The Circle School Blog
An occasional thingThe Circle School Blog
“Get to” vs “Have to”
When I was 13 years old, I didn't want to attend The Circle School. My mom and stepdad had fallen in love with the school, and found my two younger siblings required no selling on the idea, but I wasn't buying. I was mostly happy in public school, though in hindsight...
Chickens with missions
Concealed in a shipping container, six secret agents arrived in April -- unarmed, disarming, and charming. Their handlers, the Cool Things Outside Corporation, commandeered a lavatory and quartered the agents in an improvised barracks. Dozens of locals peeped in on...
Community in Committee
Over the past year, I was a member of The Circle School’s ad hoc Anti-Racism Committee, formed by the Board of Trustees in February 2021. I’m so grateful for the perspective I gained through this work, and in conversations with my fellow committee members (Kirsten...
From Founding Furnace to Post-Curricular
With retirement on the horizon, I’m feeling reflective. This morning I’m thinking about how different The Circle School is today from the way it was in its founding years. And how much the same it is. I’m thinking about changes to come, and how the cherished sameness...
I feel peaceful here, Mommy
Hello Circle School Family! I became interested in the school many years ago when I started my family. I had begun delving deeper into research regarding what successfully existed globally based on the personal criteria I held. My personal criteria were heavily...
No, Kids Don’t Rule the School
At first glance, you might get the wrong idea from the title of my book, When Kids Rule the School. You might think kids are in charge in some sort of absolute way. It’s not that simple. The publishers didn't like my working title: "Kids Practicing Life," which I have...
Marina’s cardboard spinning wheel
Sometime back in March, I made a cardboard spinning wheel at school. If any of you are wondering what type of school I go to where I can make a spinning wheel out of cardboard, it's called The Circle School, and it’s a self-directed democratic school in Harrisburg,...
Arbitrary Milestones: a graduation speech
One of the most popular human figures to come out of Greek mythology is, arguably, Sisyphus. For those who don’t know his story, basically, he was a king who cheated death in his youth, and when he eventually died of old age and had to go back to the underworld, he...
Gratitude in an Upside Down Year
Jim's 2014 blog post "I connected my laptop to the internet and fire trucks came" was published shortly before I began my tenure here at The Circle School. In my early days on staff, one of the first things Jim told me was that "At The Circle School, something new...
What Cool Things Outside means to me
My name is Lily Compton and I started the Cool Things Outside Corporation at The Circle School five years ago, and I'm still the chair of the corporation today. [“Corporations” at The Circle School are like clubs or interest groups. -Editor] I didn't have a plan back...
Planned Giving: “It feels good”
“It feels good to think that someday we’ll be making a gift to a place that is so special to us.” These are the words of Stacy Kuyk-White, parent of alumn Taylor Kuyk-White ’06. Stacy and her husband, Trustee Rob White, recently included The Circle School in their...
Grow up, America! Polarized politics and democratic schools
I’m disappointed by America’s dysfunctional politics. And I bet you are, too. What really gets to me is the hyper-polarization and aggressive non-cooperation. I want to yell “Grow up, America!” -- but that might be insulting to the kids I work with. For me it’s...
Circle School mornings again
Over the past six years I’ve spent on staff, I’ve grown to love my Circle School mornings. When the doors open at 8am, a few kids are usually already waiting on the stone bench out front. The rest follow in waves, on school buses, or trickling in by car. From the...
Silver Linings: What the pandemic is teaching us about schooling
The Meadow Campaign Five Years Later
After 10 years of working waking dreams, The Circle School broke ground in fall 2016 to build our forever home on the Meadow Campus -- where I'm sitting now, writing this. Recently the school published a final project report for more than 175 alumni, parents, and...
I walked into my new life
When I first heard about The Circle School, I didn't know what to think of this strange place where there's hardly anything resembling “normal school.” I was petrified, and thought I wouldn’t be able to get anything done without a strict schedule. However, keeping an...
I dreaded telling him school is closed
I dreaded having to tell my son that school would be closed for quarantine. He loves school, which is saying a lot considering how our journey to The Circle School began. It was a very long road that I never imagined we would travel. When Dayton was very young, his...
Community near and far away
Coronavirus. Quarantine. Social isolation. This time has been difficult, to say the least, but I’m proud that I’ve been more or less using this time to catch up on education, spend time with family, and get a much needed mental health break. Don’t get me wrong. I have...
Kids taking the lead
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. How many times have you heard this? How many times have you been able to make lemonade? What we are experiencing right now in the world is something we will always remember. One moment our children are going to school. The...
Cool Things Outside / Dreams of Flying
I’m Lily C, and I am the chair and founder of Cool Things Outside Corporation. [“Corporations” at The Circle School are like clubs or interest groups. -Editor] I created this corporation four years ago, when the school was still at its old campus. I wanted to...
Explaining The Circle School Made Easy (or Less Hard)
Even now, after 35 years as a founding staff member, I half dread being asked by a newcomer to explain The Circle School. It could be a neighbor, the friend of a friend, or recently my dental hygienist just before she asked me to open wide. My anxiety arises not from...
