Agile Learning Centers restore the joy of learning with a surprisingly effective educational approach: intentional culture supporting self-directed learning reinforced by agile management tools. You can learn more about Agile Learning Centers atagilelearningcenters.org.

Self-directed education (SDE) is a learner-centered approach that empowers individuals to take charge of their own learning journey. Instead of following a predefined curriculum or structure, learners have the freedom to explore their interests, passions, and curiosities at their own pace and in their own way. This approach acknowledges that every individual has unique learning styles, strengths, and goals. Through self-directed education, learners develop essential skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-motivation, while cultivating a deep sense of autonomy and ownership over their learning process. Whether through independent research, hands-on projects, or mentorship, self-directed education encourages lifelong learning and fosters a deep love for discovery and growth. Learn more about SDE at self-directed.com

Montessori: Montessori schools and ALCs both practice age-mixing and supporting students in self-directing their learning. Montessori age-mixing involves grouping students who would typically be in three different “grades” into a cohort; ALC age-mixing is much broader, usually separating only very young students, sometimes only for meetings. Montessori students self-direct through a prescribed menu of subjects and concepts that changes based on the age range of the students; ALC students self-direct based on their interests, passions, and the opportunities they see in the world around them. Reggio: The basic assumptions informing Reggio education are highly complementary to those informing ALC education. Reggio was created based on the belief that humans are born with many forms of expression–languages–available to them. Most forms of schooling only develop literacy in three of these languages: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Reggio seeks to provide acknowledgement of and opportunities to develop as many of these languages as possible through themed “explorations,” The Reggio model recognizes the environment as a powerful teacher; thus, Reggio schools are carefully designed with goals of sparking inspiration, encouraging curiosity, and facilitating interpersonal activities. ALC philosophy shares a view of the child as powerful, competent, and full of potential. We also share the recognition of the environment as a teacher and the emphasis on the importance of social relationships. We’re different in our emphasis on intentional culture creation, our documentation practices, and our structures for supporting student self-direction. Steiner/Waldorf: One similarity between ALCs and Steiner/Waldorf schools is that both approach education holistically. Though in many ways Steiner/Waldorf schools advocate a single developmental trajectory for all children, it is also true that Steiner/Waldorf schools and families honor children’s individual timetables for learning. Particularly with literacy, you will find stories of Waldorf students who learn to read in the traditional sense at a wide variety of ages from 5 to 12 years old. ALCs see “development” as even more complex and expect students to have different learning journeys, and our staff aspire to support students in creating their own adventures. Democratic Free School: ALCs are similar to Democratic Free Schools in that our students contribute to decision making at the school, direct their own learning, and participate in meetings. Many of the differences between ALC and Free Schools developed in response to challenges Free Schools commonly face. For example, in some Free Schools decision making is consensus-based and adults strive to influence students’ learning journeys as minimally as possible. ALC decision-making more closely resembles the Quaker “sense of the meeting” than consensus, and our staff comfortably make suggestions the way they would to friends they were trying to support. The former change leads to faster, more action-focused meetings; the latter gives students opportunities to practice the valuable life skill of navigating attempts to influence them. The main differences between ALCs and Free schools are that our students focus on their self-directed learning and creating culture rather than running the school, use structures to support intention-setting and reflection on their learning journeys, and explicitly aim to keep 90%+ of each day meeting free so students can focus on their learning. Unschool: Unschooling always looks different, so it’s difficult to compare a “typical” unschooling experience to an ALC experience. Both Unschooling and Agile Learning relationships with learning come from trusting that the individual—adult or child—knows best how to design their education and should be supported in doing so. The difference is that unschoolers focus on their individual paths, while ALC students engage in active culture creation. The social and community component is foundational to Agile Learning: students learn from, inspire, negotiate, and collaborate with each other on a daily basis, enriching each other’s learning and challenging each other to constantly improve their social skills. Homeschool: Homeschooling looks different from case to case, but it typically involves traditional subject areas and limited opportunities for social interaction. Students can set the pace of their studies, but their topics are still usually informed by state or parental standards. ALCs see students as self-directed learners in a world where all learning is interdisciplinary. Our students decide the pace and the content of their days. They also learn from, inspire, negotiate, and collaborate with each other on a daily basis, enriching each other’s learning and challenging each other to constantly improve their social skills. Since so much learning happens in interactions with others, the emphasis on creating opportunities for high quality interactions at ALCs is one of the main factors differentiating us from many homeschooling environments.

