Brooklyn’s AltSchool Provides Experiential Learning

AltSchool, which provides experiential learning for pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade, is opening a Brooklyn Heights location in the fall. The elementary and middle school is now offering open houses and accepting applications for the fall.

An AltSchool teacher instructs a small group of students working on their academic Playlist.

Opening in the fall of 2015, AltSchool, a San Francisco-born network of innovative schools founded in 2013, will open its first East Coast location in Brooklyn Heights.

Geared at experiential learning, Deborah Kelson, director of marketing, describes the type of students who thrive at AltSchool as “children who are curious, who have the self-confidence to ask questions, and have a strong sense of self.”

Nurturing individuality, AltSchool students work in small groups with teachers, specialists, and local experts in exciting fields to navigate their own coursework, called The Playlist, which follows AltSchool’s core learning objectives.

In Brooklyn, the AltSchool team plans on using the borough’s thriving creativity as an academic advantage through field trips and real world learning. “To be in a city like Brooklyn, and to stay in the classroom would be a missed opportunity,” Kelson added.

For its inaugural year, AltSchool is accepting applications to fill approximately 70 spots in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grades, but don’t let that small number be discouraging. “Based on demand, we open more micro-schools so we can provide as many children as possible this rigorous, personalized educational experience with absolutely incredible educators,” Kelson says.

Prior to opening its doors in the fall, AltSchool is hosting in-person information sessions to meet interested applicants.