Starting My Own School

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Hi! I have worked with children with special needs for many years, usually as an aide in various programs. Last year I finished school and got my special ed teaching degree. However, I was unable to find a teaching job, and ended up working as an aide again. Part of the reason why I've had trouble getting hired in a school is because my teaching philosophy is a little different. I feel like kids learn best when they are having fun and when they feel at home. I focus on creating fun lesson plans that get everyone thinking, moving, and being interested, and I tend to make daily plans with the particular kids I work with in mind. I also like to focus more on learning to appreciate and enjoy reading (and learning to actually read in the process) instead of just drilling kids on phonics constantly.

Plus, I am not as strict with kids. For instance, one of the kids I work with as an aide is a second grader who reminds me a lot of the kids mentioned in this forum. He has severe ADHD, and is a real firecracker. He's always happy, and he loves everyone, but he has difficulty controlling his impulses. He gets yelled at constantly, often for things that I wouldn't personally feel the need to scold him for. Things like, walking into the classroom while balancing his folder in his head, hugging his friends (I've taught him to ask for hugs, but this is still not acceptable to most of the teachers), blurting out questions during story time, etc. The poor kid is just the opposite of what the school wants him to be, just by being himself!

I've been dreaming of opening an independent school for kids who learn differently and just aren't happy in traditional school settings. It would be a small school that would sort of mimic homeschooling or "unschooling." It would still have some basic rules and structure, but kids wouldn't be confined to desks or have to stand in single file lines. In fact, I would want the physical environment to resemble a home, where kids could sit on the couch or sprawl out on a bean bag during a read aloud, help themselves to drinks and healthy snacks when they were hungry or thirsty, and spend a lot of time outdoors each day.

I imagine starting with a group of about 5 kids in kindergarten through second grade, and the group could grow a little as time went on. I would love to someday make this a reality... I'd rather wait until I have more funds and more teaching experience, but if I don't get a teaching job by next school year, I might just start working on it sooner!

I'm always hearing about taking steps towards your dream by writing about it, seeking info, etc, so I thought I'd ask you for input. 1. Hypothetically speaking (since the school doesn't exist yet) if this school was in your area, would you be interested in having your child go there? 2. In a perfect world I'd have a grant to cover the cost of the building and supplies, salary for a second teacher or an assistant, my own living expenses, etc. But if the school did charge a monthly fee per student , how much would you expect or be willing to pay per month? 3. If you were considering this school for your child, what questions and concerns would you have for the person in charge?

I'd love to hear your answers, and any other thoughts you might have! Thanks so much! PS... I have ADHD and Aspergers too... I was one of those kids who never quite fit into school.

It kind of sounds like what your describing, at least has strong elements of Montessori schooling.

I'm not a parent yet, but it sounds like I would've wanted to be a student there.



This is tough. I'd hate to think of a kid not being able to attend because the parents are too poor. Maybe have a sliding scale based on parents' income?



If a kid has an idea of how to do things differently from the way you're teaching, will you consider the merits of their idea?

There is a tiny school (8-10 kids) in our area, run by an therapy practice that specializes in Aspergers. They have 1 certified teacher, 4 behavioral aides, board-certified ABA therapists who oversee the aides, and work closely with a speech therapist and occupational therapist in the same building. We're going next week to see if it's a fit for our son. They are qualified to be a "non-public" school, and for most of the kids the school districts are paying $25k. They said they could do a private placement for $15k, but with less speech and OT time. Apparently it started a few years ago, when they were providing ABA therapy to several kids who really needed a special school rather than just a couple hours of therapy a week.

I also know of a woman who opened an unusual tutoring service. She rented a place with a couple of rooms, and offered to create classes for the homeschooling community or to provide tutoring. Last year she had 4 students whose parents basically hired her to "homeschool" their kids 4 days a week. She charges about $25-$30/hr.

If there was a school like this in my area, I would be very interested! It sounds like a wonderful idea.
Me, personally, I'd want to be sure that the environment was safe and secure. My eldest goes to a special school that is less strict on things like sitting at desks, snack time... just like how you mentioned. He is learning faster and is happier there than when he was in a unit at a regular school, because he is more relaxed. My younger son will more than likely be enrolled in a regular classroom setting, even though I can't see him being ready for it... a school like you are talking about would get serious consideration from us, for him.
As for how much would I pay? Well, I'd only be able to pay what i could afford... about $4000 per year out of my own pocket. I don't know how insurance works over there to cover things like this? I also would hate for the cost to be prohibitive. If you could get a good community of families involved there is scope of course to do lots of fundraising. I would be happy to work on whatever I could to help out a small community school that I was involved with. I'd even clean the toilets
Anyway, Shame you don't live in my town.
I wish you all the success in the world with your big dream! GO FOR IT!! !

