I'm trying to figure out what kind of students this school will attract? Probably most kids will be square pegs and that's why they want the school, because "normal" school is not working out. Many will either be gifted, 2e or have a disability. On the other hand, it's one of the few schools that is trying to do what all/most of us on this forum are saying should be done: letting kids work at their pace, mixing grades/abilities, accelerating, etc. I think naturally the structure in such a situation has to be looser, because kids will be working on different things depending on their level. They also say they w ill have very small class sizes, like 15. Currently my kids are in classes of 25-30. I'm trying to visualize how these "stations" would work...if the kids work in groups, how do they keep them on task?
DS is currently in a non-traditional envirnoment...the school hardly has any walls. The math is very hands-on (but at least it's an actual curriculum). I asked if he has troubles focusing there compared to the last school (each classroom was a traditional box with no differentiation) and he said he is fine...he has his own table and he has chosen to be by himself and it's not noisy/distracting. When it's time for math he wanders across the room to 5th grade, works in a small group, and then comes back. So I don't know. I'm seeing if there are other options for DD and this school would go through 8th grade. So she would be in a small school environment for Jr. High with 100 or 150 kids rather than hundreds of kids, with each kid having 6 different teachers and a rotating schedule. I can't even imagine trying to communicate with 6 different teachers to try to find out what is going on.