Facilitators witness. Facilitators model. Facilitators reflect. Facilitators organize. Facilitators hold the space. Facilitators support learners in clarifying their intentions, getting connected to the resources they need, reflecting on their decisions, engaging with the community, and sharing their learning. They work to keep the space safe, legal, and respectful. They collaborate with learners to develop a powerfully positive culture. Facilitators model clear communication, collaboration, and authenticity.

Yes and no. Our learners are free to choose, or not choose, offerings, activities, projects, and games as they see fit. We do have community agreements around how we treat our space, when to let a facilitator know you’re leaving a space, respecting someone’s “no,” and other things that inevitably arise when sharing space. Unlike a lot of other traditional programs for young people, however, we prioritize youth rights and our learners are active creators in these ever-evolving community agreements.

For younger learners, this happens organically from the moment-to-moment choices that they make about how to spend their day — who to play with, where to explore, what to play or create. As learners' abilities to plan and think ahead develop, they prioritize activities that move them towards their goals, like most of us do when we want something. Facilitators will support learner’s in making their own schedules that reflect their interests and personal projects. The daily Morning Meeting is also a major tool in this community schedule making and sharing of project ideas, progress, or needs of support.

We have two groups of learners. Junior Explorers are aged 5-11, and Teen Innovators are 12-18. This is not a hard age line, but more of a suggestion based on general interests and abilities. Within these two groups, the ages are mixed. When ages are mixed, older learners cultivate patience and compassion while assisting younger peers. Meanwhile, younger learners observe and model behaviors from their older counterparts. This setup provides invaluable opportunities for everyone to both teach and learn from individuals with different skill levels, learning styles, and attention spans. By also giving our teens a bit more space, this setup allows all learners to learn from one another while also feeling free to pursue their own interests.

Wildly Inclusive Co-op is not a traditional school. We are an alternative education program that operates as an Agile Learning Center (ALC). The ALC’s model is a framework for learning communities rooted in trust, self-direction, and collaboration. Current families who enroll must register as homeschoolers with the state, as we do not follow a standardized curriculum or administer state-mandated tests. We provide a safe, affirming, and inclusive environment where learners of all ages, abilities, and neurotypes can explore their individual interests at their own pace.

If that’s the direction a learner chooses, yes. Colleges have been accepting students from homeschooling families and non-traditional schools for as long as colleges have existed. When a self-directed learner decides they want to go to college, they know why they want to go. Many students unquestioningly spend thousands of dollars and several years of their lives going through college because that’s what they think they’re “supposed” to do. Intentionally entering a learning environment to accomplish a specific purpose is more likely to bring about positive outcomes. We don’t yet have longitudinal data on ALCs,but we do have it on self-directed education. Most of the kids who want to get into college do. Having alternative forms of record keeping and evaluation has not been an impediment for kids who want to go to college. In fact, there’sa proven advantage for people whose college applications can’t be tidily ranked by GPA and academic track: a human has to actually look at their portfolio. ALC students document their learning on sharable platforms, such as blogs and kanbans. As a result, they typically find it easy to construct a rich portfolio, and some already have created portfolios for their personal websites.

Being part of our co-op means joining a supportive community where families help to enrich their children's education. Families contribute by volunteering on a predictable schedule depending on level of enrollment and number of children. This ensures shared responsibilities and fosters a sense of community. Families who opt out of volunteering will have a slightly higher tuition.

Wildly Inclusive Co-op is a secular program and does not provide religious education. We believe that it is each family's individual decision to teach or not teach about personal faith/religion.

No we do not refund or discounted tuition for a missed day, vacation, or holiday.