circleschool.org

The Circle School is an independent, self-directed democratic school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, founded in 1984 and still operating today. Its philosophy rests on four ideas—freedom, responsibility, democracy, and community—and on the belief that children should "live your life now" rather than wait for adulthood to practice real life. It serves roughly 70 to 90 students from age 4½ through about 19 (preschool through high school) and describes itself as similar to Sudbury Valley School and dozens of other self-directed democratic schools.

History: Founded in 1984 and Still Running

The school has operated since 1984, which its website presents as evidence of a "proven" model rather than an experiment. That longevity matters if you're evaluating an alternative school: it means the approach has survived multiple generations of families and, per the site, has counterparts in "something like Sudbury Valley School and dozens of other self-directed democratic schools."

Founder Jim Rietmulder is also the author of When Kids Rule the School: The Power and Promise of Democratic Education, and he continues to write essays on the school's site (recent pieces are dated 2025). So the philosophy isn't just historical—it's actively articulated by the person who built the school.

The Core Philosophy: Freedom, Responsibility, Democracy, Community

The school's stated purpose is "Live Your Life Now." In practice, that translates into a few commitments visible across the site:

• Self-direction. Students decide how to spend their time rather than following a fixed curriculum.
• Shared responsibility. The site describes "happy kids practicing life, community, shared responsibility, and democracy"—students help run the community, not just attend it.
• Democracy as a daily practice. Democracy appears as both a value and a working method, not a civics lesson.
• No conventional classrooms. The 9,000-square-foot building has "no classrooms and no rows of desks." Instead it's built around an art room, science space, playroom, computer lab, library, and cooking kitchen, set on an 8-acre campus with woods, a creek, play fields, and a sledding hill.

The underlying claim is that academics are only part of the point. The school says students "learn not just academics, but also how to navigate their world, how to advocate for themselves, and how to be productive members of a thriving community."

What the Philosophy Looks Like in the School's Own Writing

The blog titles on the site are a useful window into how the school frames its thinking:

A parent testimonial, "Why We Chose The Circle School" by Scott Cooper (Dec 2024), opens with the question the philosophy is meant to answer: "What do we really want for our children?"

Practical Details That Flow From the Philosophy

Because the model is self-directed, some logistics differ from a traditional school:

• Ages served: 4½ through about 19.
• Enrollment size: approximately 70–90 students.
• Campus: 8 acres, minutes from downtown Harrisburg.
• Transportation: the site states free bus service from 12 school districts.
• Cost: the school lists "financial aid for most families" and calls itself affordable, but the page does not state tuition figures—so confirm current costs and aid eligibility directly.
• Enrollment status: the site says it is "NOW ENROLLING for 26/27 School Year."

How to Decide If This Philosophy Fits Your Family

The philosophy is coherent and long-running, but it asks something specific of families: comfort with children directing their own learning and sharing in community governance, rather than following a grade-and-test track. If that matches your values, the next step is to verify the practical side—tuition, aid, bus routes, and a campus visit—since those details aren't fully specified on the page. If you want a conventional curriculum sequence or measurable grade benchmarks, this model is explicitly built as an alternative to that.

The Circle School is an independent, self-directed democratic school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, serving students from about age 4½ through 19 — roughly preschool through high school. Founded in 1984, it describes itself as an alternative to both public and traditional private schools, built around a balance of freedom, responsibility, and community. It is a fit for families looking for a non-traditional education model rather than a conventional classroom-and-grades setting.

The basic facts

What "self-directed democratic" means here

The school's own framing is that students "practice life" — learning academics alongside how to navigate their world, advocate for themselves, and contribute to a community. Two features stand out from the description:

• Self-directed learning. The building is designed without classrooms or rows of desks, which signals that students aren't organized into traditional teacher-led class groups.
• Democratic community. The school lists democracy as one of its core values alongside freedom, responsibility, and community, and says students share in responsibility for the school.

The site also positions the model within a broader movement, comparing itself to Sudbury Valley School and "dozens of other self-directed democratic schools."

Practical details for families

• Bus service: Free bus service is offered from 12 school districts, and the campus is minutes from downtown Harrisburg.
• Cost: The school states it offers financial aid for most families, describing itself as "affordable." Specific tuition figures are not given on the page, so you'd need to contact the school directly for current costs and aid terms.
• Track record: It cites operation "since 1984" as evidence of a proven approach.

Who it may suit — and who it may not

This model tends to appeal to families who want their child to have significant control over what and how they learn, and who value a democratic, community-centered environment over a standard curriculum-and-grading structure.

