In Their Hands: Liberty Learning Center puts students in charge of their own educations

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal  - Wednesday, November 4, 2009

By Doug Hensley

Called by God and armed with unwavering determination, Cheri Isett built a school not with brick and mortar but instead with a bedrock belief that education should be of the students, for the students and by the students.

This resulting declaration of educational independence is Liberty Learning Center, a 21st-century schoolhouse nestled on the third floor of what once was a 20th-century church. The facility is home to 24 students and two mentors, including Isett, a retired accountant and the wife of State Rep. Carl Isett, who serves as the school's executive director.

"This is one of about 100 around the country called a democratic model," Isett said. "What that means is one faculty, one student, one vote. The

Merissa Ferguson/A-J Photo

Liberty Learning Center mentor and founder, Cheri Isett, left, visits with student members, from left, Zachery Altamirano, 16, Briana Buentello, 17, and member, Mary Isett, 11, in the common area.

 students run the school, and that is what makes it successful. They take that responsibility seriously, and it takes some students who were for whatever reason nonperformers in their previous schools into being performers here."

The students are the school's largest ambassadors. They make the rules and enforce them all while taking responsibility for their own educational future.

"I like it here," said Logan Jaramillo, whose academic interests range from English to theater to psychology. "It teaches us responsibility and that we have to be self-motivated."

The classroom walls are decorated with an eclectic variety of hand-written quotations, including words of inspiration from Goethe, Tupac Shakur and the Apostle Paul. The rooms, like almost everything else about the school, are nontraditional. A music room. An art room. A common area. An area for the babies of female students.

"We've had as many as five in here," said Isett, who on this day is wearing a "Live Imperfectly with Great Delight" shirt that might as well be Liberty's mission statement. "They can be with their babies right here."

The seeds of Liberty, were sown several years ago. Isett founded the school on the heels of serving in her husband's stead at the Texas House of Representatives while he was on active military duty in Kuwait in 2006. At the end of her service, she delivered a personal privilege speech that castigated the role of standardized testing in the public school system.

"I thought I was just speaking to the House," she said. "I had no idea. That speech rocked Austin and went coast to coast in 24 hours."

When her husband returned from Kuwait, Isett said it was the perfect time to put her beliefs into action. The mother of seven slowly closed her accounting business and devoted her energy to education. Liberty began in her home office with six students, including two Isett children, and has slowly grown.

"For those first students, this was a chance to rebuild school," she said. "We looked at what we liked about traditional school and what we didn't like. The organizational document we developed included how the school would operate, the administration, tuition. It was really something remarkable that was created."

A year and a half later, Liberty moved into the Asbury United Methodist Church Building at 20th Street and Avenue T and is one of the fellowship

Merissa Ferguson/A-J Photo

Miranda Zingaro, 14, researches quietly in the common area at the Liberty Learning Center, a private high school for teenagers who do not thrive in a traditional school setting.

ministries under the umbrella of the Hope Community of Shalom, a Methodist outreach initiative.

She and Chris Stegall serve as the school's only full-time mentors, although Isett said the school is in the process of perhaps hiring another mentor on a part-time basis. Each mentor is assigned 12 students, and while Liberty might be different from other schools, it's not a day-long hall pass, either.

Students are required to compile a minimum of 15 hours of documentable learning each week.

"We didn't make a single rule," Isett said. "This is a mentorship program, and we're here to provide information. The rules are made by students, and they've developed some rules that are different. For instance, we don't have a dress code, and cell phones are cool, but when to use them is a matter of respect."

Isett said that because students developed the rules, they believe in the importance of following them.

"They make the rules. They keep the rules," she said. "They hold one another accountable for that."

Borrowing on a concept at other schools, Liberty has developed a judicial committee that reviews rules infractions and passes judgment on each case. "We don't have behavior problems here at all," Isett said.

"I've learned a lot since I've been here," said Michael Patterson, one of the 24 students who begins arriving each day around 9:30 a.m. "I'm into music, and I study that a lot. I was going to be a musician or go into the Army. The plan was to join the Army, but a lot of my friends told me my musical abilities are a God-given gift."

"This is quite an experience," added Zach Altamirano, another Liberty student who plans to become a probation officer one day. "I feel like I learn a lot better here. I actually enjoy going to school."

The school is not regulated by the Texas Education Agency, and no standardized tests are given throughout the year. Students are free to explore

Merissa Ferguson/A-J Photo

Cody Brown, 15, bottom left, reads during English class at the Liberty Learning Center, a private high school for teenagers who do not thrive in a traditional school setting, while other student members, Logan Jaramillo, 16, far left, and Ryan Espinosa, 15, right, listen to mentor, Chris Stegall, not pictured.

 their own interests, and Isett said no class is compulsory, although the weekly 15-hour expectation must be achieved.

Liberty has its own code of honor, crafted by the students and built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect. Isett said Liberty has six 21st-century skills that are primary objectives in all learning activities. The six are collaboration, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and excellence in character.

"We drive everything to those six objectives," she said. "Some students choose traditional routes, and others choose nontraditional routes. The thinking behind these objectives is if one is growing in these and becoming proficient, they will take you into any skill or any part of life."

At its core, Isett said Liberty empowers students to take control of their own educational destiny. She disdains the cookie-cutter approach that often tries to force round pegs into square holes.

"Fundamentally, we are a mentoring program," she said. "The philosophy is that we are to be a self-directed program where each student is responsible for putting together their own education plan. We will help them, but they are responsible for stepping up and taking control. We get into these kids' lives, and not just academically."