All Categories
Categories
Schools, co-ops, resource centers, and social programs that bring people together with the intention of supporting SDE.
Organizations and groups that advocate SDE and support SDE practitioners, facilitators, and/or community organizers.
Online and in-person events that promote, or are likely of interest to, SDE practitioners.
Recommended books, videos, websites, blogs, podcasts, research, news, and other SDE information sources.
Service providers who have SDE-related knowledge and/or who serve with respect for the needs and values of those engaged in SDE.
Resources to support SDE-aligned collective liberation and anti-oppression.
Opportunities for work that support families practicing SDE.
Resources for which no other category is applicable.
SDE Communities
We define an "SDE community" as any school, co-op, learning center, summer camp, live online community, etc., that is aligned with SDE principles.
Note: you can use our 🗺 interactive map to find local communities and other members.
If you're a member of ASDE, and you're connected to an SDE community that is not listed below, please add it to the directory.
Shortcuts...
Australia
A group of Brisbane based families that meet every Tuesday and Thursday to share our passions and learn from each other in practicing respectful, non-coercive communication, unschooling, natural learning, deschooling, and gentle parenting.
Belgium
L’école accueille des enfants de 3 à 18 ans avec une pédagogie basée sur la confiance et l’autonomie, les auto-apprentissages et la gestion démocratique.
A summer camp, school start-up, and training center for SDE parents & facilitators, centered around the eight pillars of connection, trust, self-management, play, democracy, agility, inclusiveness and holism. Locations in Ghent and Mortsel.
Op Sudbury School Ghent kunnen leerlingen van 4 tot 18 vrij met elkaar in interactie gaan. Leerlingen leren, spelen en werken volgens hun eigen interesses. Elke leerling en elk staflid heeft 1 stem in de wekelijkse schoolmeeting.
Bulgaria
A place for free, natural, self-initiated learning, within a full democracy that respects the dignity, rights and freedoms of the individual. Founded 2014.
A democratic free school inspired by Summerhill and the Jacob Hecht model.
Brazil
Minas Gerais
Centro de Aprendizagem Ágil voltado para aprendizes auto Dirigidos.
A sudbury-inspired learning community made up of a team of adults and a group of children and teenagers from 4 to 18 years old, meeting Monday-Friday from 1:30-5:30 to collectively build a safe space for the free realization of each one’s potential.
The Espaço Voa is a living environment where families, educators, collaborators, and children are given tools to move between self-knowledge, transformation, and connection. Our goal is developing creative potential inside each one.
São Paulo
The first Agile Learning Center in Brazil serving as a learning community for young people and adults.
Canada
Alberta
A collection of homeschooling/unschooling families in Fort McMurray that meets every week at a park, the library, or someone’s home for conversation, snacks and free play for all ages.
British Columbia
At Cedar Hill Open Learning Community we strongly believe in protecting children’s rights in education. Here, your child is welcome to be whoever they want to be.
An inclusive group for anyone in and around the Greater Vancouver BC area who homeschools, unschools, or homelearns with their kid; is a homeschooled kid; or is interested in homeschooling or learning more about it.
A place for Victoria-area homelearners to post meet-ups, get-togethers, and park days.
Ontario
A TDSB grade 7-12 school where students take responsibility for their own learning, participate and lead in the school community and are accountable to themselves, their family, and the community for what they do.
At Passages Centre we mentor youth to self-direct their education and create a personalized learning experience–an alternative to mainstream school. We’re a community for youth to dive deep into interests, hobbies and online courses
Wellington County and surrounding area unschooling families. Ask questions, make friends and set up hang outs. We are like minded and sort of in our own category so let’s find each other locally and create a local unschooling community!
Quebec
Un centre éducatif agile pour les jeunes de 8 à 18 ans pratiquant l’éducation à domicile qui s’inspire des écoles libres et du unschooling. An agile educational center for young people aged 8 to 18. Inspired by free schools and unschooling.
Switzerland
free, self-determined learning in a democratically organized, sudbury-inspired school community.
Chile
Anarchist unschooling space for all ages.
Un espacio de educación autodirigida, donde los niños vienen a aprender a su ritmo, según sus intereses y acompañados con amor.
China
Yue Gu Learning Community is the first educational institute in China that is intended to follow the Sudbury model, in which children are given the freedom to use their time as they wish, and the responsibility for designing their path to adulthood.
Czech Republic
Demokratická a svobodná škola, jejímiž hlavními východisky jsou důvěra k vnitřnímu směřování dítěte a důraz na učení založeném na vnitřní motivaci.
A space where children can meet other children and play together in a free environment, learn to be in relationships outside the family and inspire each other. The program is co-created by children. For ages 5-12.
The first sudbury school in the Czech Republic, for young people ages 5+.
A free democratic elementary school inspired by Donum Felix, rooted in the values of Self-Directed Education.
Prague worldschooling is a community and platform for worldschoolers both travelling families and locals that want to meet up and take part in activities.
A Summerhill-inspired learning center for unschoolers ages 6-15+
A democratic free school for ages 5+, inspired by Sudbury and Summerhill.
A Summerhill and Sudbury-inspired school for grades 1-9, rooted in freedom, trust, responsibility and respect.
A democratic free school for ages 6-15, valuing Self-Directed Education, confidence, responsibility and autonomy.
A free democratic elementary school.
Germany
Berlin
A Democratic School for grades 1-10, founded in 2010, see website for details.
A space where learning is a collaborative, creative and self-determined activity.
A democratic free school for grades 1-10, founded in 2008.
A Democratic Free School in Berlin. Ages 5-17, only accepts new students up to the age of 11 unless they transfer from other free schools.
Baden-Württemberg
A democratic free school founded in 1987, where 150 children between the ages of 6 and 18 come to learn whatever, wherever, however, whenever and with whomever they want – all of the time.
