Democratic Free School

At Clearwater, school isn't practice.

It's real life.

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Democratic Free School

At Clearwater, school isn't practice.

It's real life.

What is Clearwater?

No homework, no tests, and no grades.

Democratic: At The Clearwater School children are more than students, they are School Meeting members. School Meeting handles everything from determining school rules and budget requests to approving visitors and planning field trips. Every student’s voice has an opportunity to be heard and impact the school. All of our procedures and policies are thanks to the work of School Meeting.

Free: Without mandatory classes, students have freedom to pursue their interests and passions on their own terms. This includes the freedom to make mistakes, to play all day, to interact with students of all ages, to sit quietly by the creek. The options are limitless. Sounds too good to be true? There is only one caveat; you can't interfere with another person's freedom.

School: We define school as a community that supports each other as they learn and grow. At Clearwater you won't see traditional classrooms, desks, or teachers. Learning happens everyday through exploration, conversation, play, trial & error, and the unexpected. Our community supports each other through School Meeting and the Justice and Compassion Committee as well as through more organic moments that happen each and every day.

Our Students

Freedom.

Our Students

Freedom.

Smiling student with short red hair and glasses

Smiling student with short blond hair and glasses

Young student with short blond hair holding foam sword

Teenage student smiling with medium brown hair

Smiling young student with medium blond hair

Young student smiling with short blond hair

Young student grinning with medium blond hair

Teenage student smiling with short brown hair

Young student with short brown hair licking popsicle

Smiling student with medium brown hair and straw hat

Smiling student with short blue hair and red baseball cap

Teenage student smiling with long red hair

Our Students

Our students, ages 4-19, define education for themselves, allowing individuals to embrace their personal learning styles and pursue life on their terms. When a student enrolls at Clearwater, they face the challenges of the unique responsibility that accompanies freedom. Our families come from varied economic and cultural backgrounds but share a common desire for their children to experience autonomy and freedom.
The Clearwater School welcomes students of any race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, culture, religion, and national or ethnic origin.