Meraki is a mixed-age school serving youth 5-18 years old. Age mixing is an essential ingredient in democratic and self-directed learning environments. Young people are drawn to mixed-age play and interaction, and this carries great benefits for all, including building community, fighting ableism, and creating built-in community mentorship. In aged-mixed groups, younger kids learn from observing, interacting, a and copying the older kids, and the older youth acquire leadership and nurturing skills as they engage with and care for the younger ones.

For more on age-mixing, read (Or listen to!) “The Six Optimizing Conditions” by The Alliance for Self-Directed Education.

If something is truly basic knowledge in our particular culture, community, and society, this knowledge is passed down in various ways and observed as important by young humans learning to be in the world. The “basics” will be captured in kids’ natural learning, which happens through living, playing, being in community, and engaging with the tools of the culture. We don’t need to force or trick them into learning something. Basic knowledge and skills are defined by our current world: whereas once it may have been basic knowledge to know how to saddle a horse, today it is to know how to open a web browser. Understanding of real-world math concepts is picked up through experiences with money, counting, baking, and even Minecraft. Science is present in gardening, kitchen experiments, rock collections, daily family discussions, the news, YouTube videos about natural disasters, and more. Each subject is woven throughout our daily lives in natural and tangible ways, even if we don’t decide to specifically focus or engage in lessons on “math,” “science,” or any other subject.

As for textbook academic learning that may be required for test taking, or getting into certain colleges, it has been shown that people can learn about these topics quite quickly when they have a reason and are motivated to, even if they haven’t had an academic-focused foundation laid for these subjects through conventional schooling. There are very few subjects that are sensitive to a specific window of time to learn them — most skills and knowledge can be picked up when people need them.

For more information on how people learn “the basics” in Self-Directed Education:
Unschooling Subjects by Idzie Desmarais
Math Beyond the School Mindset by Laura Grace Waldon
How I Learned by Bria Bloom

It’s different for everyone! Just like no two work days look the same (even for people with the same job), or no two daily lives look the same, every day in the life for self-directed youth is different. There can be days filled with games, discussions, baking, reading, sitting in an online programming class, or playing at the park. We may be organizing a performance or collaborating on other creations. Youth may be out with Flying Squad, hiking, or on a trip to a local museum. There can be days spent in a drawing group comparing art styles and sharing skills, writing or reading stories, engaging in a conflict resolution meeting, attending to your clerkship, hanging around with friends discussing all sorts of obscure topics or current issues, or playing a pickup game of basketball.

We encourage youth to pick a consistent schedule of attendance days so the community knows when to expect them. Facilitators will keep the calendar up to date so youth don’t miss anything pre-planned, but there are always plenty of impromptu activities as well!

More glimpses into A Day in the Life:

What do Unschoolers DO? By Idzie Desmarais
Is An Unschooling Curriculum A Thing? Raising Free People podcast episode
Growing up unschooling Exploring Unschooling podcast episode

Facilitators at Meraki are adults who are committed to youth rights, and are acting engaged in shifting harmful mindsets about young people, both in their own inner work, and in society.

Facilitator’s role is to be guides, partners, and mentors, and to engage in that delicate balance of being supportive when it is needed or asked for, and taking a step back when it is not needed or asked for.

Facilitators are also a key part of making sure the community is a vibrant space full of many activities and opportunities that youth can opt into— they share their passions and interests, create or find someone to lead specific offerings that youth are asking for, and invite youth to join them in exploring topics or activities.

Facilitators support conflict resolution, school decision-making meeting, and all the processes of the school, as well as manage many admin tasks. They are trained in various practices of working with people in compassionate and informed ways — including trauma informed care, support for neurodivergence, mediation, and more. That being said, facilitation of this type involves a lot of inner and ongoing deschooling work, as well as the soft skills necessary to engage with people in a dynamic and shifting way.

This is a typical concern from many people and understandably so. As technology shifts and evolves quickly, people of all ages are learning how to adapt and build healthy boundaries. Just like adult habits vary, some kids spend more time on screens than others. Learning what young people enjoy about their time on screens can help us understand their motives, passions, and drives for this activity. Looking at our own screen habits is also important. It’s helpful to start by asking yourself: what about them being on screens all day bothers me? And, what do healthy screen habits look like for myself?

Our relationships with screens evolve and shift depending on many factors, including new programs, work, exciting game releases, and how much our communities are online or in person (whether by choice or by necessity). 

There are no easy answers when it comes to screen time and healthy boundaries and habits. We value and focus on relationship and partner-with youth, instead of power-over structures, which informs how we talk about and think about screen and tech use.

To read about our school’s specific screen and tech policy, see here.

We focus on restorative justice processes that support all members of the community in navigating conflict and repairing with one another. More details on our conflict process can be found here.

At Meraki, we want to support young people in getting their needs met, and we believe that taking conventional school demands, expectations, definitions, and standardization out of the equation creates an environment that is better set up to support differences in needs. We welcome neurodiverse students and think that this school can be a great fit. Facilitators have also taken trainings to learn more about how to support ND individuals, and have personal experience doing so. That being said, we are not qualified nor do we have the full staffing to provide specialized mental health support.