The concept is nice, but personally I would want a bit of emphasis placed on integration as well, not just have my son do whatever he wants all the time and never learn to follow a few rules. But I like the idea of being a bit more relaxed and more adapted, and not forcing him to follow rules which have no purpose.
The school I am planning to send my son to is semi-private, it is 5000$ Canadian a year, and the ratio is more than one staff per student. The school emphasizes integration whenever possible while respecting the childs needs. I would not pay as much for a school with a higher ratio of students to staff. I've been saving every spare cent to get him there just because they have the best reputation in the city and all they specialize in is Autism.

I think that it is a good idear for you to start a non-public school, and I hope that you put focus on education like three r's and intellectual subjects and cognitive development instead of standard behavioral therapies like aba.

I have this dream too.
I wonder why???

I would love to see a charter school that offered a visual spatial curriculum as well.
This is where my entire family fell off the cliff.
I have seen many visual programs popping up, it's very exciting.

You are right make it fun and exciting in a warm environment and you would have happy students.

A charter would be perfect, public funding that gives parents an option.
usually charters have a line at the door.

Private is nice because you get away from union entanglements if they apply.
prevailing wage is too difficult for the budget.
But private schools are for children with parents that can afford a 30K price tag per year.
My IQ is way up there, and my sons is too, but without an education I can't even think about sending him there.
Public schools here in NY are a total bust, they ignore idea, you have to fight for everything tooth and nail.

Wow, thanks for all of the replies so far! I'll try to answer the questions that some people have asked.

COST - I would most likely have to charge something, since if this is going to be my fulltime job I would need some way to support myself and hopefully pay a second teacher or an aide. But my plan would not be to get rich off of the kids, so I would try to keep the costs as low as possible. I would also try to get donations in order to offer scholarships or sliding scale fees.

If a kid has an idea of how to do things differently from the way you're teaching, will you consider the merits of their idea?
Sure! This would help them take ownership of their own education, and get excited about learning.

I'd want to be sure that the environment was safe and secure.
I'd probably have locks on the doors, fenced in play area, and be up to code and all that. Also, since it will be a small group, it will be easier to supervise everyone. Nobody will get lost in the shuffle.

I would want a bit of emphasis placed on integration as well, not just have my son do whatever he wants.
Well, they wouldn't be able to do WHATEVER they want! There would still be some structure. And there would be rules. But I prefer natural rules. They wouldn 't be allowed to hurt themselves or each other, they'd need to clean up after themselves, they'd need to learn to be respectful and act appropriately in places such as libraries, etc. The rules that help you become a better citizen in the long run, as opposed to rules that are just meant to keep order when there are hundreds of children in the building. Also, they'd be learning... I imagine having times of the day where children choose activities to work on by themselves or with each other, while I call each of them one at a time to work more intensively on academic skills. But even that intensive 1:1 work could be more active and engaging.

I hope that you put focus on education like three r's and intellectual subjects and cognitive development instead of standard behavioral therapies like aba.
Definitely! I don't really like ABA... I guess it works for some kids, but it sort of reminds me of programming a robot. We would be focusing on developing curiosity, exploring and problem-solving, while still learning the three r's!

I would love to see a charter school that offered a visual spatial curriculum as well.
Thanks for the idea! Many kids are very visual learners. I'll put this on my list of plans!

A charter would be perfect, public funding that gives parents an option.
I have thought of that... but I think starting a charter school would require a lot more cooperation and compliance with the public schoolls, and it might be hard to get them to accept a school that isn't concentrating on meeting NCLB requirements.

Anyway, thanks everyone for taking the time to respond! Feel free to ask more questions or contribute more ideas.

I would start as a private school and then try to turn it into a charter.

Maybe if you could steal away the children with disabilities you can get the money.

I am visual spatial, they didn't do much for me but I had an IEP at 80K per year for the school.
I met with the special ed teacher once a day and did my homework in the special ed room.
Where did that money go?
I am certain a properly organized school could put that money to the proper use.

Good luck!