It may be a poorer fit if you're specifically seeking:

• Traditional grade levels, report cards, or GPA-style measures
• A conventional classroom format with teacher-directed instruction
• A religious or highly structured academic program

The school's own blog titles hint at its philosophy — for example, "Why Your GPA Won't Save You in a Zombie Apocalypse" and "Live Your Life Now" — suggesting it deliberately de-emphasizes conventional academic metrics.

How to take the next step

If the model matches what you want, the concrete actions are:

1. Visit circleschool.org to read the school's own explanations of its purpose and approach.
2. Check the enrollment page, since it is currently enrolling for the 26/27 school year.
3. Contact the school to ask about tuition, financial aid, bus-route eligibility for your district, and whether your child's age fits the 4½–19 range.

Because pricing and aid specifics aren't published on the page, treat cost as something to confirm directly rather than assume.

The Circle School is a self-directed democratic school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, enrolling students from age 4½ through about 19 (preschool through high school). It suits families who want their child to practice freedom, responsibility, and community rather than follow a conventional classroom curriculum. The school is now enrolling for the 26/27 school year, offers free bus service from 12 school districts, and provides financial aid for most families.

What makes The Circle School different

The school describes itself as an independent, self-directed democratic school founded in 1984. Its program "balances freedom, responsibility, and community." Students learn academics, but also how to navigate their world, advocate for themselves, and be productive members of a community.

The physical setting reflects that philosophy:

• An 8-acre campus with woods, a creek, a sledding hill, and play fields
• A 9,000-square-foot building with no classrooms and no rows of desks
• Dedicated spaces including art, science, a playroom, a computer lab, a library, and a cooking kitchen

The school serves roughly 70 to 90 children at a time, which keeps it small relative to most public and traditional private schools.

Who it is designed for

The school states it is "open: welcoming all who can thrive, preschool thru high school." That phrase matters — the fit depends on whether your child can thrive in a self-directed environment rather than one driven by adult-set schedules and curriculum.

Signs this model may fit your family:

• You want an alternative to public and traditional private schools
• You are comfortable with your child having significant control over how they spend their time
• You value democracy and shared responsibility as part of daily school life, not just as subjects
• Your child is between 4½ and about 19 years old

Signs it may not fit:

• You want a conventional grade-level curriculum and testing sequence
• Your child needs a highly structured, adult-directed day to function well
• You are looking for a school that mirrors a traditional private school experience

Practical logistics to weigh

The bus service from 12 districts is worth checking early — confirm whether your district is one of them, since that determines whether daily commuting is realistic.

How to evaluate the philosophy before committing

The school's own framing is that students "practice life, community, shared responsibility, and democracy." Its published writing (by founder Jim Rietmulder and others) argues that grades matter less than other capacities — one article is titled "Why Your GPA Won't Save You in a Zombie Apocalypse, or Ten Things That Matter More Than Grades."

If that framing resonates, the next step is to see it in practice rather than only read about it. Ask during a visit:

• How do students and staff make decisions together day to day?
• What does a typical day look like for a child your child's age?
• How do students move toward academics they will need later, such as for college or work?
• How does the school handle conflict and accountability?
• What does the financial aid process require?

The school notes it is "something like Sudbury Valley School and dozens of other self-directed democratic schools," so if you are familiar with that model, you already have a rough sense of the approach.

Bottom line

Choose The Circle School if you want a small, self-directed, democratic alternative for a child aged 4½ to about 19, you can use the bus service or commute to Harrisburg, and you need financial aid for most families to make it work. Look elsewhere if you want a conventional curriculum and structured classroom. Start by confirming your district's bus eligibility and the current financial aid process, then visit before the 26/27 enrollment window closes.

The Circle School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, runs on an 8-acre campus with woods, a creek, a sledding hill, and play fields, plus a 9,000-square-foot building with no classrooms and no rows of desks. Instead, the building holds an art room, science space, playroom, computer lab, library, and cooking kitchen. Daily life is self-directed: students ages 4½ through about 19 move through these spaces by choice, practicing life and community rather than sitting through fixed classes.

The campus at a glance

The design intent is stated plainly: the building is "designed and built for kids practicing life and community." That framing matters more than any single room. The physical layout removes the usual signal of school — a teacher at the front, students in rows — and replaces it with spaces that support different kinds of activity at different times of day.

What daily life actually looks like

Because there are no classrooms, a student's day is not divided into periods assigned by adults. The school describes its program as balancing freedom, responsibility, and community, and says students learn academics alongside how to navigate their world, advocate for themselves, and be productive members of a thriving community.