A group of young people who have come together to prepare themselves for the Abitur. They run the organization democratically and have hired teachers to support and stand by them.
A democratic free school for grades 1-10, in which the pupils decide freely, independently, what, when, how, where and with whom they want to learn.
Bavaria
Please help this school reopen – they have been fighting their case against the Bavarian government for 3 years, having been shut down on the grounds that not enough learning was happening!
Hesse
A democratic free school founded in 1974, for ages 1-13.
Hamburg
A democratic free school for grades 1-10, where grassroots democratic principles are realized in all aspects of everyday school life.
Eine demokratische Schule für eine sich verändernde Welt.
Lower Saxony
A democratic free school for grades 1-10, with the guiding principles of inclusion, democracy, human rights and sustainability.
North Rhine-Westphalia
A democratic school founded in 2009.
Schleswig-Holstein
A democratic free school for grades 1-10.
A democratic free school for people ages 6-15, founded in 2013.
Saxony
A democratic free school for people ages 6-18, founded in 1990.
Denmark
et tilknytningsbaseret hjemmeunderviserfællesskab med rødder i den selvstyrede læring.
Welcome guide & community for homeschoolers and unschoolers on the Danish island Bornholm. Meetup group: https://www.facebook.com/Bornholms-Frie-Familieklub-110726500723675
Ecuador
Somos una comunidad comprometida con la transformación individual – colectiva a través de la autodirección.
Estonia
The Freedom To Learn Educational Society’s project to found a democratic free school in Tartu, Estonia.
Egypt
Adventure land school that based on life learning instead of indoctrination
Cairo Based Self-Directed Learning Community
Spain
Camino is an educational space where we can put another look at childhood into practice, the education we want to give and receive, and where we can bet on another way of living. The space is open to families at any time and with a coworking area.
We are a learning community of families in Madrid
A place where children and young people can choose how to satisfy their own interests in a self-directed, ecological, holistic, democratic and respectful atmosphere.
International Democratic School
France
A sudbury-inspired democratic school for people ages 4-19.
À plusieurs familles nous réfléchissons à une possibilité d’accueil d’enfants sur le principe de pédagogies actives non directives, avec une gouvernance de type école démocratique.
A democratic school for people 3-18 years old, welcoming community members of all ages in the heart of South Vienna.
Bilingual and Democratic School of the Eastern Pyrénées, for ages 4-19.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school for ages 3-18, founded in 2016.
The first Sudbury model democratic school in Lyon, with fulfillment and happiness at the heart of its pedagogy.
Une école démocratique à 15 minutes de Montpellier pour les 3 à 19 ans. Ouverte depuis Octobre 2017.
A democratic free school for people ages 5-19, opening September 2020.
A prospective sudbury school for people ages 3-18.
Ecole démocratique de type Sudbury travaillant aussi en CNV et sur les systèmes restauratifs.
Sudbury-inspired democratic school for people 3-19 years old. Has a Montessori environment set up, but no one is obligated to use it.
A prospective sudbury school in Dinan.
A project to create a democratic school based on the principles of Unschooling and Sudbury Valley.
L’Envolée est une école démocratique qui peut accueillir 16 jeunes de 3 à 19 ans.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school for ages 5-19, built around the values of sociocracy and decision-making with consent.
A prospective democratic free school for ages 6-18.
A democratic school for people ages 6-19, inspired by permaculture, Summerhill, and Sudbury Valley.
Une école démocratique au sein d’un espace où cohabitent des ateliers d’artistes, des expositions et le musée atelier de l’artiste caennaise Yvonne Guégan.
A democratic free school for people 3-16 years old.
Collective living space inspired by the principles of permaculture and sudbury schools.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school/community learning center/makerspace/coworking space/greenhouse in Boulogne-Billancourt.
A democratic school/community learning center/coworking space, welcoming children and their parents.
A Sudbury-inspired democratic school in Quimper.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school accepting students from 3 to 20 years old, Point d’O first appears as a “place of life” before being a school.
A democratic school in Marseille, for young people 3-19 years old.
École démocratique portée par les valeurs de liberté, de bienveillance et d’ouverture, accueillant des élèves de 3 à 19 ans.
A self-directed democratic high school, founded in 1982 and inspired in part by Summerhill.
A sudbury school opening in September 2020.
L’École Pleine Nature est une école démocratique qui défend des valeurs de bienveillance, respect de soi, des autres et de l’environnement, pour contribuer à construire ensemble un monde meilleur.
L’écolieu Terr’Azïl est un projet novateur, à la fois lieu de vie coopératif, terrain d’expérimentation agricole, et centre d’accueil pédagogique, pour ré-apprendre à grandir ensemble, dans le respect des rythmes du vivant.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school for people ages 4-20.
Ecole démocratique de 3 à 18 ans (et plus) inspirée par la Sudbury Valley School, l’école du 3ème type de Bernard Collot, et John Dewey.
A project to start a democratic free school.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school in the La Rochelle region, for people 5-19 years old.
A prospective democratic school for people ages 3-18+, offering a place of learning that is both a refuge and a place of discovery, based on the values of freedom, equity, and respect for the person.
Sudbury-inspired Madet Valley School, for all children and young people who want to grow up in freedom.
A democratic school for young people ages 3-18. Support for students is provided voluntarily by parents.
A prospective agile democratic school for ages 4-19.
Democratic school in Vendée for people 4-18 years old, inspired by Summerhill and Sudbury Valley.
Une école de la liberté et de la confiance: ancrée dans son territoire, sans classe d’âge et pour tous, de 4 à 19 ans.
A democratic school with a horizontal and human structure, freed from programs and school rhythms, in favor of autonomous learning: a place of fulfillment in which individual experience and living together are privileged.
