Young people are free to choose how they use their time, to have control over their bodies and minds, and to have their boundaries respected. In a world that does not believe young people should be trusted to make meaningful choices about their lives, young people at Abrome are expected to take responsibility for their education and lives. This helps them develop a feeling of control over their own lives and a belief that they have the power to change their environment and the world they live in.

Young people find themselves immersed in a collection of caring people who are invested in each other’s sense of belonging, development, and well-being. They want to participate in community, and are committed to co-creating culture with others. They understand that they have obligations toward each other and the collective, and that individual freedom without regard for the welfare of others is not freedom for all, so it is not freedom at all—it is just micro-forms of domination. This allows Abrome to be a psychologically safe space where people’s identities are embraced, where diversity is celebrated, and where we come together to socialize, play, explore, learn, and create without fear of being assessed, judged, ridiculed, bullied, or ostracized. 

Young people embrace the potential of an education that is untethered from the oppressive and limiting practices and structures of schooling. They identify and engage in deep, meaningful, and enduring learning experiences that allow them to create beautiful works of art, start businesses, participate in social movements, or undertake a nourishing course of study that allows them to gain admission into the college of their choice, among a myriad of other possibilities. With the support of their community, they lead remarkable lives of meaning and purpose that allow them to positively impact society and improve the human condition.

We trust that all people want to lead lives of meaning and purpose. We trust that all people want to find themselves in caring communities. Children are people, too. We believe that if they choose to be at Abrome, to have the audacity to take responsibility for their education and lives, that we should genuinely trust them. Young people at Abrome are afforded freedoms that would otherwise be unthinkable in schoolish situations.

But really. We believe the best way to help young people feel that they have control over their lives, which allows them to take responsibility for their lives, is to actually cede control of it to them. It is their life, after all. That is why we support Self-Directed Education, meaning that their education is a product of their self-chosen choices, experiences, and environment. And that is why we only accept those who want to be at and fully participate in Abrome. People who enjoy greater autonomy tend to have a stronger sense of personal commitment, greater persistence, more positive feelings, higher quality performance, greater creativity, improved problem-solving, and better mental health. Some schools say they give their kids autonomy and control over their education, but they really just give them the illusion of choice (e.g., which subject to do a project on, which learning app to use, which module to work on, which course to take).

People learn more from their culture and environment than from the content they are taught–the hidden curriculum of schooling is at least an order of magnitude more influential in shaping a young person’s future than the formal curriculum is. Not realizing this is often the most glaring oversight of parents and guardians who are looking at school options for their kids. At Abrome, we recognize that the medium is the message. We shape culture; culture shapes us. A powerful, positive culture is the strongest, most pervasive support structure a learning community can have. People at Abrome not only take responsibility for themselves and others, they take responsibility for co-creating culture. At the core of this is a focus on community care—centering the needs of those who would be most impacted by our decisions and actions, and leveraging our privilege to support them. We set the conditions for this by inviting in those who want more than just individual advancement, they want collective flourishing. We thoughtfully exclude those who believe Self-Directed Education is about doing whatever one wants. We shape culture daily by making sure young people feel they are heard, they belong, and they make a difference. We shift culture by developing collective mastery rather than restrictive rule-making.

When people are sufficiently supported, they will “learn, extend themselves, invest effort, master new skills, and apply their talents responsibly.” However, “when missing the necessary support, individuals can become fragmented, passive, reactive, or alienated.” When young people are all of a sudden given control over their lives they can sometimes flounder, particularly if their sense of autonomy is incongruous with the messaging they are getting from others (e.g., “you are in charge, but if you don’t produce we’ll send you back to a regular school”). Facilitators provide maximal support with minimal interference; helpful structures, practices, and environments without making their decisions for young people or managing their processes. Abrome has also formalized developmentally informed programs that allow each person to flourish on their own timeline.

Choices tend to be more meaningful when done with intention. Intentionality allows us to focus on what matters most. To be in the moment. To notice. To connect. To dive deeper. To set goals—and to follow through on them. This is why we set intentions for the year, start each day with intention setting, and periodically revisit intentions during meetings and activities. Intention helps prepare the mental and physical space for creation, reflection, and sharing. We are intentional about how we interact with and care for each other, grasp opportunities, and think about ourselves and our place within the world. Most importantly, we are intentional about culture co-creation and community care.

Young people in the United States lose about 15,000 hours to schooling. The great majority of that time is wasted on shallow curriculum that is rarely learned, very rarely retained, and most often provides no benefit to the student’s life. The bulk of the rest of their school time is stuck in situations of surveillance and control. And when school lets out, they are expected to spend time doing homework and studying for tests. Young people effectively have a dreary, deadening, full-time job that pays nothing. Abrome gives this time back to young people so they can lead remarkable lives. At Abrome, there is no meaningless curriculum. Other than our limited but necessary community commitments, young people at Abrome get unlimited time to play, explore, and pursue their own interests–to engage with learning that has real value to their lives and their futures. There is also no studying for tests or homework. Any academic work they choose to do they can do at Abrome. More importantly, we open up the opportunity for them to receive daily support as they pursue their most ambitious goals. If they used only three hours of their time each day to work on their goals, they could log over 500 hours of deep work per year. That’s over 2,100 hours in high school alone. Imagine what is possible when young people have time to do the remarkable.

We are not satisfied with merely removing the oppressive practices and structures of schooling from the lives of enrolled young people. Although we do remove them. We don’t control what kids can learn about, what they wear, or how they use their body if it doesn’t harm anyone else. We don’t segregate them by age, and we don’t segregate them away from society. We don’t rank, grade, assess, or judge them. We don’t use behaviorist techniques such as punishments (e.g., time outs, detention) or rewards (e.g., awards, badges, school currency) in an attempt to motivate them. We don’t pit kids against each other. But in addition to what we subtract, we also cultivate a protected space for them to be acknowledged, valued, supported, and trusted. This explicitly includes Black kids and trans kids. We practice community care. And because our collective liberation is intertwined, we stand for the liberation of all people.