Experiential Learning Center Brings Alternative Schooling to CT

When parents have a school-aged child, they have to make a decision: either send their kid to a public or private school or educate them at home. Over the past decade, more and more parents are deciding to homeschool their children.

Connecticut, in particular, has one of the country's most lenient laws about home education. In this state, a parent who wishes to homeschool does not have to submit any curriculum, test scores or report to a school official like parents would in many other states.         

The usual homeschooling model is that the parent would teach the basic subjects like math and English at home, supplementing the core curriculum with music lessons, outside classes and tutors. Typically, as a child grows older, they will rely more and more on outside classes in the community (such as tutoring or community college classes).

But two women from Branford and Guilford are trying to change that with a new alternative for homeschoolers: The CT Experiential Learning Center (CELC).

Melinda Alcosser and Maria Morteli, two teachers who worked at White Wood School in Branford, founded the center three years ago. When White Wood closed, parents urged Alcosser and Morteli to continue teaching.

And so the CT Experiential Learning Center was born as a tutoring service that offers full-time middle cchool curriculum for homeschoolers and those interested in an alternative to a private school education.

There, families with kids between fifth and eigth grade can choose between going three to five days a week. Alongside typical courses like math, science and reading, students participate in volunteer work, outdoor activities, art and peace studies with a national curriculum called “Peace Jam.”

This year, multiple studies united for one good cause. Within a theme of immigration, students learned Spanish and did volunteer work at Casa Otoñal, a Hispanic senior housing center in New Haven. There, they took oral histories of the residents and created a quilt collage for them.

This type of curriculum is typical of what CLEC strives for.

As founder and teacher Melinda Alcosser explains, “We include a lot of field experience, a lot of traveling with kids, bringing them out into the world. So the learning is not just book learning but experiential learning, not just a random ‘go to a museum’ [curriculum] but learning by applying knowledge into the world.”

Families from throughout the state, including Madison, Branford, Essex, North Haven and New Haven, agree that the center is a great addition to homeschooling. Because of the small class size (around 10 students), the teachers are able to focus in on each student and their individual needs.

“We’re not rushing to achieve a test score,” Alcosser said, “We’re wanting kids to learn and explore. It’s not just a cookie cutter, rushing to get somewhere. These days kids are not using their imagination as much, so we really ask kids to think for themselves.”

According to parents, it looks like the center’s goals are coming to fruition.

“The most important job that a school has is getting students interested in learning concepts and then transforming it into their lives,” said Nanci Dower, whose daughter attended CELC for two years. “The ability to enter into a new experience and bring with her everything she has learned at CELC is a testament to the school’s philosophy. They also learn how teamwork affects the totality of accomplishing a task. With all of these experiences she acquired new knowledge of math, science, literacy, history, all concept areas in a manner that was inviting and inspiring.”  

CELC also strives to help homeschoolers with a common dilemma: finding other children to socialize with. Because students are typically placed in a small group, it fosters long friendships, CELC said. Beyond academics, it allows students to have fun together in outdoor activities -- events like science fairs and social gatherings.

“It’s like a club,” Alcosser said, which is a needed thing in a time when “kids are having a hard time with bullying and social pressure and feeling like it’s not cool to be smart.”

If families are interested in sending their child to CELC fulltime, the center also offers weekly classes in subjects like art and drama, as well as sponsoring sailing trips and other volunteer trips.

As of now, CELC is operating out of Melinda Alcosser and Maria Morteli’s houses in Branford and Guilford, but they are looking for a more permanent home for The CT Experiential Learning Center. In the meantime, they are trying to build their curriculum and schedules as best they can to serve the needs to those on the shoreline.

CELC is now registering for fall 2011, so if you’re interested in having your kids attend for the upcoming year or want more information, visit http://ctexperiential.org/wordpress.