Sudbury-inspired democratic school, for people ages 3-19.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school for ages 5-18.
École-collège-lycée démocratique d’inspiration Sudbury, à Strasbourg. Inscriptions possibles tout au long de l’année, pour des jeunes de 6 à 20 ans.
École démocratique en Centre Alsace, basée sur les mêmes principes que la Sudbury Valley School. Elle accueille les enfants de 6 à 19 ans.
Une école démocratique selon le modèle de la Sudbury Valley School.
A democratic school for ages 4-19.
A sudbury-inspired democratic school for people ages 3-19.
A democratic free school for people ages 3-18, located on the plain in a series of yurts.
Greece
A co-parenting club and non-formal education collective, based in northern Athens, Greece, hosting regular trainings, pop-up events and camps to help nurture a pioneering Agile Learning Community in the outdoors of North Evia.
Hong Kong
The first organization in Hong Kong to offer an education that is democratically run and dedicated to self-directed learning.
Croatia
A non-profit organization of teachers, education professionals, parents and children. The aim is to promote democratic education in Croatia and to work on starting up a democratic school. Seeking assistance from an established democratic school.
Ireland
Clare
Wild Earth is a nature-based, self-directed learning community for homeschooled children aged 5-18+ in County Clare, Ireland.
Cork
WCSS is a democratic school for self directed learning, based on the Sudbury model. Open since Sept 2020.
Sligo
A place where young people aged 5-18 can learn through play and experience at their own pace, in their own time and in their own way.
Wicklow
Ireland’s first democratic school for self-directed learning. Students are free to play and fully immerse themselves in whatever passions and interests engage them.
Israel
A Sudbury school founded in 2002, operating on the basis of an educational model underpinning the recognition that significant learning occurs from self-motivation, wherever and in any form.
A free democratic public school in the city of Kfar-Saba, Israel
India
Aarohi is an Open Learning Community for learners of all ages and abilities, for all interests, styles, and content areas. Learning by doing what, and how, one wants and self-reflection. A community to CoLive, CoLearn and CoSupport each other.
Community practicing reforestation, water conservation, sustainable living and self-directed education.
Quest is a space dedicated to learning, discovery, fun, and creativity, for learners of all kinds, age groups, interests, and abilities.
Italy
Reggio Calabria
The idea is to reawake our nearly abandoned but really dreamlike medieval village in Calabria in the south of Italy and create with some young families an ECO unschooling village.
Vicenza
Italy’s first ALC, a self-directed learning community for ages 6-14.
Japan
Manje is a democratic school founded in 2006 in Aichi, Japan.
Established in 2023 as the nation’s first and only bilingual center, offers liberatory education for all amidst the serene mountain landscape, empowering learners to explore and grow in a truly immersive environment.
A 21st century style school for children aged 4-19.
Education that trusts children’s ability to respect and choose their lives. Full time, 5-18 years old.
鳥取県智頭町の豊かな自然が残る新田地区をフィールドに、対象年齢6歳～18歳の子どもたちの自主性を尊重した教育を目指すデモクラティックスクールです。
Tokyo’s first Sudbury-model school, established in 2009.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s first and only Democratic School, providing children the freedom to direct their education since 2021.
Luxembourg
Project of a public Learning Centre for Democracy, Mindfulness and Self-direction in Luxembourg
Mexico
Hidalgo
¡Un espacio para el aprendizaje autodirigido de niños, jóvenes y adultos! ¡Un espacio para crear, probar, experimentar y de mucho juego libre! ¡Un lugar para explorar y aprender conectados con la naturaleza!
Jalisco
Agile learning center in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga.
Oaxaca
Explora ALC is a bi-lingual (English/Spanish) organization committed to igniting the fire of curiosity in all people, radically shifting the way we think about learning, education and what it means to be in community. We support learners ages 4-18.
Querétaro
Somos facilitadores, educadores, emprendedores, homeschoolers y algunos otros somos padres que estamos cambiando la educación para el siglo 21.
Espacio para niños desescolarizados a partir de 6 años de edad, eventos, talleres, convivencia, asesorías y tutorías. Acompañamiento a padres homeschoolers
Libre Aprendiz ALC es un Centro de Aprendizaje para preescolar, primaria y secundaria, inspirado en el método Scout y en el enfoque Ágil, que promueve el aprendizaje activo, la autonomía, el contacto con la naturaleza
Quintana Roo
Primer Centros de Aprendizaje Ágil en Quintana Roo; Otorgamos el 100% de la responsabilidad a quien aprende, a través una educación auto-dirigida.
Sinaloa
Udesya Learning Club is a community of free learners inspired on Sudbury Valley
San Luis Potosí
Somos una Comunidad de Aprendizaje y Diversidad Cultural que sostiene su filosofìa con base en el Aprendizaje Autodirigido haciendo uso de herramientas ágiles para su construcción y permanente evolución.
Veracruz
Un espacio donde niños, jóvenes y adultos aprenden a ejercer su libertad, cultivando sí las habilidades para el éxito y la creación intencional de una cultura ágil en México.
Netherlands
A sociocratic free school for ages 4-21.
A Sudbury model school that was founded in 2014. Staff have a long history of experience with Self-Directed Education since 2003.
A sociocratic learning environment/school where we facilitate intrinsic motivation, as well as friendship, fun and fulfillment.
Panama
Centro de Aprendizaje Ágil. Colectivo de familias por la educación autodirigida. Asesoramiento a las familias y servicio personalizado.
Peru
A free school in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. For students aged 4-18, founded in 2008. Where we recognize, value and respect the diversity of students by giving them the freedom, responsibility, trust and love to direct their own learning.
A travel resource for self-directed adolescents and teenagers. We create temporary learning communities all around the world and immerse ourselves in other cultures to better grow, learn and relate, all within community.
