Starting a Free School

Some time ago I posted that I would be writing up my experiences about starting a free school and posting them here. Due to time constraints this simply hasn't happened yet, but as more and more people contact us about starting a free school in their community (how exciting is that?!) I wanted to post some information here. Tara from the Dallas Fort Worth area was one of the first people to contact us with a request for information. Her letter and my response is posted here.

Much of this is my (Jessica) personal opinion and experience. I'd love it if others from other free schools would jump in and discuss this from your end since we all operate so differently.

Tara's Letter:
Hi,
I'm in Texas and just found out about your group. I'm interested in starting something like it in my area. Is there any information or advice you could provide on how you find classroom space, cover the costs of flyers and other basic materials, etc.? Thanks!

My long winded response:
Tara,
Gosh, there's a lot to talk about.

The first thing to know is that we operate very differently from other Free Schools (if you google you'll see the list on wikipedia). The main difference is that we're not politically affiliated and we don't take cash donations ever from anyone... so it's a completely volunteer effort. To be honest I think these things have helped us get a ton of press that we wouldn't have received otherwise and it's also more inclusive of course by leaving it open to anyone of any political affiliation. The other schools are of course open to all, but getting folks of different political ideologies to come to an "anarchist" school might be more difficult.

On the fund raising front we could have raised funds but again, I think we get a lot more press (and thus more people knowing about the school) because we don't and that makes us more interesting. Plus, to be frank, the idea of spending my time raising money isn't something I wanted to do. It would have taken a ton of time away from writing press releases and teaching classes.

As for classroom space we started here in the public libraries as most have meeting rooms that are free to use if you're not selling anything, are open to anyone and everyone, etc... basically all the things we want in classes too so it worked out well. We put out on the website that we were looking for other places to have classes and when we talked to the press we talked about how we hoped to partner with other nonprofits to use their spaces as a win win type of situation as it brings our people to their space and gets more awareness for them. It's also part of our decision not to take donations as we'd rather people give money to orgs that help us out then us having to go out and do it and take money out of the pool so to speak.

We're able to have free website space from google and have been using their email program as well. We've run into a problem with their email as you can't send messages to more then 500 people in a day. We're currently working on a list serve and have friends that have helped us out (just from our "we need help" part of the website and from other people we know) both to host our eventual good website and our listserve as well as a ftp site for documents. I can talk to you more about this later, but basically our website has cost us $10 at the moment and other people are donating the rest... from stuff they already had anyway.

As for flyers we don't do ANY professional printing as it costs a fortune. We make basic flyers and have people print them out at home... the people on our email list. We send them out with our weekly email or now as we've grown we've moved to having "flyer hangers" specifically for it. Silly for us to drive all over the place and hang flyers when other people are already in the neighborhood. Of course at first we did this a bit, mainly in areas that were local to us. From there we grew up enough to not have to do it so much.

As far as basic materials teachers provide that. So my cheese making class for example. I bring the milk and everything else and make the cheese. The difference is that people don't get samples, I take it home and eat it myself. No one seems to mind this, after all they aren't paying for anything. And then I teach classes when I need to make cheese or have something to do with it. The same is true of knitting classes or whatever else. Students bring their own supplies and teachers bring their own supplies and no one is expected to give away anything.

In general we don't have handouts in classes since much of it can be written up on a whiteboard and then written down by students. Occasionally we'll have something but it's always small and doesn't require any expensive printing.

Basically it does cost something to run this, more because I've donated all the soap I'm making to shelters (or will be) but if it weren't for that it would cost very little. For me it's the difference of giving away money to another org or spending <$100 a year on the basic stuff I need to run this thing. We also have some groups affiliated with the local college that have printing abilities thanks to what the college provides for them. If they aren't using what they have then they give it to us.

SFS is really a huge testament to thinking outside the box and we had tons of folks telling us we couldn't do it the way we're doing it. But again, I honestly think that we're as successful as we are because we didn't heed that "advice". If whatever you're thinking about doing costs a ton of money then don't do it, you can find another way to do the same type of thing for free or very cheap.

If you decide to move forward with this please feel free to email me with your thoughts and concerns. I'm more then willing to help out as I can (from here!)
-Jessica

Music Theory Skill Share

For those budding musicians there's an upcoming class on Music Theory being offered by our friend Neil. The class will be on April 16th, starting at 8pm. It'll be at the Arctic Circle (a house in Georgetown) located at 6633 Ellis Ave S. Here's the flyer:

Yelp about us!

Seattle Free School is now listed on Yelp. If you're a Yelper please feel free to give your two cents on Seattle Free School there and help us spread the word about what we do.

And here's the link: http://www.yelp.com/biz/seattle-free-school-seattle

Skill Share this weekend at the Vera Project

While this isn't a Seattle Free School event we've been informed of a great skill share happening this weekend at the Vera Project at the Seattle Center. On March 21st and 22nd from 11-5 there will be some great classes all lasting an hour or two. The schedule is below so check it out!

