Parents in the Mahoning Valley have a new educational option for their elementary school children.

The program creator of Flying Trees Academy in Poland says the style of teaching will not focus on grades or test scores, and children will not be given homework, instead the program will focus on developing a child's creativity and critical thinking skills through self-directive and project-based learning.

The program is created and led by Jaelyn Farris, a developmental psychologist who teaches at Youngstown State University.

"I'm bringing in my background as a developmental psychologist and basing the approach that we take here at Flying Trees on what really works best for children's brains to actually learn," said Farris. "Children weren't really designed to sit at a desk for six or seven hours a day and learn by having someone teach at them."

Farris says the program aims to promote independent self-learning, as well as socioemotional development.

The approach is not entirely new and pulls from education methods that have been around for years such as Waldorf Education, Montessori Method, and the Reggio Emilia approach. However, Farris said the "fusion" within her program is new.

"Our premise is if children are raised in healthy ways and aloud to become their best selves, that their brains are primed to learn," explained Farris. "So we have the classroom prepared with materials that are suitable for elementary school aged children, then they get to move around a lot throughout the day."

And although standardized testing will not be apart of the program, Flying Trees will use Ohio Learning Standards as benchmarks to assess children. Ohio Learning Standards spell out, by subject, what a child should be able to do at a certain age and/or grade level. Farris will give assessments of each child to their parents to ensure they are reaching developmental milestones.

"Here each child is respected and valued as an individual, so I won't be teaching to them in a format that expects everybody to learn the same thing at the same time," said Farris.

In addition to the unique approach to learning, Flying Trees Academy will be a hybrid-home school program. Children will attend the program in-classroom three days a week and complete the rest of their educational requirements at home.

"A pure home school environment is often more limited just to family or to occasional outings or co-op groups, so there is more socialization than just a full home school imitative," said Farris.

Students who attend this program will register as home school students with the state.

The Ohio Department of Education declined to comment on this style/approach of education, but acknowledges it as an option for parents who choose to home school their children.

Farris says nationwide there has been an increase in homeschooling interest, especially in light of the pandemic.

Flying Trees Academy will begin on September 7th. Space is still available.

Farris notes that it will be a "Covid-conscious" program. All children and adults will wear masks, practice social distancing and cleaning protocols will be used.

More information on home schooling options and requirements can be found, here: http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Ohio-Education-Options/Home-Schooling

More information on Flying Trees Academy can be found, here: https://www.flyingtreesacademy.org/