Meet Mikala Streeter of The Life School in Castleberry Hill

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikala Streeter.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mikala. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Mikala is an experienced educator who is committed to empowering students from all backgrounds. Over the last 7 years, Mikala has taught middle and high school computer science and math courses, designed curriculum and coached teachers around the world.

Prior to founding The LIFE School, she co-founded an educational technology company focused on college access. She is also a 4.0 Schools Fellow and a SXSWedu conference speaker.

She has a B.S. in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a M.A. in Education (Learning, Design, and Technology) from Stanford University.

While at Stanford, Mikala met people who were teaching and working in lots of different educational environments. There were people teaching weaponry in the military, others teaching refugee kids in war-torn countries, and still others teaching in low resourced schools in urban areas and Native American reservations. This exposure motivated her to explore more styles of education than the traditional, college prep high school environment that she was used to. She learned about Montessori, Waldorf and Sudbury schools, among others and began designing a school that incorporated key elements from these models.

Upon moving to Atlanta, she started after school programs at local middle schools where students could design and implement passion projects related to their interests. Students learned to code, started blogs, learned the guitar, created films and more. The insights from these programs refined The LIFE School’s model and the school launched last year in August 2016.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Our school has quite an innovative, nontraditional model and isn’t a good fit for everyone. Explaining our model to families can, at times, be challenging if they haven’t already done some exploring/research on their own to see different ways to approach schooling for their children. Over time, we’ve learned how to explain our school to families and help them determine whether we could be a good fit for them: If your child flourishes in a small, flexible environment where they get to make choices and decisions about how they learn and where they get to incorporate their own interests, voice and goals into their work. This approach develops students as whole people (i.e. academically skilled, self aware, and community-oriented) and supports student dreams whether they aspire to Harvard Law, being an actor/entertainer, entrepreneur.

The LIFE School – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The LIFE School is a self directed, project based high school (grades 9-12) in Atlanta, Georgia. We are located in the historic Castleberry Hill neighborhood, known for its creative and entrepreneurial spirit, which we encourage our students to absorb and embody as they connect with local business owners, artists and residents.

We are a part of the Agile Learning Network, which includes self directed schools around the country, and AERO (alternative education resource organization). Our school model is inspired by learning approaches like Montessori, Sudbury and High Tech High.

At LIFE, student learning revolves around student interests and goals. Each student has a custom, project-based learning plan that includes:

(1) Academic Credits: Students earn high school credits through real world, project-based courses we’ve designed with experts, so that every project immerses students in the big ideas of the subject and asks them to create an artifact that demonstrates their learning.

(2) Passion Projects: Students also work on interest-driven projects, such as starting businesses, recording music albums, writing novels, and building apps, during the school day. We teach students project and time management and connect them with experts to mentor them.

(3) Post-secondary planning: To guide students in mapping out next steps, we visit colleges, take lots of field trips, host guest workshops, coordinate student internships, and coach students and their families in making decisions, completing applications, and applying for scholarships to colleges and other programs.

Leadership development: As students grow as learners, we want them to also grow as people and leaders. Our flexible schedule makes space for developing social, emotional, and professional skills. Students also take on leadership and planning of trips, businesses, and events.

Every graduate: At a minimum, has interned twice, learned to code, and started a business. Students graduate with their own mission statement, definition of success and a plan to achieve it.

Our students earn a traditional transcript (with all of the credits/subjects that one would expect) but, in a nontraditional way. On their transcripts, we also highlight featured passion projects (e.g. published book, company started) and internships, in addition to grades.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We work with each student to learn about themselves and the world around them, so they can make informed decisions about how they pursue their interests and goals, and what new skills and interests they explore. Our students graduate with their own mission statement, definition of success and a plan to achieve it.

Pricing:

• Tuition sliding scale for high school: $5-10K / year
• Virtual program: $200 for 2 custom interest-based projects, $100 per high school credit, $225 for 5 hours of coaching

Contact Info:

• Address: The LIFE School
  217 Walker St.
  Atlanta, GA 30313
• Website: www.thelifeschool.co
• Email: info@thelifeschool.co
• Instagram: instagram.com/thelifeschoolatl
• Facebook: facebook.com/thelifeschool

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