Philippines
A Liberated Learners center near Manila, Philippines, that helps young people direct their education outside of the conventional school system.
Freedom Academy is a place where learning happens — intentionally, creatively, collaboratively, spontaneously, and without bounds.
Portugal
We provide experiential education to self-directed students aged 8+. Our model is emergent and adaptive; our priority is to develop our inner compass—our Unarvu—as we navigate our learning journey within a supportive learning collective.
Romania
Re-Design ngo Resource Center for Holistic Education
Nature-based, agile learning center for children and youth.
an agile, self-directed learning community for children ages 6-13 who are enrolled in a school, homeschooling, or unschoolers.
an Agile Learning Center in Cluj-Napoca, practicing and promoting free learning.
Russia
We are a Sudbury-inspired learning community for kids 6-18.
Syrian Arab Republic
a sudbury model founded in 1994.
Turkey
This is a community project to support children’s play and learning. The project is run by volunteers/parents who organize play events and field trips.
United Kingdom
England
A community that utilises a variety of approaches to promote self-directed learning and emotional well-being.
Part-time Self-Directed, Democratic provision for Home Educated children aged 5-18. Aiming to become the first registered Independent School based on the Sudbury model in the UK.
Reimagine supports home education clubs for self-directed learning – currently Hummingbirds runs 9am-3pm Mondays and Fridays for children 4-9yrs, in a nurturing environment with plenty of outdoor and free play, interspersed with art/cooking etc.
The original democratic free school, founded in 1921.
The Cabin and the Lodge are consent-based, self-directed learning communities for home educated young people.
The Garden is an evidence-based, democratic community for children in Bristol, UK. We prioritise the emotional well-being and social skills of children, through an unconditional approach and horizontal communication. Learning is self-directed.
Currently restructuring and working towards becoming an Agile Learning Centre (ALC), similar to how The Green House has been evolving since 2014.
Wales
A nature based part time programme for ages 4 -14 in woodland. Free play, democratically run by the community and self-directed learning are our core characteristics.
Online
A self directed community with a particular focus on wellbeing and the creative arts
United States
Alaska
A thinking outside of the box conversation on how to create a different type of learning experience & environment for the future of our children and the community.
Arkansas
A Sudbury Valley model school that empowers young people ages 5-19 to follow their individual and shared interests within a dynamic, democratic, mixed-age environment based on meaningful work, individual rights, and community respect.
Arizona
A small group of unschoolers who can meet for regular park days, make friends and have fun.
Creating a play and learning group where our kids can make friends and learn and moms can enjoy time with other wonderful moms :)
A home education support group serving homeschoolers throughout Tucson and Southern Arizona since 1999.
California
A Liberated Learners Center offering mentoring, classes, and community.
A diverse group of fun, friendly, welcoming unschoolers and gentle homeschoolers in the Sacramento area. Our active membership includes families with children ranging in age from infants to teens.
An Agile Learning Community in Fresno, California, dedicated to cultivating an environment that nurtures children’s natural desire to learn.
A Sudbury model school in Contra Costa County serving students ages 5-19 since 1997.
Empower Oceanside Unschooling Co-Op is for children of any age and their parents and,or caregivers. This is an opportunity to be in community weekly. For kids to engage in open-ended, child-led play and activities while the adults unlearn together.
F.R.E.E Play – Families Respectfully Exploring Education and Play. We have weekly multi-age co-ops, park days, and field trips!
An Agile Learning Community for self-directed learners ages 5-19.
HUGS is an inclusive all ages, babies to adults, play day that honors diversity in all its forms and expressions, seeks to find commonalities, and provides support for families wherever they are in their exploration of homeschooling and unschooling.
The purpose of this group is to foster in person connections and real friendships. We welcome all homeschoolers/unschoolers that are currently homeschooling/unschooling in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas or are getting ready to start!
Homeschoolers, unschoolers, slow-schoolers welcome here for events and classes in and around Alameda CA.
Self-directed learning center focusing on connection, play, and community located in Sebastopol, CA.
Resource center providing a-la-carte classes and events that students choose in locations in LA County, from preschool age through high school. Also provides a community for homeschoolers and coaching and training to help families understand SDE.
Liberated Kids is a an SDE community for BIPOC kids in Oakland, California that uses agile tools and meets Monday to Thursday.
An inclusive agile learning community serving homeschoolers in California’s Central Valley.
An eclectic community in Los Angeles providing support to families who live outside the traditional school box. Our weekly parkdays are small enough to be intimate, large enough for kids of all ages to find a group with which to “hang out.”
Learning space created for young people to follow their curiosities and interests, to play, explore and learn freely, to build strong interpersonal connections, so that they can grow to be responsible adults and confident life-long learners!
A meetup group of free-thinking, unschooling families. We encourage all ages to join. We have a wide range of activities including (but not limited to) social gatherings at members’ homes, park gatherings, hikes, book discussion groups and more.
Pathfinders Academy offers inquiry-led STEAM learning experiences for K-5 homeschooling, charter, and unschooling families in Ventura County. We provide interactive, child-centered, evidence-based learning in a safe, fun, social atmosphere.
A K-12 learning community where youth have the freedom and responsibility to direct their education with the support of caring adults, in a dynamic open-walled environment.
Homebase co-op for homeschooling families.
A group to promote student-directed education in San Diego, through organizing powerful campaigns and building solidarity economies. Working to build a student-directed learning center for teens based on the North Star / Liberated Learners model.
A group meant to build a community for those that are interested in homeschooling, unschooling, or doing both partially. The group’s hub is in San Francisco, but those in the greater Bay Area are welcome as well.
The Santa Barbara Free School is a self-directed and democratic program for homeschool students based in Santa Barbara, California.
