Photo via Catalyst Communities
The motto “Everyone a teacher; everyone a student” gives a sense of what’s in store, as the Long Beach Free School (LBFS) is in the process of recruiting teachers to “provide[e] a grassroots education system for young people and adults to engage in lifelong learning.”
“We’re looking for people who have a desire to share their knowledge with others,” says Rachael Rifkin, co-coordinator for LBFS. “You don’t have to be an expert. We believe everyone has something to teach.”
As opposed to a traditional school, the LBFS will not be confined to a single location; rather, “the city landscape will become the campus,” says the LBFS, a campus that will be composed of coffee shops, businesses, restaurants, park benches, beachfronts, and meeting halls.
LBSF co-coordinator Kirsten Hale says the idea for the LBFS came about because of the success the model has enjoyed in other cities along the West Coast.
“There are several thriving free schools in other cities—San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Cruz—and we wanted to bring a model of community-based, free education to the residents of Long Beach—especially given the struggling budgets of LBCC and CSULB,” she says. “More lifelong learning opportunities enrich our communities.”
The LBFS project is launching under the auspices of the nonprofit Catalyst Network of Communities, with open enrollment for students begins on May 20th for LBFS’s first term, which is slated to run July 7 through August 17.
“Students and resident professors will also have an opportunity to share their learning experiences with each other and discuss the next free school term in the fall,” says the organization. “The LBFS will track students’ participation in various classes and the with individual Lifelong Learning Transcripts. Similar to a traditional school’s academic transcript, a Lifelong Learning Transcript will document the wide variety of subjects that a person engages in over a lifetime.”
LBFS steering committee members include Jorge Rivera, manager of the Greener Good Farmers Markets; Sarah McGovern , project coordinator at the Foundation for Free Education; Erlinda Cortez of the Sierra Club; Dan Corson , a sociology Tutor at Bickerstaff Center for Student-Athlete Academic Services; and Nadith Schuster Werth, who teaches the disabled through UCLA extension programs.
Also on the committee is Jonas Corona, the 9-year-old founder of Love in the Mirror. Corona will serve as the LBFS’s youth advocate.
Currently the LBFS is actively seeking teachers—both children and adults—in any subject. And the organization aspires for students to come away with not only knowledge, but increased connectivity with the community.
“The residents of Long Beach are such a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experiences,” says Hale. “Bringing residents together to learn from one another facilitates connection, strengthens inter-neighborhood bonds, and uncovers hidden treasures in the people surrounding us. What can be more empowering than learning from each other?”
Prospective teachers must complete an application and attend a teacher-recruitment day this Thursday beginning at 7PM at the Ronald McDonald House—Long Beach (500 E. 27th St., LB 90806). Applications can be downloaded at www.LBfreeschool.com and must RSVP to [email protected]. For more information, call (562) 287-4661.