OPENING FALL 08!

We are pleased to announce that Arts & Ideas Elementary is now accepting applications for its 2008-09 academic year. Interested families can contact us at:
staff@aielementary.com

You can also phone to request more information:
443 955-1331



Look for our next Presentation and Open House


Arts & Ideas Elementary
5801 Harford Rd. Baltimore, MD 21214
Click for a map!

READINGS, CLIPS & LINKS

Check out our new section that includes a growing collection of readings, clips and links that we highly recommend.


Minimum Age

Children who will be turning 5 during the 2008-09 school year and who are ready for school will be considered on an individual basis.

Above Age 11?

Due to significant interest we are open to enrollment of students above age 11 for 2008/09. Please email or phone for details.

Watch for our
Visiting Scholars
Program!
for homeschoolers
• Channel DIY TV
• ART GANG
• Chamber of Nerds

A School Our Children Deserve

Arts & Ideas Elementary is a 21st-century school in Northeast Baltimore where students ages 5 through 11 learn, explore and grow in a stimulating, supportive community.

Our school is based on a philosophy of education first pioneered by the Sudbury Valley School in 1968 and operating in more than 30 schools worldwide. Arts & Ideas Elementary approaches schooling from the learner's point of view, turning conventional education, designed for the Industrial Age, on its head.

We believe that children are the most motivated learners around and that learning happens as a glorious by-product of being human. It happens in an environment that is challenging, supportive and attuned to the idiosyncratic leaps and meanders of authentic exploration. Facts, dates, formulas and skills stick when there is interest and ownership. We recognize a wide variety of paths to knowing and learning.

We are a community created by the staff and the students who are building democracy from the ground up. The real jewels of a rich education are responsibility, self-determination and citizenship. These are the tools that propel one forward and build a capacity for life-long learning and achievement.

Creativity is a natural function of the human brain. We see this in our children's art which serves as their native language and as a way of exploring and understanding the world. This creative intelligence is the core skill for thriving in the contemporary world. It drives intellectual pursuit and enterprise. At Arts & Ideas Elementary, students engage with the creative process of living life on their own terms:

  • a working democracy: students and teachers together make the rules and manage day to day activities

  • kid-powered: students and teachers explore at their own pace, unhurried and free from an institutionalized curriculum

  • viral learning: a peer culture of overlapping enthusiasms and expertise

  • community-based: our neighborhood in all its richness is an extension of our classroom

We invite you to explore the links on this website, read more about the details of our school and consider contacting us.

There's no other school quite like this in Baltimore.

next: Principles