Read Exclusive Statement by Debbie Meier
Teenage Brain Research



The Teenage Brain: Research Highlights
While 95 percent of the human brain has developed by the age of six, scientists report that the greatest spurts of growth after infancy occur just around adolescence. What are these changes? How do teenage and adult brains differ?

Read the rest here.
Special Conference Issue
See separate conference issue on free registration donation, participating schools, May 30 deadline, etc.
'Hippie School' Votes For School Choice
By Ron Matus

The tiny Grassroots School in Tallahassee, Fla., is democratically run. Everybody votes on everything. Some of its 24 students recently led a successful bid to limit use of school computers. Others debated whether Grassroots should raise chickens or rabbits. The chicken faction won.

School choice has been on the agenda, too.

Read the rest here.
Debbie Meier Exclusive to AERO on CPE Attack
 I first met Debbie Meier when she was directing her revolutionary Central Park East Alternative School. This led to dramatic changes in all of District 4 and is a template for the kind of change that is possible in the public school system.
 
As you'll read below, long after Debbie's retirement there is now a raging controversy about the school, with parents and teachers claiming that the new principal was selected to sabotage the school. We were able to obtain from Debbie an exclusive statement of her stand.

- Jerry
 

Read about the conflict in the news here and here.

In Our Village: NYC Elders Through the Eyes of Its Youth
How do stories awaken our conscience? How is history witnessed in the present? Diana di Rico, who teaches Global Literature at Baruch College Campus High School, recently asked her students these questions. They answered by interviewing, photographing, and creating word portraits of elderly citizens in their community. Their just-published book, which includes student insights about the project, offers a stunning model for how teachers can engage their students in cross-generational story telling.  
Read the rest here.
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Please send us feedback on this issue. also, we would like to have more articles written by AERO members and about AERO school and organizations.  Thank you for your ongoing support. With  your help , we will make learner-centered alternatives available to everyone!

In Service,

Jerry Mintz
Executive Director
Alternative Education Resource Organization

Please consider making a donation to AERO to help support our work. Thanks!