bestfreeeducation.org

Founded in year 1969, the Free School in Albany located in New York City is considered the longest running independent school in the USA. It provides a great alternative to traditional patterns of education by providing children total freedom over learning. Here students, many whom have already slipped through the disadvantages of current’s regimented school system, prosper in a nurturing setting allowing them the opportunity to chart their course of learning when fostering the emotional development.

At this school students not just study traditional academic subjects, but useful lessons about democracy, responsibility, problem solving as well as how to communicate with each other. The school has always placed huge emphasis on its student’s emotional well-being and the nurturing of loving and caring relationships. Often observant visitors comment on how tightly connected the students look and how cautiously they after each other.
Truth be told, the school is a community much more than just a school - a nurturing, safe, open space where daily about 60 kids ages from 3 to 14, 8 full-time teachers, a strick stream of interns, a cook, visitors and volunteers work, play, eat and learn together. There are some traditional school trappings: certain rooms have blackboards and desks; there are many shelves with teaching materials and books of various types in others; and all through the building there is a modernized computer network, owing to Time Warner Cable plus a generous local business. Though students are arranged into homeroom groups by their age and they have a teacher for checking in with during the whole day, combining of ages is frequent and this fosters a sense of community among the students.