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.