FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Every child’s program is personalized for them, and we encourage children to spend significant amounts of time pursuing areas of learning that interest them. We help and support students in finding private instructors, internships, volunteer opportunities, online learning and community resources to pursue learning that is meaningful to them.
Some of these areas can include things such as: Music, Scouting, Outdoor Skills, Sports, Business, Graphic Design, Art, Drama, Dance, Photography, Videography, Animal Care, Construction, Carpentry, Horseback riding, Creative Writing, Computer programming, and Physical Fitness.
The Chinuch Without Walls program has no mandatory classes and does not issue credits or diplomas. Rather, members of Chinuch Without Walls are supported in pursuing a rich array of academic and other opportunities based on the child’s interests, and they are given a support system to discover their optimal daily schedule and growth opportunities.
Chinuch Without Walls members can register as homeschooling children and report their learning and academic progress to their district as required by law. Chinuch Without Walls staff helps in the process of fulfilling all regulations.
With an individualized program, each child's experience will be unique. When the time comes to move on, members have a broad range of options open in front of them.
Members may decide to go to a yeshiva or seminary and engage in higher-level Torah learning.
Members may decide to pursue a career or vocational degree that will allow them to go straight into a profession.
Members who earn a high school diploma through engagement in independent, remote, or in-person learning while at Chinuch Without Walls, then may apply to four-year colleges.
Members may enroll in community college as a path toward earning a high school diploma, and may then continue to higher education.
Members may take a high school equivalency test (such as a GED or HiSET) to earn a high school diploma and to go on to higher education.
When a family comes to Chinuch Without Walls, the first order of business is to get to know that child well. What are this child's areas of strength and passion, and how can we help this child thrive in those areas? We then work on seeing how we can design a program that will best meet that child's needs and accentuate strengths.
We then form a "team" around that child whose job it is to support the child in their growth in every way possible. The team usually consists of Chinuch Without Walls staff, the child's family members, close friends and community members who all have the child's best interest in mind.
We then identify the goals that this child has, both short term and long term, and begin to design a program that will help them reach those goals.
As a self-directed learning program, all activities and lessons are non-coercive; students are not forced to learn anything that they do not want to learn. They are treated with respect and given a full say in their education. The design of the Chinuch Without Walls program for each teen is a group effort between advisors, parents, and children.
We are an Orthodox program committed to the ideals of Torah and Mitzvot. As a program aimed at finding the strength in each child, we do not commit ourselves to one specific hashkafa, but rather strive to help all children in our community who need an alternative to a traditional yeshiva to thrive. We get to know each child, their family, and community, and we work within that framework to create an individualized program.
Our program is open to both young men and women, but classes and activities are separate.
Our program is designed to bring out the best in each and every child through a strong sense of love and support. We aim to never reject or discourage any child based on their current level of observance or commitment.