This year’s back-to-school season started at the beginning of August (and even July in some places). Most students headed back into a traditional classroom in a public school, after weeks of prep with back-to-school shopping and extensive planning. Some headed back to private or charter schools. Yet others, like the students and teachers featured in this article, have had an entirely different experience.
While not reflective of every school, pop-culture tropes surrounding the back-to-school season have long portrayed it in a negative light, especially in movies, commonly highlighting the stress and anxiety of returning to school after a summer of freedom and adventure. In unconventional education, it seems that the back-to-school season has a completely different vibe. Parents were excited to reconnect with teachers and tutors, kids eagerly anticipated the first day back, and the school founders worked hard behind the scenes for months to make it fun for everyone. As our Entrepreneur-In-Residence Kym Kent once said in an online video, “My favorite part of back-to-school season is the kids.”
Recent guest author Terry Travers wrote a resounding piece about how back-to-school season looked for her online learning community. Using her students’ joy and excitement for learning as an example, she posed the question, “What If the School Year Began with a Dream?” Her article articulates what a significant number of students, parents, and founders are experiencing in unconventional education: a system that, as she says, values “curiosity, [and] not compliance.”
How Unconventional Education’s Back-to-School Season Is Inspiring Parents, Leaders, and Learners
“Before kids arrived, the staff spent four days together laughing, reflecting, discussing the purpose of our work, and the impact,” Justine Wilson, founder of Curious and Kind Education, said. “We shared questions about self-directed learning and explored our own feelings.” Wilson described how impacted parents and students were by the programming, and it is fascinating to think of how just that small introduction and thoughtful community engagement made the world of a difference. Jill Haskins from Kainos Microschool and Tonya Kipe from Kipe Academy have both had similar experiences.
Photos from Kipe Academy Back-to-School
Kipe stated that, “For us, back-to-school is more than new pencils and supply lists—it’s about setting the tone for inspiration and empowerment. We spend the first days building routines, teaching emotional regulation, and creating a culture of kindness with our ‘Be Nice’ rule. Our classrooms come alive with thematic learning spaces, and students dive right into hands-on units.” Kipe said that the most important part of the back-to-school season was giving learners hands-on activities and engagement. Jill said excitedly, “We focus heavily on community-building while easing into the academics. We work hard to begin building trust with our students through conversations and games. We also had a big back-to-school celebration with a shaved ice food truck, building tours, and cookies!”
It seems that, in truly unconventional fashion, education innovators are partnering with families and learners to connect the community, reduce the stress of the first days of school, and make their learning experiences memorable.
Photo from Kainos Academy Back-to-School
The Impact of Unconventional Education’s Back-to-School Season on Learners’ Morale
Learners across the country are sharing their experiences and finding joy in attending school at these unconventional learning spaces, and edupreneurs are taking note. After welcoming the teachers during the first weeks of back-to-school season, Wilson exclaimed, “We had four first days of school! Since we have different groups of learners, we wanted to ensure everyone had a special experience.” They participated in numerous non-academic activities, including music, giant bubble-blowing, and cardboard cut-outs for first day photos. Within the first two weeks of being back in school, Wilson and all her school’s teachers and families hosted a back-to-school party with games and activities for the whole community. Wilson remarked, “One student said that summer should be canceled because she wants to be at Curious and Kind all year around!”
Photos from Justine Wilson’s Back-to-School
For Kerry Baldwin, founder of Vita Nova Academy of Albuquerque, the back-to-school season is the make-or-break moment to help learners see themselves in a positive way for the remainder of the school year. Thus, she works hard to emphasize the importance of community in her learning space: “Back-to-school for Vita Nova is really about breaking some false assumptions that we all have internalized about the question: ‘What does education mean?’ It’s about emphasizing skills and how they can be used towards various ends. It’s about connecting what we love about life, with mastering the skills to be awesome in those areas. It’s about building our community as a team, and that no one exists as an island.”
For a moment in which it can be very isolating, Baldwin’s methods showcase how just one mindshift change is enough to add clarity to the entire school year for learners. And it shows. Her learners have consistently expressed their gratitude and enjoyment of the learning there. According to her, a typical back-to-school season is “almost like an exit from the real world into the school world where students and parents exist in a high-stress environment, until they come out of this creative hibernation and come back into the real world when summer returns.” Instead, Baldwin says, “we’re forward focus[ing], maintaining our connections to the real world and discussing what it will take to thrive there, especially in the 21st century.”
Why This All Matters
How can we determine whether learners are happy and families are engaged during the back-to-school season? Lauren Wood, founder of Elevated Purpose Learning Community, offers some helpful ideas. “Feedback from students and parents,” says Wood, “has been very positive. Our middle schoolers have voiced that they look forward to coming to school each day, and our littles (K-2) tells everyone who will listen about their new school.” Wood believes that it’s about the delightful balance between well-trained and happy staff and educators, listening to student and parent input, and the wholesome structure of learning that makes her back-to-school season successful.
Many of the edupreneurs I interviewed agreed that this formula is the template that is often missed in traditional educational environments. “Traditional back-to-school, in my past, has been filled with anxiety because there are so many demands and so little time,” Wilson added. In contrast, “Parents tell us that their children are excited to come to school each day, and many notice how much calmer and happier their home life feels,” Kipe shared. “Students often share that they feel like Kipe Academy is ‘their place’ where learning is fun and friendships are supportive. One parent told me, ‘This is the first time my child has begged to go back to school after summer break.’”
Taking a peek at the unconventional education playbook reveals what often works to make learners, teachers, and parents feel seen, heard, and safe. I encourage you to follow all of these amazing founders and see what education can really look like unbound.
