The Farm School Solar & Satellite Campuses

🌟 Key Highlights: The Farm School Solar & Satellite Campuses

The Farm School is a private, co-educational alternative school and educational resource center in Summertown, Tennessee, located within The Farm intentional community. It is committed to providing a democratic, learner-centered education that integrates academic subjects with peace, equality, and sustainability, serving both local day students and a large population of home-based learners across Tennessee.

🏫 Overview

• Type: Private / Alternative / Democratic School (Non-profit 501(c)(3))

• Location: Summertown, Tennessee (The Farm Intentional Community)

• Grades Served: K–12 (Preschool/PK is also offered).

• Enrollment: Very small student body for the on-campus Solar School (approx. 36 students) with a low student-teacher ratio (approx. 5:1). Over 4,000 home-based learners are served through the Satellite Campuses Program.

• Core Mission: To provide education, inspiration, and nurturing to students for them to develop the courage, skills, and self-confidence needed to create the life of their dreams and add to the good in the world.

• Affiliation: Established by members of The Farm intentional community (founded in 1971), focusing on principles of nonviolence, simple living, and ecological awareness.

• Accreditation: Recognized by the Tennessee Department of Education as a Category IV Exempted School (a.k.a. Church-Related School/Umbrella Program), which satisfies the compulsory attendance laws in Tennessee.

• Focus: Democratic governance, self-paced learning, responsive curriculum, and a focus on applying science, social science, and communication arts toward peace, equality, and sustainability.

✅ What Makes the School Unique?

The Farm School is distinguished by its unique governance, architecture, and dual program model:

• • Democratic and Consensus Governance: The school operates as a consensus-democratic school. Students and teachers have an equal voice in making decisions about the daily functioning and structure of the school during regular school meetings.

  • Solar Campus: The K-12 educational resource center is housed in a unique passive solar building that serves as an active example of the school’s commitment to sustainability and ecological living.

• Satellite Campuses Program (TFS-SCP): This is the school’s largest program, serving thousands of families in Tennessee. It functions as an Umbrella School that provides the legal framework for homeschooling (often referred to as home education or unschooling), giving parents complete freedom to choose their curriculum and does not require state testing.

• Responsive Curriculum: The curriculum is responsive to the needs, interests, experiences, and values of the individual students and the community. Students learn by applying basic skills to real-world problems.

• Focus on Sustainability and Peace: Core subjects are viewed through the lenses of Peace, Equality, and Sustainability. For example, Science, Math, and Technology are applied toward planetary peace and sustainability.

• High-Achieving Students: Despite its alternative structure and low tuition (reported as low as $1,200 for private students), the school reports an average ACT score of 28, ranking it highly among Tennessee private schools for academic outcomes.

• Experiential Learning: The program includes unique activities such as a period of the year where school is entirely outdoors, learning wilderness survival skills.

📞 Contact Information