessons each week.

But it’s affordable? Tuition for full-time students is $1500 a month, with need-based financial aid available which can reduce prices to as little as $400 a month. Part-time students pay $10/hour.

All images are shared only with permission of both students and parents.

A day in the life

Since student activities depend a lot on what the kids are interested in, we try to keep rough notes on what the kids actually do. Here are some notes from a recent day:

  • All kids started the day with a math worksheet. K (age 4) practiced writing the number five, A (age 4) practiced adding and taking away one from a number, and V (age 6) practiced reading and writing large numbers. C (age 7) was given a multiplication worksheet, but she decided to read a book instead.

  • V requested a reading lesson after finishing his worksheet, and the younger kids ended up listening in to the story (Usborne’s Stories of Monsters). K requested help writing a sentence on the whiteboard. All of the kids had a short geography lesson about Canada.

  • During lunch, the teacher read aloud the beginning of What Is The Constitution?, a chapter book about the constitutional convention. K, A, and V finished lunch and left to go play, but C begged for more and listened for another half an hour, until it was time for recess.

  • The kids had an hour-long recess at a nearby park, and returned to the school a little early when half the class reported being hungry again. We finished reading the book while the kids had an afternoon snack, then answered followup questions about the right to freedom of the press, the right to assembly, and the idea of cruel and unusual punishment. C then tried, with difficulty, to read the constitution itself, while V asked for help figuring out how many points the children had to earn to meet all of their goals (a task that involved two-digit addition and subtraction).

  • In the afternoon, the kids had art class, making paintings and collages. C opted to play outside instead of painting, but later enjoyed making a collage.

  • K went home after art class. A spent the points she’d earned on watching several episodes of Numberblocks, while C and V worked on their Pathfinder character sheets, in an effort to get ready for a school tabletop rpg campaign. C ended up doing math after all, using addition, subtraction, and multiplication to keep track of her character’s carrying capacity, money, and inventory, while V took notes on his character abilities.