At the same time I was doing this, another mom from this area was thinking the same thing. She started a gathering project (the first phase) and invited parents to attend. This went on last year. We read and discussed books looking for principles of leadership. I knew that it would still be a couple of years until we were ready to start the founding phase of the commonwealth school .
In the mean time, I decide to start looking into commonwealth schools in other areas. There are 2 in the Mesa/Gilbert area (about 1 hour away). Both Jonathan and I felt that joining one of them was the right step for our family. He loved the idea of being around like-minded homeschoolers and I loved the idea of getting hands-on training. I made contact with the 'president' and she helped me get a feel for the school and their philosophy. I originally volunteered to mentor a love of learning class, but was later asked to co-mentor a scholar class. Braedi will attend that class with me and the other kids will be in love of learning clubs or core classes. I also joined to board in hopes of learning more about how to run a commonwealth school (there is soooo much to it).
There are 2 downsides to the whole thing. One is the drive. A drive that far, that early in the morning will be tough on me and the kids. The other is the day. The school meets on Thursdays--the same day as our homeschool group. I decided to tell the homeschool group that I would only be able to commit to one day a month (the day of our book club). I didn't want to have to stress about getting back to the other side of town in time and I think the commonwealth school will meet most of our social needs.
Knowing that I had to tell my group about my decision, I started preparing myself to be able to explain what it was that I was doing instead. I read "The New Commonwealth School" by Analadee Milne and Tiffany Earl. I learned that a commonwealth school is built by a community of families who want to change the direction of education. "The mission for our New Commonwealth School is to create an environment in which families of like culture can study the classics and become great citizens through devotion to learning more about and gaining a greater vision of our country and ourselves, and to reinforce our allegiance to our God." I reviewed common myths about education and read about the phases of starting a commonwealth school. I have told a few people about what we are doing, but I haven't gotten any questions or comments. Though I feel a bit overwhelmed with this endeavor, I know it is the right path for us to be on.
