The Open School
PROGRAMS
In Person Full-Time Self-Directed democratic school
The Full-Time On-Campus Program operates as a self-directed democratic micro-society for students ages five to nineteen at our permanent Santa Ana campus. The program removes mandatory classes, standardized testing, and age-segregated classrooms. Instead, it utilizes highly individualized, learner-led inquiry-based education. Students dictate their own daily schedules. They engage in autonomous, self-regulated experiential learning, collaborative projects, and the deep pursuit of personal interests. The physical campus acts as a "third teacher." We employ an environment-based pedagogy to facilitate independent learning. The space provides flexible zones for building, art, quiet reflection, and group collaboration. Adult staff do not function as traditional instructors. They serve as non-directive mentors and subject matter experts who resource student-led initiatives and model respectful adulthood. The program embeds civic responsibility into daily life. Students and staff share equal voting power in the weekly School Meeting. This body manages the organization. Participants debate and vote on budget allocations, community rules, and staff hiring. When rules are broken, the community utilizes a restorative justice framework. A student-staffed Civics Board facilitates peer-mediated accountability, entirely replacing top-down disciplinary measures.
1. Advanced Social-Emotional Intelligence
The mixed-age environment ensures multi-generational peer mentoring. Younger students observe and learn from older peers, while teenagers gain practical leadership and communication experience. This structure builds advanced social-emotional intelligence. Students practice emotional regulation daily as they navigate interpersonal disagreements and manage their own time without adult micromanagement.
2. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy
The model shifts students away from compliance-based learning. By removing external academic pressure, the program restores a student's natural drive to investigate the world. Students set their own goals and master the "meta-skill" of learning how to learn. They develop the self-efficacy required to tackle complex, self-initiated projects and overcome setbacks.
3. Civic Leadership and Organizational Management
Participants graduate with thousands of hours of practical experience in democratic governance. By running the School Meeting and serving on administrative committees, students master collaborative leadership, conflict resolution, and policy creation. They leave the program knowing how to advocate for themselves and participate actively in civic institutions.
4. 21st-Century Workforce Readiness
The program produces adaptable problem-solvers. Students naturally acquire functional literacy and numeracy through real-world applications, such as managing the school budget or operating a 3D printer for a personal engineering project. Teenagers who complete the Diploma Program must execute a Personal Learning Plan and formally defend their readiness for adulthood. They enter the workforce with strong executive functioning, creative adaptability, and the ability to thrive in self-directed environments.
100% graduation rate. 100% of students who apply to post-secondary education programs are accepted.
Virtual Full-time Self-directed democratic school
The Virtual Program provides a remote, fully self-directed democratic experience for families residing outside our immediate geographic area. This program extends our core philosophy beyond the physical campus, ensuring that geographic limitations do not prevent access to learner-led, non-coercive education. Students create and join a variety of virtually-hosted activities, workshops, classes, and meetings (up to 60 such activities may be scheduled each week). Each student has an adviser and is part of a peer advising group. Students utilize digital platforms to connect with peers and staff mentors. They engage in autonomous, self-regulated experiential learning, collaborating on digital projects, discussing shared interests, and pursuing deep individual inquiries ranging from computer science to creative writing. Crucially, virtual students are integrated into the school's civic life. They participate in the democratic governance of the school, exercising their voice and vote in community decisions. Staff act as non-directive mentors and resources, supporting student-led initiatives and facilitating virtual connection, rather than policing screen time or enforcing curriculum compliance.
1. Advanced Social-Emotional Intelligence and Digital Citizenship
Operating within a virtual democratic community requires high-level communication and empathy. Students practice emotional regulation as they navigate digital interpersonal dynamics and collaborate across physical distances. They develop strong digital citizenship, learning to communicate boundaries effectively and resolve conflicts using restorative practices in an online environment.
2. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy
By removing external academic pressure and the rigid structure of traditional online schooling, the program restores a student's natural drive to investigate the world. Students set their own goals and manage their own schedules. They develop the self-efficacy required to tackle complex, self-initiated projects, building resilience and the capacity to learn how to learn.
3. Civic Leadership and Organizational Management
Virtual participants gain practical experience in democratic governance. By participating in community decisions and exercising their equal vote, students master collaborative leadership and policy creation within a digital framework. They leave the program knowing how to advocate for themselves and participate actively in civic institutions, regardless of their physical location.