In conventional environments it can be challenging to regulate and accommodate many different needs, our model allows for youth to decide what they do with their time and are welcome to regulate however works for them. This freedom alone can make our program more accessible than most for neurodivergent youth. That said it is important that youth be independent members of the community, and be able to engage with our processes without adult involvement.  In order to maintain the youth power and control of the space we can not accommodate youth who require their parents' presence***. That said, we understand that it can take time to get to know a community . If excited but unsure about our program we encourage youth to come to a few Open House half days, and check our calendar for our all ages community events that the wider community is welcome to attend. After this engagement, they may feel ready to try out being in this community for just one or two days through the enrichment program, until they feel confident in enrolling full time.

***Important Note: Disabled youth with state paid PCA's may be accommodated after the PCA attends a short training. 

We encourage prospective families to investigate our program thoroughly and discuss questions and concerns at length with our team and at home before deciding to enroll. The youth’s experience is often highly dependent on their parents’ experience of the school, so we insist that all guardians are committed to the decision to enroll.

For more information on Neurodivergence and Self-Directed Education:

Unschooling and Neurodiversity with Michelle Morcate
Dyslexic Kids Wrote This Article in a School That Forces No One to Read or Write
Embracing our neurodiverse children for who they are, not who they should be by Esther Jones
Becoming Yourself: Neurodiversity and Self-Directed Education by Naomi Fisher
A Different Way to Learn: Neurodiversity and Self-Directed Education book by Naomi Fisher
Experiences of ADHD-labeled kids who leave typical schooling by Peter Gray
Talking about Dyslexia! A conversation between Lynn Chambers and Justine McConville
The SDE Weekend 2: Neurodiversity Panel

Short answer, yes! Countless Unschoolers and folks in agency-focused schools have gone to college whether it be a private, public, or community college, and have pursued fields ranging from physics to art history. Some questions your young person may want to consider are “Do I need a degree for the occupation I am interested in?” “What type of college do I want to attend?” “What are the experiences I want to have in college whether they be academic or social?” and, (unfortunate but real), “is the cost and possible debt worth it for my goals and desires?”

The two most common paths for going to college without a conventional high school diploma are either attending a community college for a few years and then transferring to a four-year college or going directly to a four-year college. The first path is sometimes a lot easier than the second since transfers from community colleges are a common occurrence. Many also opt for this path because at many community colleges one can begin to take classes at 14. This doesn’t mean that a more direct route to a private institution is not possible, it just requires a bit more creativity and supplemental materials. Also, look into your local laws — some colleges offer free community college to people in their “high school” years!

The application process for college is slightly different for unschoolers/Self-Directed learners and can vary depending on what type of institution they want to attend. In general, college applications consist of a personal essay, transcript, letter of recommendation(s), and depending on which college, test scores plus a few paragraphs on why one wants to attend a certain institution. Extra requirements depend on the school, it’s best to look at on their website and look under “homeschooled applicants.” This information is on the institution’s website. Supplemental materials may consist of in-person or Zoom/phone interviews, or an extra letter of recommendation. A common myth is that one needs a GED to go to college. A GED is an option but colleges will accept homeschool diplomas as well. Unschoolers can use the “Common App” to apply to schools just like anyone else.

Check out this vast resource for more on college

There are a couple of definitions of deschooling that we like to use. One definition is that deschooling is a process a conventionally-schooled child goes through when they exit a conventional school environment and move into unschooling or self-directed education. The deschooling process for young people looks a bunch of different ways, but it’s a chance for them to adjust to not having their time controlled by others (mostly adults) all of the time, and trying to figure out what they want to do with that time now that it is their own. 

This definition is important but leaves out the ways we were all schooled by society and are grappling with deschooling our mindsets.

Another, more expansive definition, comes from M. Gilbert:

“Deschooling is a life-long, self-paced journey to unpack, acknowledge, and decenter harmful practices that affect the ways we engage and hold space in relationships through deep questioning and pivot practice toward respectful and trust-centered relationships.”

Deschooling is a process for all of us, and it is ongoing, ever-changing, and based both in personal practices and community. 

For more information on deschooling:
Deschooling by Francesca Liberatore
The Rhythm of Deschooling by Akilah S. Richards
Busting the Deschooling Myth by Akilah S. Richards
Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich
Parents! Stop whatever you’re doing and DESCHOOL now by Becka Koritz

Supporting parents in this journey and way of living and learning is very important to us! We offer a monthly parent support meetup to parents and caregivers of enrolled youth.

We also have an extensive resource list, and multiple partner organizations that specialize in supporting parents, families, and centers in this educational and life shift! We are surrounded by a wonderful support system and one of our goals is to share those resources and support with everyone in our community.

Yes, but there is a caveat! Portland requires private schools to offer a certain amount of hours of school in order to meet their school requirements. Full time attendance of 4 days/week will include enough time to cover private school requirements up to 3rd grade.

All older attendees can enroll at 4 days/week and have a fifth Independent Study day. You will need to log your attendance in off-campus independent study each Friday. We also offer High School diplomas through our certified diploma program. More details can be found in our Family Handbook.

All other attendees can be registered as homeschoolers with the state, or enrolled in a charter. We will lay this out in more detail in our Family Handbook for current families.