In practice, that means the listed spaces function as resources a student chooses among:

• Art room — for making things
• Science space — for experiments and investigation
• Playroom — for younger children and free play
• Computer lab — for technology work
• Library — for reading and research
• Cooking kitchen — for preparing food, a practical life skill
• Outdoors — woods, creek, fields, and the sledding hill extend the day beyond the walls

A student who wants to spend a morning reading in the library and an afternoon in the creek can do so. A student who wants to cook, or build in the art room, or work in the computer lab can pursue that instead. The school's own summary of why families choose it is "happy kids practicing life, community, shared responsibility, and democracy."

The democratic piece

The Circle School is a self-directed democratic school, which the school compares to Sudbury Valley School and "dozens of other self-directed democratic schools." Democracy is listed alongside freedom, responsibility, and community as a core value, and the school's blog and book — When Kids Rule the School: The Power and Promise of Democratic Education by founder Jim Rietmulder — treat student voice in running the school as central, not decorative.

For a family evaluating the school, this is the part that most changes daily life. Students are not only choosing what to study; they are participating in the community that governs the school.

Practical details families ask about

• Getting there: The school offers free bus service from 12 school districts and is minutes from downtown Harrisburg.
• Cost: The school states it offers financial aid for most families. It does not publish tuition figures on the page reviewed here, so ask the school directly for current rates and aid eligibility.
• Enrollment: The school is now enrolling for the 26/27 school year.
• Who it's for: The school describes itself as welcoming "all who can thrive," preschool through high school.

How to decide if this fits your child

The campus and daily-life model suit a child who is comfortable choosing their own activities and who will use open space and open time productively. It is a poor fit for a child who needs a fixed schedule, a single teacher-led classroom, or a traditional grade-and-test structure — those things are deliberately absent.

If the description above matches what you want for your child, the next step is a visit: walk the 8 acres, see the building without classrooms, and ask how a typical day unfolds for a student your child's age. The school's own framing — "Live Your Life Now" — is the clearest statement of what daily life there is meant to feel like.

The Circle School is an independent self-directed democratic school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, founded in 1984, serving roughly 70 to 90 children from age 4-1/2 through about 19. Self-directed means students decide what to do with their time rather than following a fixed curriculum; democratic means the school community — students and staff together — shares responsibility for how the school runs. It suits families looking for an alternative to public or traditional private schooling who are willing to let a child practice real autonomy inside a functioning community.

What "self-directed" actually looks like

There are no classrooms and no rows of desks. The 9,000-square-foot building is designed and built for kids "practicing life and community," with dedicated spaces including:

• Art room
• Science area
• Playroom
• Computer lab
• Library
• Cooking kitchen

Because the environment is built around use rather than instruction, a student's day is shaped by what they choose to pursue and by the commitments they make to others in the community. The school frames this as balance among freedom, responsibility, and community — not freedom alone.

Where democracy comes in

The school describes itself as a democratic community where students share responsibility and practice democracy. That means governance is not something done to students; it is something they participate in. The stated purpose is broader than academics: students learn how to navigate their world, how to advocate for themselves, and how to be productive members of a thriving community.

For a family evaluating this model, the practical question is whether your child can thrive with that much self-direction and shared responsibility. The school states it welcomes "all who can thrive," which is a candid way of saying the fit matters more than the label.

The campus and practical logistics

The school sits on an 8-acre campus with woods, a creek, a sledding hill, and play fields. Two logistics points that often decide the question for families:

The bus service across 12 districts is worth checking against your own district before anything else — it can turn a long commute into a workable option, or rule the school out.

How it compares to other schools

The Circle School places itself in a lineage: it names Sudbury Valley School and "dozens of other self-directed democratic schools" as similar models, and cites its own operation since 1984 as evidence the approach holds up over decades. If you are comparing options, the useful dimensions are:

• Who decides what a student learns — at The Circle School, the student does; at public and traditional private schools, a curriculum does.
• Who governs daily life — here, the community does democratically; elsewhere, administration and staff do.
• What success means — the school's own framing emphasizes happy kids practicing life, community, shared responsibility, and democracy, rather than grades as the primary measure.

That last point is a genuine trade-off, not a slogan. If your family's plans depend on conventional transcripts, class rankings, or a standard sequence of coursework, ask the school directly how it handles those needs — the source material does not describe a transcript or grading system, so don't assume one.

What to do next

1. Confirm your district is among the 12 with free bus service.
2. Check whether your child's age falls in the 4-1/2 to about 19 range for the 26/27 year.
3. Ask about financial aid, since the school says aid is available for most families but does not publish figures.
4. Visit and watch how students use the art room, kitchen, and common spaces — the model is easier to judge in person than from a description.

The school's own framing is the clearest test of fit: it is for families who want children to "live your life now" rather than wait for life to begin after graduation. If that matches what you want for your child, the next step is a visit during the school day.