The Free School has grade pre-K to 8th grade, so we take kids ages 3 to 14. The kids are broken into age groups with assigned teachers but inter-mixing of ages is frequent and fosters a true sense of community amongst our students.

The Free School works very well for across many different learning styles for many different students. Begin an application inquiry and explore if The Free School is right for you.

In a typical year we have anywhere from 55 to 60 students, with a fulltime staff of 8 teachers and 4 interns.

It isn't free but it's very affordable.  Since we are a non-public school we do require a tuition fee, but it is slideing scale and based on your family's income level. Tuition is negotiated at the time of registration and is paid on a monthly schedule. We do also offer scholarships on an as needed basis and will never turn away a child for financial reasons.

We are located in the South End of Albany, NY. Our building is at 8 Elm Street, between Phillip and Grand Street. View the map for more details.

The school day runs from 8:15am till 3:00pm, and we basically follow the public school calendar with very similar holiday schedules. View the calendar for more.

Yes, although unnecessary rules are generally avoided, we do have certain rules in place to ensure the safety of the kids in and around the school building. Rules can also be created by staff and students in our democratically run council meetings and all-school meetings.

In many ways the Free School model of education is much closer to the way the real world works than traditional models. In the real world there are always a mix of age groups working together and there is no one telling you what to do all the time. In the real world we are responsible for our own actions and need to be self-motivated, self-sufficient and creative. So children learn about the real world all the time at The Free School.

Since we have such a low student-teacher ratio (8:1 on average) we are able to build close relationships with our students, and therefore able to have an awareness of how a child is progressing and growing on a daily basis. We do also have a formal system of evaluation, called a mid-year report, which is a descriptive review of a child including observations of all aspects of a student's life and work at the school. These observations by the student's teacher, and those of the rest of the staff, are combined into a written report which is sent home to parents. This report is followed up by a parent-teacher conference where we seek to more fully understand each child and discuss ways to foster their growth and development at the school.

Parents and guardians are very important to the school. The school will have the greatest amount of success if the parents and guardians of the students share in the philosophy that the school is based on. Parents and guardians are encouraged to take an active role in the school, and can visit at any time and if they are interested even lead classes, suggest field trips and activities. There are also regularly scheduled parent forums, parent support groups, and parents are invited to attend our monthly board meetings as well. We like to think of parents as valuable members of our school community and encourage and them to bring ideas and suggestions the students and staff.