Oakland LEARN: Rolling Admissions For K-4

Oakland LEARN is currently enrolling students K-4.

Our core principles are simple: students set their own learning goals, in one-on-one planning sessions with their teacher. We help them set goals that are achievable, ambitious, challenging and fun - and that meet each kid where they’re at. Our job as educators is to make meeting their learning goals fun and achievable.

Classes at Oakland LEARN are optional. If a student isn’t enjoying a class, they’re always allowed to play in the playroom or outdoors instead. It turns out that students mostly skip classes if they’re bored, frustrated, or not getting their other needs met. As educators, we want to know that. Forcing kids to sit in their seats doesn’t make them learn (and our super-soundproofed playroom and gorgeous outdoor space means they won’t disrupt other students). If they’re hungry, they can eat, as long as they clean up afterwards. If they need to go to the bathroom, they can go without asking permission.

Do the kids actually learn if they have the option to play instead? Yes. And not just ‘fun’ subjects like art and music and cooking; they also engage in science, geography, history, math, and even handwriting worksheets. Students earn small rewards for schoolwork, but they’re frequently motivated by the lessons themselves. Because each student has learning goals aimed specifically at them, students don’t feel that their schoolwork is a waste of time. If they start to, it’s up to the teacher to talk to them about it and find better material.

How do you make all this work? Small class sizes, and a lot of teamwork with parents. With between 4 and 10 kids, our educators have time to figure out where each kid is at, design lessons uniquely for them, and work with them one-on-one, which is how many kids learn best. We continually communicate with parents about what each kid is studying and what challenges they’re facing, and many parents drop in to teach guest lessons each week.

Here are some groups of students who often love it at Oakland LEARN:

Students who are bored in conventional school tend to thrive here. Because lessons move at their own pace, they learn more, faster. They take on challenges that a conventional school wouldn’t offer them. They set ambitious goals for themselves. When we hear from parents who say “he complains that school doesn’t teach him anything” or “she gets in trouble for reading in class” or “we’ve been fighting with the school to allow them to do more independent work”, we suspect we’ll be a fit.

Students who are homeschooled and want to supplement home education often like it here. Many homeschooled students attend 2x or 3x a week to do classes and activities that they can’t do at home. Routine, frequent, unstructured play with other kids is an important part of how kids learn. Some families attend LEARN as a way to offer their children that and expand what they can offer while homeschooling.

Students who are gifted, twice exceptional, or learning disabled: Conventional education works fairly well for students who are learning at the pace the school ‘expects’ of them, but it can be rough for students who learn at a difference pace, whether that’s a faster pace or a slower pace. Since we build the lesson around the child, instead of vice versa, and let students skip lessons that are boring or frustrating, we’re able to better serve students who are ahead, behind - or both in different subject areas.

Tuition for full-time students is $1500 a month, with need-based financial aid available which can reduce prices to as little as $400 a month. Part-time students pay $10/hour.