An inclusive, all ages, social community for all homeschool types in and around the South Bay, Los Angeles.
Spectrum is a community for living fully and creating a healthy world. One of our major long-term goals is to create an alternative to school for young people that is a superior way to live and learn.
Close-knit adventure and social group for homeschooling and unschooling families in the East Bay of San Francisco.
A place for unschooling families to plan and host events, and to build connections for children and parents.
The only school in Orange County where kids (age 5-18) learn through real life and real democracy. Freedom and responsibility are the curriculum. Students learn by playing, conversing, and pursuing their passions.
True North offers an alternative to school where children learn in the ways that suit them best. We serve unschooling and homeschooling families with children between the ages of 4.5 and 13 who meet 5 days a week in outdoor locations.
We’re a group of ~15 families that meet at East Bay parks every weekday from 9:30am – 4pm to support self-directed education for our kids (ages 5 to 11). We’re currently open to enrolling a small number of additional families.
Colorado
A Sudbury-model school founded in 1997 that provides students with the freedom and responsibility to take charge of their time and education, at their own pace, focused around their interests. Serving students age 5-18 in the Denver Metro area.
A free community workshop that provides maker education and technology to the public in a creative and inclusive environment.
Gap year programs for adventurous spirits: Build life skills. Be true to yourself. Satisfy your thirst for community. Take a transformative gap year!
Provides an environment that supports freedom of expression for children and teens (age 4-19) and continuous learning through curiosity, play, and social interaction.
Whole-family social support for unschoolers + homeschoolers along the Front Range.
Connecticut
An independent K-12 school for self-directed learners, launching in January 2020 in the Groton/New London area.
A home-based learning & development center focused on creating whole food, whole families, whole children, whole communities & a whole world.
Delaware
A child-centered school based on the ideals of Summerhill, Sudbury Valley School, and Lev Vygotsky.
A self-directed, student-led democratic school.
Florida
Our goal is to have many options for unschoolers in Pinellas County to get together; including park days, family potlucks, holiday gatherings, project days, and more.
A tuition-free, private umbrella school (a legal entity, not a physical or virtual school) that provides a means for nearly 14,000 Florida unschoolers and homeschoolers to comply with the state’s compulsory attendance law.
This is a group for all types of unschooling adventures in Florida. It is a place to support the unschooling community and all members are welcome to post events and meet ups. Let’s have FUN!
FSA is a private umbrella school for Florida home educators seeking freedom from the county-run home education program (HEP).
A free school serving ages 5-12. Also offers a summer program.
A unique agile learning environment dedicated to supporting families who are exploring alternative and supplemental learning opportunities in Tampa Bay
A group of actively unschooling & radical unschooling families in Brevard County, Florida that get together frequently for support and connections for the adults and kids alike!
A community of self-directed learners freely creating, playing, collaborating, exploring, sharing, and discovering the world.
A Sudbury model school founded in 1997.
A non-profit, K-12 school located in Ft Lauderdale, FL. We offer self-directed learning in a supportive community environment.
A democratic K-12 school that empowers children through freedom & responsibility for truly innovative experiential learning and personal growth.
A group of families unschooling and homeschooling in the central region of Brevard County, Florida.
A group of families unschooling and homeschooling in the southern region of Brevard County, Florida. We have events monthly, weekly park days and special events.
Georgia
A cooperative, learner-centered, and self-directed community, rooted in a radical Black queer feminist politic.
An Agile Learning Center based just outside of Athens, GA supporting kids ages 5-14.
A cooperative learning community rooted in the principles of Self-Directed Education & Natural Learning.
A K-12 independent school that facilitates Self-Directed Education with a mission to artfully enable students to pursue their curiosities and develop meaningful connections between one another, the facilitators and the community.
Intentional community of life-learning families committed to discovering, growing and enjoying life together while educating our children. Founded 2007.
Playgroups and park days for unschooling/SDE families.
Community specifically for learners ages 12+ to collaborate within intentional culture and self directed paths with ALC tools and facilitators. Our focus is strongly on emotional agility and community involvement.
A group for parents and caregivers of children who aren’t in traditional public or private schools, to help us share ideas and methods and try to create & organize group outings and events in Union County, Georgia.
Hawaii
Whole life learning on Kauai. Learning joyfully through island excursions, gaming, deep nature play, permaculture, and child led experiments. We aim to grow our unschooling community through meetups, excursions, game play dates, and potlucks.
Iowa
Liberty SDLC is a full-time and flexible conventional school alternative program for ages 5-18.
Illinois
We are a Liberated Learners affiliated self-directed learning center for teenagers.
A place for unschooling families from the Chicago area to plan meet-ups and outings, share inspiration, and just generally feel at home.
A place for families who are unschooling in Illinois to connect, share, inspire, and play.
An SDE community for events, trips, and playgroups in the Lake County, IL and surrounding areas.
A prospective Sudbury School in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
Based on freedom, trust, and respect, Tallgrass welcomes students (age 4-18) from throughout the Chicago area.
Indiana
We are a (start-up!) community for children of all ages and their grown-ups to get together to play, explore, learn, and socialize in community in Lake County, IN and Greater Chicago.
A group of unschoolers of different lifestyles, beliefs, & cultures who are committed to being lovingly inclusive to all. We organize park days, field trips, clubs, & meetups and we hope you’ll join us.
Modeled after Sudbury Valley School and inspired by the work of Maria Montessori, Self Directed Academy is an environment where students dig deep into their development and practice the art of making choices and living collaboratively with others.
Kansas
A local meet up group where Wichita area homeschoolers seeking more connections for their self-directed and/or unschooled children can meet in person for regular activities.
Kentucky
An online secular group of unschoolers, self-directed learners, and relaxed homeschoolers in Louisville Kentucky. A place to support and share about unschooling, Self-Directed Education, relaxed homeschooling and more.
