The Warehouse School: One Alternative

The Warehouse Cooperative School is an alternative school for students ages 5 to 18 which stresses physical, social-emotional, spacial and auditory learning equally with academic development. 80 students from all over the Boston area, including as far away as Plymouth and Marblehead, gather in the vacated warehouse in Roxbury's industrial section.

Although a "private" school, Warehouse families represent the spectrum of income groups, as parents are asked to pay according to their income and the school attempts to be diverse yet self-sufficient. Warehouse has nevertheless undergone the financial pitfalls of all alternative schools, surviving since its inception almost five years ago due to the conviction of the families involved, who paid more than they thought they could afford and discovered new sources of finance.

The school is composed of nine fulltime staff of varied background and education and usually four volunteers or student teachers. It is run as a parent cooperative, the parents involved in some of the decision-making and committed to giving the equivalent of 90 hours in some capacity to the school per year. Some teach a weekly course, some type and phone-call, others organize special events, some take field trips or lend out their houses, others work on the budget.

The Warehouse is "openclassroom" in that it is divided into different areas--an art room, music room, science room, shop, gym, special room for the youngest students, library, office, drama area, and two classrooms, as well as "middle earth," a large open area at the center where many distinct activities go on. Students move in and out of the areas as they choose, create their own schedules, concentrate on their individual interests, and go to "closed classes," which are scheduled on a bulletin board in the middle of the school. A closed class is one which meets at a specified hour, and once a student commits himself to it he is supposed to do all the work the course demands. Psychology, life drawing, music theory, Third World history and literature, and Spanish are some examples.

Often, standing in the middle of the school, it is difficult to see constructive activity in progress. Chaotic activity or inertia may seem to reign. But following an individual student around to watch what he does in a day often provides a markedly different perspective.

Warehouse does not pretend to be for everyone, or for anyone at all stages of their development. The staff meets every day after school to discuss the students' needs and activities (each staff member has a number of advisees with whom they try to interact especially) and happenings in the school. If the school does not seem right for the student, or vice versa, a staff member talks it over with the parents. Some students use the school as if they might be in a more conventional school--predominantly academically--others use it as a social outlet for a while, some stay in the art room almost all day. But reading and writing is available and usually accomplished at some point. More important, a happy, warm, energetic atmosphere permeates the school.