4. 21st-Century Workforce Readiness
The modern, distributed workforce requires adaptable, self-motivated individuals who excel in remote collaboration. The Virtual Program produces exactly these types of problem-solvers. Students naturally acquire functional literacy, numeracy, and advanced technological fluency through real-world applications and self-directed projects. They enter adulthood with strong executive functioning, creative adaptability, and the proven ability to thrive in self-directed, remote environments.
We have a 100% graduation rate. 100% of students who apply to post-secondary education programs are accepted.
Homeschool Enrichment Program
The Homeschool Enrichment Program offers a part-time entry point into our self-directed democratic micro-society for families who choose to homeschool. Operating at our permanent Santa Ana campus, the program allows part-time participants to fully integrate with our full-time, mixed-age student body. Rather than offering traditional a la carte academic classes or rigid co-op schedules, the program provides access to an autonomous, self-regulated experiential learning environment. Students utilize the campus as a "third teacher." They access flexible learning zones, specialized equipment, and outdoor makerspaces to pursue their own interests alongside full-time peers. On the days they attend, enrichment students hold equal voting power in the School Meeting and participate actively in our restorative justice framework via the Civics Board. The program functions as a crucial bridge. It allows families to meet state homeschooling requirements at home while providing their children with the social and civic benefits of a trust-based, peer-led community.
1. Foundational Social-Emotional Intelligence
Operating within a mixed-age environment allows homeschooled students to experience multi-generational peer mentoring outside their immediate family unit. They practice emotional regulation and conflict resolution in real time as they navigate interpersonal disagreements and manage shared resources without adult micromanagement.
2. Civic Leadership and Organizational Management
Enrichment participants gain practical, lived experience in democratic governance. By voting in the School Meeting and participating in peer-mediated accountability, students learn collaborative leadership and policy creation. They develop the ability to advocate for themselves and participate actively in civic institutions.
3. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy
The program supplements home-based education with unstructured, learner-led inquiry. By removing external academic pressure during their time on campus, students restore their natural drive to investigate the world. They learn to set their own goals, initiate complex projects, and develop the resilience needed to overcome setbacks.
4. Resource Access and Community Integration
The program lowers the barrier to participation in self-directed education. Families gain access to specialized tools, diverse social groups, and non-directive staff mentors that are often difficult to replicate in a single-family homeschool environment. This builds a wider, more socioeconomically diverse community of learners who understand and support participatory education.
Seedlings Program (Under 5)
The Seedlings program introduces children ages three to five to self-directed, experiential learning. Operating as a weekly drop-off initiative at our Santa Ana campus, Seedlings provides early childhood families an entry point into the Sudbury educational model. The program nests our youngest participants within the larger, age-mixed school community. A dedicated lead staff member oversees the group, supported by teenage student helpers from our secondary program. This structure maintains a safe 3-to-1 student-to-helper ratio while facilitating direct cross-age mentorship. Children engage in autonomous open play, optional sensory activities, and supervised outdoor exploration. They do not follow a rigid curriculum. Instead, the environment functions as a developmental laboratory. It allows toddlers to practice early conflict resolution, emotional self-regulation, and separation independence in a non-coercive setting. Teen helpers simultaneously gain practical leadership and caretaking experience.
1. Foundational Social-Emotional Learning
Early childhood participants practice emotional resilience through daily interactions. They navigate peer disagreements over materials or space and learn to communicate their boundaries effectively. They develop self-regulation by managing their own time and choices.
2. Cross-Age Mentorship and Civic Responsibility
The nested structure creates a reciprocal learning environment. Teenage helpers actively guide the younger children. They read stories, assist with lunch routines, and model calm communication during conflicts. This provides the older students with practical caretaking experience and reinforces their role as leaders within the school's micro-democracy.
3. Autonomy and Independence
Participants independently choose their activities. They move between sensory tables, crafts, and the outdoor playground at their own pace. This builds the confidence and decision-making capacity necessary for them to transition successfully into our primary democratic school program at age five.
4. Community Integration
Families gain direct experience with self-directed education. The program builds a pipeline of parents and children who understand and support the school's mission of learner agency and participatory education before they commit to full-time enrollment.
CONTACT
The Open School
2625 N. Tustin Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Cassi Clausen
Phone: (714) 326-9736