Burke Town School

Hey, as head of school, I'll obviously write a positive review, so take it with a grain of salt. Just ask yourself if the approach I'm describing is what you want your high school to be.I came here after a career in five other states' public, charter, and private schools for two reasons: community and family. My wife and I wanted to teach where students receive attention as individuals, where teachers are respected as humans, where the good of the community and the good of each person in it are not in conflict with each other, but are always mutually served. We wanted a place where we would choose to send our own children. Each of us had already been teaching for a decade, and the model of 18-25 students in each class 4-5 times each day had shown us how broken education really is. We became the heads of the school when the pandemic tore through leadership and operational models everywhere.The two of us led a revitalization effort that rebuilt East Burke School's model and mission from the ground up. It started with the transformation of a long-dead gravel parking lot into a perennial food forest, and at every step since, we have dedicated ourselves to practicing what we teach: sustainability, community, integrity, stewardship, and above all else, resilience.So here's the model we have built. We enroll no more than 18 students, ever. Up to 12 students are part of a single, multi-grade class that studies the same course at the same time in each subject. Older and stronger students act as leaders and mentors, helping their peers develop skills they themselves have mastered. We read real books and deal with real questions; we are not afraid of discussing religion, sex, evolution, climate change, racism, fascism, cancel culture, or conspiracy theories. On our campus, all perspectives are valued, but only those with reasoning and evidence are valid. We do not default to "special" learning plans that handicap students who are struggling; let's be real, not every kid who has a hard time reading is disabled! Instead, we work individually with them and give them the tools to become self-sufficient.We teach old-school skills for the next generation. We engage students in their own community and teach them to have real-world, face-to-face interactions with their neighbors. We restore democracy and responsible land management. We set aside artificial intelligence to develop human intelligence.We are not your ordinary school. Are you extraordinary, too?