• About the school
  - History
  - Guiding Principles
  - Daily Rhythms
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The Wildcat Community FreeSchool Story

Wildcat Community FreeSchool began as the vision of Sara Fries, a dedicated and experienced teacher who decided to create a school that honored the developmental, intellectual and emotional needs of children in a more effective way. Having attended a FreeSchool in her own youth, Sara recognized the vast differences in traditional and democratic, or freeschool, approaches to education. The inspiration she got from that experience coupled with over 15 years of teaching in the public school system led her to gather parents who were looking for an alternative path of education for their children, and Wildcat Community FreeSchool was officially opened in the fall of 2004. In a letter, Sara wrote:

“ I wish to create a school where children have a great deal more choice about how they spend their day. I wish to create an environment where children have opportunities to explore their own ideas, and have time to think about things they are interested in, while still giving them a strong foundation in the academic skills they need. ”

The Wildcat Community FreeSchool Guiding Principles

Children need respect, choices, and the freedom to develop their own gifts, talents, and interests in a healthy balanced environment.

Wildcat Community FreeSchool is...

• A place where the children have a part in setting boundaries and consequences, and a choice in developing their own curriculum.
• A place where children and adults cultivate a relationship of honesty and trust, and where each child's innate wisdom and desires are honored.
• A place that nurtures all learning styles and energy levels.
• A place where children are treated fairly and are not compared to others, where a child's creative and academic brilliance is not measured or graded.

Daily Rhythms

At Wildcat Community FreeSchool, the day begins in an approachable way, with students arriving between 9 and 9:30 am. As students ease into the day, they have a wide variety of activities to choose from, from games to gardening or riding bikes to reading. While most of the day at WCF is open to choice and spontaneity, lessons in basic skills (language arts and mathematics) are held primarily in the morning three to four days a week. These lessons are held in small groups, determined by the abilities (not age) of the children, and are as essential for building interpersonal communication skills and teamwork as they are for advancing the basic skill set of each child. Lessons are non-compulsory, meaning each student has the freedom and responsibility to choose whether or not to attend. This approach not only honors children as natural learners who have the right to determine their own education and pace of study, but also preserves the love of learning children are born with. This natural curiousity is maintained when education does not feel forced or co-erced.

Lessons are often student driven and open-ended to secure enthusiam and provide space for exploration of subjects in new ways. Movement, music and art play a daily part at the school, and a thematic approach to lessons based on larger school projects, student interests, and seasons plays an important role in allowing children to connect their lessons and activities into a larger experience. Lessons in science, history, drama, and the humanities are integrated into the day, and are usually student instigated or inspired. In addition, the art and woodworking studio is open all day, and there are weekly lessons in Drama as well as Cultural Studies. School meetings are held once a week, to allow the students to democratically create their own community and educational experience. The school day ends at 3pm, and there is a parent-run cooperative after school program until 5pm.

Staff

Sara Fries

Founder and Teacher

Sara is a credentialed teacher who has taught for 15 years in a variety of school settings. She is a Bay Area native, and as a child attended both Berkeley public schools and a Summerhill-inspired alternative school. She draws from both her teaching and learning experiences to shape the daily activities and pathways to learning at Wildcat Community FreeSchool. Sara has an extraordinary capacity to remain present, available, generous and kind with all her students.

Kent Fries

Founder and Teacher

Kent is an artist and a teacher of the arts. He has an MFA from UC Davis and 20 years experience working across a broad spectrum of sculpting, drawing, painting and ceramics. Kent teaches art skills and facilitates activities with the children. He was chief coordinator with parent volunteers on the building of the WCF play structure, and his patience and creative calm are an inspiration to everyone.

Teaching Parents

Wildcat School is fortunate to have five outstanding and dedicated parents currently offering ongoing classes in Math (Juli Bryant and Sue Van Hattum), Science (Syndallas Baughman), Social Science (Katherine Cheng) and Cooking (Richard Dawkins). These generous individuals offer their time and talents to enrich and broaden the educational experience of the students at Wildcat.