North Star (education)
Encyclopedia
North Star: Self Directed Learning for Teens is a center for community-based education in Hadley, MA, founded in 1996. Founded by two middle school teachers, North Star's mission is to help teenagers find ways to learn and excel outside of traditional high school
. North Star has over 350 alumni from all over the Pioneer Valley and beyond.
North Star was founded by Kenneth Danford and Joshua Hornick
. After reading Grace Llewellyn
's book The Teenage Liberation Handbook
they decided to create a center that would make what she described possible for teenagers in their area. Using homeschooling
as a tool to get out of school, families create curriculum plans that are supported by North Star's center, staff and teachers.
They are housed in the old Russell Street School on Route 9 in Hadley. They currently have over 50 members. They are run like a YMCA or club; each member pays a tuition and can use North Star's resources as they wish. They have a policy of working with every family, regardless of ability to pay the tuition.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. North Star has over 350 alumni from all over the Pioneer Valley and beyond.
North Star was founded by Kenneth Danford and Joshua Hornick
Joshua Hornick
Joshua Hornick is a noted figure in law and education who currently lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. His work has had an impact on the lives of a wide range of successful individuals...
. After reading Grace Llewellyn
Grace Llewellyn
Grace Llewellyn is an American educator, author, and publisher. Her work in the fields of youth liberation, unschooling and homeschooling is widely-regarded. She is the founder of and founder/director of .-Biography:...
's book The Teenage Liberation Handbook
The Teenage Liberation Handbook
The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education, originally published in 1991 by Grace Llewellyn, is a book about unschooling. Inspired by John Holt's educational views among others, the book encourages teenagers to leave full-time school and let their...
they decided to create a center that would make what she described possible for teenagers in their area. Using homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
as a tool to get out of school, families create curriculum plans that are supported by North Star's center, staff and teachers.
They are housed in the old Russell Street School on Route 9 in Hadley. They currently have over 50 members. They are run like a YMCA or club; each member pays a tuition and can use North Star's resources as they wish. They have a policy of working with every family, regardless of ability to pay the tuition.