The Open School

    About the School

    The Open School is the only self-directed democratic K-12 school in Southern California. Modeled closely after Sudbury Valley School, The Open School began operating in 2015 with just a handful of students. The school has since tripled in size and has a second campus about an hour away. The school is committed to supporting the human rights of children, centering on the right to autonomy. Children at the school decide how to spend their time, as long as they are not infringing on the rights of others. The school is run with a direct democracy model: staff and students each have one vote in decisions made by the school from rules to field trips to hiring decisions.

    Representative

    Cassi Clausen

    Founder of The Open School

    Cassi is the original founder of The Open School, and began the journey in February 2012. She has a Bachelors from Westmont College, a Masters of Education from UM St Louis, and a Masters of Arts from University of London, Goldsmith’s College. She has dedicated her life to giving a voice to kids, and advocating for respectful parenting and education. Cassi is married to Josh, a Technical Director at a video game company, and has three kids attending The Open School. She works full time at the school, mainly working on school development, vision, and growth while making sure to spend some time doing projects with the kids. She loves baking, science experiments, reading, and gaming. Read more about Cassi in this article.

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