SATURDAY MARCH 21ST

10:30 REGISTRATION*HOT COFFEE*DOUGHNUTS

WORKSHOPS:

11-12 STICK’N’POKE (COUCH ROOM)

11-1 INTRODUCTION FOR CRYING OUT LOUD (THEATER)

12-1 CANDIDA DIET (UPSTAIRS)

12-1 UNDERWEAR BY ROBIN (NOOK)

1-2 LUNCH

2-3 BASIC 1ST AID (UPSTAIRS)

2-3 TOOTH POWDER (BRING YER TOOTHBRUSH) (COUCH ROOM)

2-3 LINOLEUM PRINTS (NOOK)

2-3 ZINE MAKING WORKSHOP (THEATER)

3-4:30 AGGRESSOR ACCOUNTABILITY (UPSTAIRS)

3-4:30 TRANSFORMING JUSTICE (THEATER)




SUNDAY MARCH 22ND

10:30*HOT COFFEE*DOUGHNUTS

workshops:

11-12 HERBS (THEATER)

11-12 BEEKEEPING (UPSTAIRS)

!11-12 FINGERWEAVING (COUCH ROOM*10MAX)

11-1 BEND-IT*SCREENPRINTING (ART STUDIO)

12-1 CHICKENS FOR IDIOTS (UPSTAIRS)

12-1 INTRO TO FOOD JUSTICE MOVEMENT (THEATER)

1-2 LUNCH

!2-4 FOUNDATIONS OF MEDIATION (UPSTAIRS*12MAX)

!2-4 HEALING TOUCH (COUCH ROOM*20MAX)

2-4 MOLD MAKING AND CASTING (ART STUDIO)

2-4 EXPERIMENTAL BLING BROOCHES BRING YOUR JUNK (AKA BLING) SUPPLIES! (NOOK)

!2-4 INTRO TO KUNG FU (THEATER*12MAX)

4-5 FILM: FOOD JUSTICE A GROWING MOVEMENT (THEATER)

4-5 HOLLOW EARTH RADIO WORKSHOP (UPSTAIRS)

4-5 NATURAL CLEANING PRODUCTS (KITCHEN AREA)

Anniversary of our first class

One year ago today Seattle Free School held it's first class. 45 participants showed up for "Keeping Chickens in the City". Since that time Seattle Free School has held over 80 classes and served hundreds of students.

Did you go to this first class? How do you think Seattle Free School is doing? Give us your feedback and help shape this next year of classes by posting here!

Free Sewing Class

Not a Seattle Free School class but one offered by the great group Sew Up Seattle. Learn how to make your own Chef's Hat! It's from 11am to 1pm on Saturday, March 28th at Goods for the Planet. You can get more information here:
http://www.sewupseattle.blogspot.com/

Bath Poof Dress

For you beginning sewers out there this is a project you can do with very little trouble, and it's a good way to recycle those bath scrubbie thingies that are made of plastic. Take a look at this great video our lovely teacher Beth forwarded:
Bath Poof Dress

Another Quick Class- Casseroles!

A great quick class from our lovely instructor Beth Wade...

Make Your Own Casserole
If you have any leftover meat, or veggies that are starting to look
sad, a great way to make them into something new and more appetizing
is by throwing them into a casserole. Any casserole that contains
already-cooked meat (or not meat at all) can be tightly covered
(sealed as air-tight as you can make it) and frozen, making for an
easy weeknight dinner option- just thaw and bake!

Any basic casserole requires all of the following:
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream or plain (unflavored) yogurt AND
1 cup milk AND
1 cup water AND
1 teaspoon salt AND
1 teaspoon pepper

Then pick one sauce base below:
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted OR
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted OR
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained (if
choosing this option, omit the sour cream/yogurt and milk listed
above)

Then pick one meat option from below, if desired (not required):
2 (6-ounce) cans solid white tuna, drained and flaked OR
2 cups chopped cooked chicken OR
2 cups chopped cooked ham OR
2 cups chopped cooked turkey OR
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

Then choose one 'dry base' from below:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni OR
1 cup uncooked rice (white works best, but you can use other types) OR
4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles OR
3 cups uncooked medium shells

Pick one topping from the list below:
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese OR
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese OR
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese OR
1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs, or panko

Pick one veggie from the list below:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or fresh, cooked
and gently squeezed to a less-moist consistency) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen cut broccoli (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen Italian green beans (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen English peas (or fresh, cooked) OR
1 (16-ounce) package frozen sliced yellow squash (or fresh, baked
until tender) OR
1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn (or fresh, cooked)

Lastly, pick one extra ingredient (optional):
1 (3-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained (or fresh, sliced and
sauteed just until tender) OR
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives OR
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper OR
1/4 cup chopped onion OR
1/4 cup chopped celery OR
2 garlic cloves, minced OR
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles (or fresh, diced and cooked
just until tender) OR
1 (1 1/4-ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix

Combine the sour cream or yogurt with the 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1
teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and Sauce Base. Stir in the dry
base, veggie, meat, and if desired, extras.

Spoon the casserole mixture into a lightly greased 13" x 9" x 2"
baking dish. Sprinkle with your choice of toppings.

Cover and bake casserole at 350º for 1 hour and 10 minutes; uncover
and bake 10 additional minutes.

If you would prefer to make the casserole up ahead of time and freeze
it, do so before the baking step. No time to thaw the dish before
baking? If you have a sturdy enough casserole dish (like a Pyrex), you
can just put it into the oven, however be aware that you may need to
increase the baking time by an additional 10-20 minutes to compensate.

If you would prefer a vegetarian casserole option, try the
Italian-style diced tomatoes, yellow squash, rice, olives, 4 portions
celery, 4 portions bell pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, and
breadcrumbs.

No profiles posted

Ages ago we posted a poll to see how you felt about having your blogger profile show up on our blog page. Most of you didn't care but there were a number of you that wished to remain anonymous. Since it's not a huge deal to show who's watching us (though we love your comments so we know someone is out there!) we're not going to post profile pics on the site.

Thanks for voting!