Democratic-designed school opening at College Station

A trio of former Summit Preparatory School teachers this month plan to launch a private entity billing itself as a democratic micro school in downtown Springfield.

Dubbed U.school, the nonprofit venture with a 40-student cap gives students and their parents a vote on operations, including selection of the board of directors and the annual budget, said Patrick Misterovich, board president and one of the three founders.

“Students have as much input as teachers,” Frye said. “They’ll be able to make decisions from little things, like whether or not to wear a uniform or who’s going to be on the cleaning committee to things like what we want to study and how we want to study it.”

Misterovich left The Summit Preparatory School of Southwest Missouri in May, along with Sandy Frye and Laura Stroup. The U.school organizers signed a three-year lease for undisclosed terms for 3,000 square feet at College Station.

“Nothing against The Summit, it’s a good school, we just really wanted to be downtown,” Misterovich said. “It made more sense to do that on our own, rather than trying to push The Summit to become that.”

U.school organizers expect to move in to 425 W. McDaniel St., Ste. 160, by Sept. 1 or Oct. 1. In the meantime, the school will temporarily operate at 310 S. Campbell Ave.

When classes begin, Misterovich will specialize in social sciences, Frye in literature and writing and Stroup in science.

“They were outstanding teachers when they were here,” said Robert Gronniger, head of school at The Summit in Chesterfield Village. “They just decided to go out and do their own thing. I wish them every success.”

Gronniger said The Summit works under a democratic friendly system, but it doesn’t go to the extent that will be implemented at U.school.

“It’s very important to us that the kids have a voice in what’s going on here,” he said. “They don’t serve on the board of directors. We don’t go quite to that end of the spectrum.”

The Summit Preparatory School had fall 2015 enrollment of 138, according to Springfield Business Journal’s 2016 private schools list, and Gronniger projects 135 students this school year.

The U.school space at Scott Tillman’s downtown development will not be in set up in a typical classroom setting. Misterovich said it would look more like a coffee shop than a school, and the students often will venture outside of the building.

“We wanted to be where they could walk to a variety of businesses and nonprofits and colleges,” he said. “We wanted to be able to extend our classroom out from the four walls where we would live.”

Enrollment for the sixth-12th grade U.school currently is at 32 for the semester beginning Aug. 22.

“Keeping it small allows the adult mentors to get to know the students really well,” said Misterovich. “We know their strengths, we know their interests, we can help guide them to their post-secondary school life, whether that is college or something else.”

The U.school organizers also brought on Jennifer Whalen, who moved to Springfield four years ago and has worked on an organic farm and a corner grocery, according to U.school’s website. Whalen will specialize in mathematics and physics.

In addition to standard classes, such as math, science, history and English, U.school also will allow students to curate exhibits for First Friday Art Walk, hold poetry slams or political debates, and work as interns. Misterovich said discussions are ongoing with entities including The Springfield Little Theatre, Discovery Center of Springfield Inc. and Ozarks Technical Community College about additional educational opportunities for students.

“Teenagers tend to do better when they have authentic assessments and a real audience for their work, as opposed to a disposable project that when they’re done with it and get their grade, they throw it away and never think about it again,” Misterovich said. “It gives them something real to cling to, something beyond just getting a grade.”

U.school funding strictly comes from the annual $7,500 tuition per student. The school also would provide tuition assistance in qualified cases, Misterovich said.

Comparatively, The Summit charges $8,735 per student annually.

The organizers didn’t include elementary students strictly because of their specialties.

“We are all middle and high school educators, and that’s just where our interests lie,” Frye said, noting they’ve discussed expanding for younger students as the school develops.

The U.school will follow competency guidelines set by the Missouri Learning Standards.

Web Producer Geoff Pickle contributed.