Trained at 12, saved a life at 15
2019My aunt and uncle are so cute! I was at the kitchen sink dying my hair, while they ate dinner at the kitchen table. He was holding a fork near her mouth, trying to get her to try the chicken parmesan he had made. She doesn’t need to be fed; he was just being...
Curious, playful, sociable, willful, planful
Last week I traveled to Philadelphia to hear a talk by research psychologist Peter Gray, founder of the Alliance for Self-Directed Education. Dr Gray spoke at Philly Free School, which is, like The Circle School, a self-directed democratic school. Dr Gray starts from...
Groundbreaking!
We did it! Today, with builder Pyramid Construction's vehicles and earth-movers in the background, Circle Schoolers ranging in age from 5 to 50+ (and then some) donned hardhats, picked up golden shovels, and broke ground on The Circle School's new home. Construction...
Camping in the Schoolyard
I’ve gone on many field trips this year, but week before last was the first time I went on a "field trip" without leaving the campus. It was in the school’s backyard, with ten students ages eight to fourteen, and two staff members. Planning began in February, when...
Field Trip to Another Democratic School
Last week I went on a school field trip. Unlike the majority of field trips this year, the planning for this trip didn’t unfold over the course of a few hours or days. This trip was weeks in the planning. Also, unlike most other trips this year, which have been within...
The Noble, Humble Rag
I am inspired to write a bit about the noble, humble Circle School rag. Rags at The Circle School get used for everything from sanitizing doorknobs to soothing minor burns. They are implements of routine cleaning, but then they are also sporting goods (for Capture The...
Circle School Graduates in College
Today The Circle School releases a study of its graduates, casting the school in a very favorable light. Our graduates go to college at high rates: 84% of those who were here for 4 years of high school, and 91% of our "lifers." Nationwide the rate among same-age peers...
Fanning a Flame at Millersville University
After 30 years of answering questions about The Circle School, new ones don't come along very often. Last night I answered a new one. At Millersville University's Alternative Education Forum, I delivered the keynote address. The event organizer, Dr. Scott Richardson,...
The Commons Area — The “Heart” of the School
The latest renderings from architect Rich Gribble show some interior views of what the "Commons" could look like, our large "town square" room in the heart of the school. How did we get from the sketches shown in the last post to these detailed...
Media Release: NO CLASSROOMS IN NEW SCHOOL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 14, 2015 FROM: The Circle School Contact: Jim Rietmulder 717-564-6700 jim@CircleSchool.org CIRCLE SCHOOL TO BUILD A SCHOOL WITH NO CLASSROOMS The Circle School of Swatara Township announced today its plans to relocate to an 8-acre site a...
The Evolution of Our Design
Wondering how you go from an idea of a new school to making it a reality? Here's everything you ever wanted to know about our design process. Part I: Research & Preparation By April of 2013 the Property Search Committee had progressed far enough to warrant...
The Search for a Perfect Property
Sure, at times we didn't think it could possibly exist. 5+ acres with woods, stream, and open areas? That we could afford? Here is the story of how we managed to find, with a lot of work and a little luck, exactly what we were looking for. The school has long...
I connected my laptop to the internet and fire trucks came
I've been marveling that not a week goes by (sometimes not a day) without something brand new happening, that's never happened before in the school's 30 years. Here's (one of) this week's first-time happenings, an interesting cascade of events: Wireless internet...
Let It Go! Let It Go!
Matt likes music that sounds to me like a car crash. Recently I found solace in the softer sounds of Disney's Frozen, sung and played (endlessly) by younger friends. 18-year-old Matt greets me with a big smile and genuine warmth; ready to engage, caring about me. When...
What would you change about public school?
Professor Richardson asked 15-year-old Ian what he would most like to change about public school. With 25 people in the room, most of them graduate students and current or future teachers, here's what Ian said earlier this week: [Ian:] I think it would be the...
Skateboarding in the Library
Five minutes before the Hour Of No Rules, I saw Cord and Zach sneaking out of the conference room lavatory. It was Zach who had proposed to suspend the rules for an hour, and brought it to a vote with mischief behind his charming grin. And Cord—well, Cord is our...
All About Anarchy
If I'm being honest, it wasn't anarchy, but something more akin to libertarianism. The rules weren't really gone, but School Meeting voted to suspend enforcement of any victimless violations. And not even all of the rules were gone -- those about campus boundaries,...
Circle School Grandparents
My mom is great. When Graham was a newborn, she used to arrive at my house late in the morning, bringing lunch for us and a basket of washed, folded baby clothes. She’d admire Graham, and we’d eat lunch together. Then she would do all the dishes, including the ones...
A History of Snow
This doesn't really require a narrative, right? Circle School kids are not unique in their love of snow, but they might be unique in how much time they get to play in it! Helpers Ashlin, Avery, Lexi, and Lucie sorted through pictures from 1984 through 2000ish with me...