Self-Directed meetups for Louisville KY homeschool families. 3 days a week, 3 hours each day.
This group is for people who are interested in creating an unschooling community in central Kentucky: homeschoolers, teachers, philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, craftspeople, concerned community members...
Louisiana
A full-time learning center for children age 4 and up. Part of ALC network.
A Self-Directed Learning Center for ages 5 and up, where deep learning happens naturally and self-motivation grows, along with care and respect for others.
Massachusetts
A non-coercive environment for students ages 10-19, with no grades, tests, or specific curricular requirements.
Berkshire Freedom Academy is the Berkshires first self-directed education center and community hub for all branches of the homeschooling umbrella but with a focus on self-direction.
Established in 2005, Hilltown Families is a community-based education network which highlights the embedded learning found throughout Western Massachusetts, making the information accessible online to self-directed and life-long learners wanting to g
A self-directed learning center for teens.
A self-directed learning community for children of all ages. We are a fully staffed drop-off center which runs from 9am to 5pm, five days a week.
A center in Sunderland, MA that supports teenagers to find ways to learn and excel outside of conventional middle school and high school. A Liberated Learners member center.
An alternative to school designed to facilitate and promote self-directed learning and the creative use of technical skills, run by a makerspace.
We are a self-directed learning center where students find community, resources, and support while they pursue their own educational vision.
A hyperlocal group for homeschoolers/unschoolers living on or near the Southcoast of MA and RI to build connections and share & create local programs and events.
A democratic school for students, ages 4-19, founded in 1968 on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
A mixed-age cooperative learning program that promotes and supports self-directed education and democratic decision-making as an option for all learners and all families.
Maryland
A democratic school for ages 5-18, with core principles of trust, autonomy, justice, and learning through play.
A Sudbury model school serving students age 5-18. Founded in 1998 and located in a rural setting.
Maine
Self-Directed Nature-Based Programming
Michigan
Self-Directed Education community in SW Detroit, Michigan for ages 5-16. 3 & 5 day options.
Blue Bridge is an independent, Agile Learning Center located in Grand Rapids, MI. We provide Self-Directed Education in an environment that values liberation, social responsibility, and community.
A community for self-directed learners ages 12-18 committed to the belief that kids are human beings with a natural desire to learn, given the time, space, and tools they need.
A supportive space for homeschooling and unschooling families to learn through living, develop true friendships and build community.
Here at Unschool Adventures we create big adventures for self-directed teenagers. Since 2008 our mission has remained the same: to help young people build new friendships, unforgettable memories, and the confidence to lead an unconventional life.
Minnesota
Learning Together in Fun and Freedom: Self-Directed learning for K-12 grades
A secular group of unschoolers and relaxed homeschoolers in the Twin Cities south metro suburbs.
A secular group of unschoolers and homeschoolers from Minneapolis and the surrounding communities who meet every Thursday, year-round, for classes, field trips, and less-structured meetups.
SHINE Together, LLC is a play-based, nature-focused, interest-led holistic education program for K-12 homeschoolers in central Minnesota on 20 acres.
This group aims to create a community of unschooling families in the Twin Cities metro area that connect both online and in real life for field trips, friendship, and support.
Missouri
Social support and group events in a secular setting for natural learning families of the 417 area.
Missouri’s first Sudbury-model school, offering fully Self-Directed Education in a democratic learning community for students age 5-18.
We are a mixed-age, self-directed education community practicing autonomy, consent, and connection. Young people ages 5-18 unschooling together on a farm and in the forest.
Zen Mamas is a group of open-minded mamas in the Kansas City Metro area. We will be posting events for homeschool and unschool families.
U.school is a democratic, micro school using downtown Springfield, MO as its classroom.
Montana
An independent k-12 school for self-directed learners.
A self-directed, democratic school where children are trusted to take full control of their own lives and learning. Based on democratic/free school models from around the world, including Sudbury Valley School and Summerhill.
North Carolina
An independent “K-12 school” for self-directed learners and a half-day “pre-K” for ages 2-4 — an Agile Learning Community that uses agile tools for self-organization and intentional culture creation.
We’re an experiential learning community near downtown Wake Forest, offering in person meetings for homeschoolers ages 5-12, family support, and community gatherings.
A pre-K to 8 private school and homeschool resource center for self-directed children with disabilities.
A group for for pursuing and exploring unschooling ideas as well as having events that are experience based and easily child led instead of curriculum based, in and around Greensboro, NC.
This local meet up group was created to provide a community in the Jacksonville, NC area for relaxed homeschoolers and unschoolers, regardless of religious/secular and political beliefs.
We have Nature-based programs for ages 15 months to 14 years, with our largest program being Forest Kindergarten for ages 30 mos to 6 years. Children engage in unstructured free play in the woods. We are likely expanding soon to include indoors.
We meet 8-10 times a month at playgrounds, museums, coffee shops and who knows where else, creating a steady, supportive in-person community for ourselves and our children in a non-competitive, social environment where learning comes naturally.
An Agile Learning Community and a nonprofit program for homeschoolers ages 7-17 in the Boone, NC area who wish to engage in collaborative, self-directed learning experiences within a supportive multi-age environment.
A homeschool co-op in Wilmington, NC, which promotes self-directed education through use of ALC tools.
A self-directed, agile learning school in Asheville, NC. We do unschooling in community, with compassion, and in the service of creating a new culture based on power-with instead of power-over.
Nebraska
Wild Learning is a democratic self-directed learning space and school that focuses on nature, art, and community where young people can create a culture based on care, choice, and creativity.
New Hampshire
A NH based homeschool learning center, Latitude’s focus is enrichment classes and community activities that support the needs, interests, and abilities of our students in single interest or cross-curricular areas.
