Learning on Their Own Terms

One warm afternoon, kids shot lazy hoops on an outdoor court. A boy towed a girl in a little red wagon. Another boy sped downhill on a driveway on a pair of kick scooters, one for each leg. An acoustic guitar leaned against a Volkswagen. Two seesaws bobbed. Children mucked in a creek. Teenagers listened to iPods and talked on cellphones. Some played computer games or surfed the Web. Many gabbed.

Students come and go when they want. The only requirement is to spend at least five hours at school between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Many roll in after 9 a.m., some close to noon. Those who fail to sign in pay a 50-cent fine.

Some events consume the school for weeks. Michael Fizdale, 17, of Bowie wrote and recently directed the two-act take on the Sendak classic that included a "wild rumpus" dance. Michael said the tale of mischievous Max scared him as a child and inspired him as a playwright. "This is a completely original piece," he said. "I took the book and made the most out of it. It's a story about acceptance."

Michael said he is studying mathematics and physics at home with his mom, a public school teacher. He also studies bees at nearby Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and is thinking about a biology career.

Richard Morris, 17, of Edgewater, played a prince in Michael's show and is interested in writing, sound recording and filmmaking. He is attracted to a school where student government means student power. He lobbied to pass a rule requiring secret ballots on personnel-related votes at school meetings. "I'm very into the politics of the school," he said.

Meetings are central to a school without a principal or headmaster. A student judicial committee convenes daily to enforce a thick rule book established collectively by students and staff. Anyone can be "written up." On this day, three boys -- Lukash, Ruslan and Roman -- were brought before the committee by a boy named Zack to face a charge of improper screaming in a computer room. "They did it," said one teenage witness in a brief trial. The youngsters pleaded "no contest" and were barred from the room for three days.

Yet discipline, as an outsider would conceive it, is scarce. At 9 one morning, several youngsters were sprawled on a couch, whooping over a Godzilla-like video game. At 10:30 a.m., they showed no sign of letup. No rule prevents a game fanatic from sitting in front of a screen all day. "For three years, I did exactly that," said Eric Steigerwald, 17, of Silver Spring, now in his sixth year. "It got depressing." Yet he enjoys the school and talks of becoming a writer or graphic designer. Fairhaven relies on the threat of boredom to spur student creativity.

Some tire of the freedom. Izzy Rosen, 14, of Northwest Washington is switching to the private Nora School in Silver Spring after seven years here. He said Fairhaven helped him grow socially. Unlike many adolescents, he can relate equally to peers, youngsters and older teenagers. But he wants a structured high school to prepare for college. "It will be a fresh start," he said. His parents hired a math tutor for him this year.

Izzy's mom, Gayle Friedman, was on the staff for several years and helped found the school. "It's a gorgeous concept," she said. "It works beautifully for some kids, well for others and not so well for others."

She taught pottery, Spanish, a bit of yoga. Sometimes, she was disillusioned. Students often bailed on her Spanish class, she said, because they didn't want to do the work. Her 4-year-old son won't be attending Fairhaven.

Opening Doors

There is little way to evaluate Fairhaven except on its own terms. The school is not accredited by any independent organization. The school has awarded 16 diplomas over eight years and has seven diploma candidates. To receive one, students must spend at least three years at the school and be 16 or older. They must also write and defend a thesis on how they have taken responsibility for becoming effective adults. An assembly of students, staff and parents votes on awarding diplomas. No one has ever been rejected.

Three graduates have gone on to four-year colleges: Sarah Lawrence College in New York, Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and the Art Institute of Chicago. Some have gone to community college. Other alumni include a professional skateboarder, a waiter and a librarian.

Thor Jensen, 20, Class of 2005, said Fairhaven taught him how to learn. Now, Ursinus professors find he raises his hand all the time. "I learned how to be interested and engaged in what I'm doing," he said, "so I can continually obtain new information and increase my understanding of how the world works."

Ben Umstead, 22, Class of 2001, graduated last year from a Los Angeles film school. He said his Fairhaven diploma has never been an obstacle. "The general reaction is pretty much, 'Huh, that sounds interesting. Tell me more.' "

Justin Reed, in this year's graduating class, is an aspiring rock musician. His mother said Fairhaven restored Justin's love of learning. "It had really been beaten out of him," Jan Reed said. Now, she said, Justin studies poets such as Allen Ginsberg and is flourishing as a writer. "What I would like to be able to deliver to my child, and every child, is the education they need, and the education they desire, and really open that up for them," she said.

Jan Reed is principal of Mount Rainier Elementary. It's a public school in Prince George's.