Dear ,

We have just a few things to share with you during this (for some of us) slow July. How is this month feeling for you all? We know that for those of us in the northern hemisphere, some centers are on pause, and some unschooling families shift their rhythms. If this is you, how does that shift feel? If you’re in the southern hemisphere, how do seasons generally show up or influence your SDE/unschooling? Without a “school” schedule to follow, we can find our own rhythms and seasons, but when we are steeped in school culture and schedules all around us, sometimes it makes sense to follow the calendar that a huge percentage of the population is operating on. It feels like an eternal push/pull… do we lean into what is different, or match our rhythms with so many other folks we are in community with who invest in conventional schools? Hit reply and share your thoughts, if you wish. 😊

Hello Community 👋🏼 Meghan here.

I have spent the last couple of years in a variety of capacities with ASDE and it's been such meaningful work! I have had to recently make the very difficult decision to step away from my role on staff.

We raised funds, had so much fun with skits, dancing and pies in our faces. We connected with the community through events + partnerships. Plus we built a Compendium of knowledge to share with you! I am fortunate to have been able to take part and have impact in these initiatives. There’s so much more to come from The Alliance.

I will remain involved in SDE/unschooling spaces and have plans for various collaborations in the future, especially in my local community here in Austin! If you’d like to find me, head to itsjusmeghan.com or find me on substack for the re-release of The Unschool Files Podcast and other content. In solidarity, y’all ✊🏼 meghan

The ASDE Compendium is a rich collection of knowledge, wisdom, and lived experiences from practitioners of Self-Directed Education (SDE) around the world. Currently, we have our first ever guided cohort moving through the compendium in community and discussion, and it has been a wonderful experience. 🌸

We are releasing the self-guided online course version of The ASDE Compendium THIS September. So you will be able to access all the goodness on your own timeline as you’ll have access to this course indefinitely. 

The ASDE Compendium contains 15 modules with over 50 different creators. The topics range from a day in the life of an SDE young person; common topics in SDE; intersectionality in SDE; practice and tools for parents, caregivers, and facilitators; neurodiversity in SDE; building resilient communities, and more.

If you want to be the FIRST to know when the self-guided course is available, fill out our waitlist form here.

International Democratic Education Conference, IDEC@EUDEC 2025 Belgium

Aug 1, 2025, 1:00pm — Aug 7, 2025, 5:00pm CET

We want to spread and strengthen self-directed community education, so that more children will be fully trusted and acquire the skills to make a positive impact in society. With great joy we invite you to the IDEC@EUDEC conference in Belgium!

Creating Self-Directed Education Centers

Sep 10, 2025, 9:00am — Sep 10, 2025, 10:00am ET

A free webinar about how to create a self-directed education center in your community.

Private Elementary School of Democratic Education

Slovakia’s first and only legally recognized school offering self-directed education. This legal exception was granted thanks to ongoing research in collaboration with an independent university. We welcome students aged 6–16.

Learning and Liberation

A documentary series about self-directed education, made by two teenage unschoolers.

CoGenerate

Bridging generational divides to co-create the future.

Sands School

Founded in 1987, Sands School is one of a handful of Democratic Schools in the UK. Created by a group of ex-staff and students from Dartington Hall School who together designed their ideal school based on freedom, equality and common sense.

For a full list of our Organizing Partners, check out the bottom of our home page here.

In Solidarity,

The ASDE Organizing Team