A group for Seacoast unschooling families to come together, share interesting activities, discuss unschooling philosophy, and organize & share local social events, such as potlucks, playdates, park days, family activities, workshops, etc.
New Jersey
A private, nonprofit, nontraditional K-12 democratic community school based on the Sudbury model.
A community of teenagers engaging in Self-Directed Education instead of attending conventional schools, to create a life and education based on their interests, strengths and goals.
A community of teenagers engaging in Self-Directed Education instead of attending conventional schools, to create a life and education based on their interests, strengths and goals.
A school for ages 4-19 where students have the dignity of designing their own curriculum, tailored to their goals and aspirations.
New Mexico
A democratic school that values autonomy, responsibility, and freedom, and provides its students, age 8-18, with a flexible learning experience within a caring, nurturing environment.
Nevada
A self-directed learning center for children ages 5-11, offering diverse, informal, and optional workshops taught by staff, parents, kids, and volunteers in the community.
Welcome to the Las Vegas Valley’s Unschooling support group! We have weekly park days every Wednesday, board game days every 1st and 3rd Monday and tons of other events through out the months.
Self-Directed education enrichment center at the beautiful River School Farm alongside the Truckee River in Reno, NV, that welcomes curious minds to pursue their individual interests, and encourages development of unique strengths. Ages 8-18.
New York
An independent school for self-directed learners. The ALC model adapts simple tools for self-organization and intentional culture creation to support young people in engaging with their passions and curiosities.
A play-based homeschool coop.
A learning cooperative where education is community-focused, democratic, nature-inspired, and project/play-based.
A facility within the Liberated Learners network with a mission to support young people who are struggling in traditional school for various reasons to rise out of that situation to take charge of their education.
A student-centered community for project-based learning through design and technology.
An SDE community specifically designed to encourage young people to take back their city and to again be accepted in society as autonomous individuals in a communal space.
An alternative, private school for students ages 5 to 18, based on the educational philosophy first developed by the Sudbury Valley School.
Ohio
A self-directed, democratic school for ages 5-18, located on a working farm.
Family-centered group whose members seek to support each other and augment our children’s educational and social enrichment opportunities in a supportive, nurturing, hands-on classroom environment. All classes are non-compulsory.
A place for Dayton area families to connect with each other and grow in their unschooling journey.
A secular, diverse and inclusive community of homeschooling families that thrive in a self-directed learning environment.
Oklahoma
A facebook support group and weekly free play meet ups in Central Oklahoma. Come play with us!
A self-directed alternative to traditional schooling for students in Oklahoma City ages 3-18.
A non-hierarchical learning experience for children 0-125 years old. We work together to create stimulating learning experiences for ourselves and one another. We practice non-aggression and use non-violent communication.
Oregon
Alder Commons is a community space where kids and adults alike can attend workshops & classes, and spend their time freely. Our Members are co-workers, makers, artists, and learners of all ages.
Artist at Heart is a community-focused organization that provides mentorship and support to self-directed artists and makers through online offerings, community events and a cooperative gallery.
A one-day-a-week self-directed community group for youth ages 8-12, and 13-17.
A space in Corvallis, OR where kids are empowered to learn what, when, and how they want; gathering as a group in public locations 1-5 days a week.
An annual camp for unschoolers and homeschoolers, age 13-18, in Oregon and Vermont.
A group for families in the Rogue Valley who are currently unschooling or are seriously considering it. We plan events to get together and have fun! Park days, potlucks, bowling, hiking, craft events, game events, book swaps; the sky’s the limit!
A Liberated Learners center in Springfield, Oregon, where youth are supported in leaving school and taking charge of their own learning. Fall 2019 update: on hiatus
A private, independent, non-profit, democratic free school for children ages 5 to 18, in Portland, Oregon. Along with individual freedom, students work together to create their community and shape their daily lives.
An inclusive homeschooling support community with campuses in Beaverton, NE Portland, and Salem, offering a variety of elective classes, activities, and other resources for homeschooling and unschooling families.
Pennsylvania
A community for teenagers engaging in Self-Directed Education instead of attending conventional schools, to create a life and education based on their interests, strengths and goals.
Cupola Academy is a secular, nonprofit organization that provides a supportive community-base for homeschooling families. CA offers full-day programs for young people(4-18) to attend 2 days a week in a collaborative and resource-rich environment.
We are a secular-based homeschool group in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania that fits somewhere between structured book learning and unschooling.
An education center for students ages 4-17, focusing on developing creativity, compassion, and collaboration among young people and community members.
Open Connections’ mission is to help young people and adults develop the tools and skills needed to create the life they want. Contact us to join our community and participate in our programs for youth ages 4 through 18.
Philly ALC School is a supporting environment where young people age 5-18 explore and self-direct their learning through cycles of intention, reflection and inspiration.
At the Philly Free School, students ages 4-19 explore freely, think critically, and work collaboratively, across ages, to govern themselves and their school.
Self-directed, topic-based programs for homeschoolers held on 55 acres of nature parkland. Talking Stick provides a safe and supportive space that respects the individual and nurtures children’s innate curiosity and desire to learn.
An independent day school for children ages 4-19, founded in 1984 . The Circle School balances freedom and responsibility in a self-directed, democratic community.
A democratic school serving youth, age 5-19, inspired by Sudbury Valley School, the Circle School, and Albany Free School.
South Carolina
An alternative education option for families in upstate South Carolina
A self-directed learning community for homeschoolers that uses Agile Learning Tools.
Synergy Collective of the Upstate is designed to be a connecting point for families in the Greenville, SC area that align themselves with a self-directed, liberated, autonomous mindset for all people, regardless of age.
South Dakota
Inclusive, secular homeschool group, welcoming unschoolers and life learners.
