Joe Moore was a teacher and a principal in Maine public schools for 40 years. He spent the first eight years of his retirement tutoring students, but when Moore’s wife discovered that in Arundel was looking for a part-time teacher and administrator, she urged him to consider it. “I thought I would be out of my element,” Moore told me when I met him earlier this month at the school, where he has worked since last fall.
“I quickly became a convert. This fits what kids need. Parents are making this choice to meet the needs of their kids because public schools can’t do it anymore.
I’m absolutely sold on what happens here,” he added. What happens is deep, joyful learning tied to student interests that blends academic and social-emotional skills in a relaxed, nature-based setting. Founded in 1970 by a group of parents looking for a more holistic educational approach for their children, School Around Us operated as a state-recognized K-8 private school until 2020 when the school leaders decided to shift away from a traditional schooling model to a learning community serving homeschoolers.
It’s part of a growing trend, both in Maine and nationally, of new schools and spaces offering smaller, more individualized, more flexible learning options that parents and teachers desire. Many of these programs, including School Around Us, are part of the that supports alternative education environments across the U.S.
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