I looked at Alli and asked if she was serious. She was and we are. Next week, we launch a school in our backyard–Wildside Academy–for our kids and nine kids from our neighborhood. 

Like parents across this country, school closures upended our 2020 plans. Denver Public Schools announced in-person instruction will not start till at least mid-October. With a highly social fourth-grader and a kindergartner excited for his first days in school, this news came as a blow. It’s challenging enough for our boys to put their shirts on right-side-out, let alone thrive in virtual school. We aren’t alone. A mom (who works nights) of one Wildside Academy student summarized her experience with virtual school by saying, “It’s been hell for us.” 

Reopening schools for in-person education includes risk. Already, we’re seeing just how complicated it is to resume school safely and pragmatically. But not reopening schools for in-person education also includes risk. 

“We’re seeing, sadly, far greater suicides now than we are deaths from COVID,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the CDC, on the risks of schools remaining closed. Recent CDC data showed 1 in 4 young adults had “seriously considered” suicide within the last 30 days. 

And, there is ample evidence from school reopenings across the globe and even within the United States that reopening schools is reasonably safe, particularly for young children. 

Still, many of our largest public school districts, including ours, opted for a virtual fall. Massive school districts like DPS are in an unenviable position. Amid our hotly politicized climate, a storm of opinions about the health and safety of children, parents, and teachers rain in from every direction. School administrators face a lose-lose proposition. 

Though virtual school will be inconvenient for us, our concern is ultimately not about the effect school closures will have on our children. Virtual school is least effective with our country’s most vulnerable children. With a master’s degree in education and close to a decade of experience educating children, Alli was ready and willing to step into the opportunity to bridge the gap for kids in our neighborhood.

Based on surveys from Los Angeles, Boston, and even South Dakota, we now know more than 20% of public school students are not even signing on to their virtual school platforms. This 20% dropout rate has had and will have a cataclysmic impact on the children least able to bounce back. Given the evidence available to us, we have asked far too much of our children. Our kids have given up too much, especially the most vulnerable children. 

So next week, we’re launching a backyard “micro-school” for our neighborhood. Over the last month, we’ve worked with our school administrators to identify the kids who most need an in-person environment. Nine students enrolled for Wildside Academy and will gather with our oldest sons in our backyard, three days each week, to learn, play, and adventure together. They won’t pay tuition to us, as they will remain enrolled in our local school, but the focus will be on allowing these kids to regain some sense of normalcy this fall. 

Our backyard: Home to Wildside Academy

Given this unique moment, we hope Wildside Academy spurs on others who are concerned about the impact school closures will have on our neighbors. Already, we’ve been overwhelmed with the ways our community has rallied around the students who will gather here. And, we’re excited to see what might happen in this backyard in the months to come. 

9/1 Update: The first week of backyard school is under our belts and we’re loving it!