Tennessee
A self-directed education coop for registered homeschoolers in Nashville, TN.
Texas
A Self-Directed Education learning community where people ages 5-19 come together to play and engage in “deep, meaningful, enduring learning experiences that allow them to lead remarkable lives” — free from coercion, hierarchy, and standardization
A group created to foster community among unschooling families in Austin. This is a space for sharing information, organizing meet-ups, discussing relevant topics, and supporting one another.
A secular, private, Sudbury-model school in Austin, Texas, that provides a healthy, supportive environment in which students from kindergarten through high school take charge of their own education.
A social group that includes unschoolers as well as homeschoolers who regularly meet for exploration, fun and adventure.
Sudbury-style school in Sherman, Texas.
A meet-up group for unschooling-compatible families in the Greater Houston area. Our purpose in creating this group is to enrich and expand our lives within a secure community of supportive families.
A democratic school serving students age 5-18. Also offers drop-in classes.
An interest-driven co-learning environment for tweens where Children, Young Adults, and Adults have equal human rights.
We are a learning cooperative of elementary aged homeschooled children. Our foundation is a parents’ facilitated hybrid of self-directed & progressive education.
A non-profit, democratically-run, Sudbury-model (100% self-directed learning) school for Houston area children ages 5-18.
Located in Fairview, Texas, ILA supports teens/tweens to be successful self-directed learners so they can thrive in school and in life.
Agile learning center serving families with children ages 5-18 by supporting self-directed learning in an environment that balances freedom and responsibility and prepares young people to thrive in today’s complex world.
A self-directed learning community serving New Braunfels, TX and surrounding communities
A group of parents that are working on opening an unschool type of community center in San Antonio, Texas.
Utah
A group for unschooling families living in the Salt Lake area. We welcome unschooling discussions, questions, and challenges. We also welcome your invitations to play, and meet other unschoolers!
Virginia
Embark Center for Self-Directed Education in Leesburg, VA, is a youth-run democratic ‘unschool’ where children and teens create their own personal and community learning experiences in a supportive, mixed-age community of friends, peers, and mentor
A group for homeschooling families to plan events, co-ops, classes, or recreation dates in the Winchester and surrounding areas. We are happy to host questions, discuss and share notes. We honor all types of homeschooling styles.
We are a community of homeschool learners naturally exploring authenticity through connection and opportunity for discovery of individual strengths, interests, and values in an environment that is flexible, differentiated, and unconventional.
A group created to foster community among unschooling families in Richmond, VA. This is a space for sharing information, organizing meet-ups, discussing relevant topics, and supporting one another.
A place for children to come together using their own curiosity as a guide for what they will discover next. Facilitators act as adult mentors to support deeper investigation into the specific interests of each child.
Vermont
An annual camp for unschoolers and homeschoolers, age 13-18, in Oregon and Vermont.
Thickets is a place-based learning community for self-directed young people ages 5 – 8 in Montpelier, Vermont. Each day evolves differently and is created collectively as we explore forests, parks and city.
Washington
MCSDE supports families in empowering children and teens to take the lead in their own education by exploring their interests and the world around them using the vast amount of tools and resources available throughout their community.
Self-directed community groups for youth ages 12-18
A group for sharing local Seattle area resources and meeting other local unschoolers.
Self Directed Masters Program with many dedicated faculty experts to choose from and learn with, using video conferencing and low residence locales.
A liberating alternative to school and self-directed education community for youth that honors children’s innate intelligences and ways of learning while engaging in community.
A group designed for the Tacoma area unschooling community. The purpose of this group is to allow for Tacoma area unschoolers who are actively unschooling or genuinely intending to unschool to meet in person and get to know each other!
A community of homeschoolers ages 3 -18, with a K-12 program and a Field & Forest Outdoor Preschool program.
A democratic free school that serves the greater Seattle area.
Agile Learning Center Startup in the Tri-Cities, WA.
Wisconsin
Milestone Democratic School is an independent, tuition-free public school in Dane county, working to be a place where learning is engaging, everyone has a voice and all voices are heard and the most important step is the next one.
West Virginia
A multi-family permaculture farm, currently seeking families of self-directed learners to join us!
A Sudbury democratic boarding and day school in West Virginia since 1981.
Wyoming
A group for local homeschoolers and unschoolers where we can connect, get to know each other better, share ideas, ask and answer questions, post local events and community activities, plan get-togethers and play groups.
South Africa
A nurturing, Self-Directed space with a mix of learners between ages 4 – 19 sharing an intimate space for maximum 25 full-time and part-time kids.
An open agile learning space for Self-Directed Education.
A space to De-Colonize and Re-Imagine ourselves and our learning.
Self-Directed Learning Community in Johannesburg South Africa, inspired by Sudbury Valley School and “University” of Robben Island. Participatory non-punitive problem-solving rather than JC. Actively tackles human diversity and young people’s Righ
Online
A secular, virtual co-learning community for primarily BIPOC families seeking support in raising and educating free people.
NatureGlo’s eScience Unschool is an online eLearning center offering weekly personalized unschool parent and student coaching for struggling homeschoolers wanting to transition to unschooling.
The Hub provides an empowering cohort experience for homeschooled tweens and teens (ages 9 to 16+), via an online micro-academy program that is part-time, interdisciplinary, and interest-led.
This space is a launch pad for all things related to The Unschool Files Community – a worldwide network of parents, caregivers and facilitators centered on Self-Directed Education and living without school.
The Unschool Files Community Discord is a worldwide network of parents, caregivers and facilitators who are living life without school with young people, through Self-Directed Education and partnership parenting.
Ultimate worldschoolers online destination, filled with tons of valuable resources, interviews, how-tos, mini courses, articles, reflections and incredible insights, sourced from within our community.
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