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Dr. Grauer's Column - Small School Sittin’ On A Rainbow

The Grauer School is a small school by design. We're seeing a proliferation of small school networks, because the world needs more small, safe, and real organizations that really connect us. Here’s what you need to know.

Small School Sittin’ On A Rainbow

A couple decades ago, we began seeing data that had never been noticed: The small school is safer, higher performance, and more connected. 

Happier. 

Dr. Grauer handing out freshly-squeezed orange juice and garden produce from the school's garden to Grauer students and families - May 31, 2023

The world is catching on to a proliferation of small school networks. They are forming nationally and internationally. They are asking us for help because we have been at it longer at this point. We are seeing new material:

The smaller school needs fewer supply chains.
The small school needs no unions – we are the union!
We are “the change we want to see in the world.”
The small school is the real economy of scale.

The small school is the antidote to a “never enough” world: Pays its own way, needs fewer banks and bankers. The small school is not $75 million in debt. We are enough. Simple.

"Against all odds, honey, we’re the big door prize." (John Prine)

We are not a system. We are not an institution. We are not a thing. We are not virtual. Our intelligence is not artificial, it is real, and we are here to experience the curvature of life rather than the straight lines. We are not a race. We cannot be captured by any ranking. We are neither fair nor unfair. We are not lost, we are finding our way.

Dr. Grauer playing pickleball with Grauer students and Visual Arts teacher Johnny King - May 31, 2023

We are kids: We are not practicing to become anything else. We are great at being kids, yearning and in pain, joyful at times, and coming of age our whole lives. Unfixable. “In the cost-benefit analysis of coming of age…” is not a sentence.

It’s nice to be heard, and witnessed, as small schools do best. It can take a while, but we come around together. We are the club and the affinity group. We are connected, and sufficient. There is nothing real to win. 

We are quick on our feet. You can’t catch us. But try, because the world needs small, local, connected, intimate, real organizations, and we love you being in them.

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Photos for Dr. Grauer's Column

Dr. Grauer handing out freshly-squeezed orange juice and garden produce from the school's garden to Grauer students and families - May 31, 2023

Dr. Grauer playing pickleball with Grauer students and Visual Arts teacher Johnny King - May 31, 2023

Fearless Teaching® Book
by Dr. Stuart Grauer


Fearless Teaching® is a stirring and audacious jaunt around the world that peeks—with the eyes of one of America’s most seasoned educators–into places you will surely never see on your own. Some are disappearing. It is a bit like playing hooky from school. You will travel to the Swiss Alps, Korea, Navajo, an abandoned factory in Missouri, the Holy Land, the Great Rift Valley, the schools of Cuba, the ocean waves, and the human subconscious—oh, and Disneyland.

There you will find colorful stories for the encouragement, inspiration, and courage needed by educators and parents. Fearless Teaching is not a fix-it book—it is more a way of seeing the world and the school so that you can stay in your work and focus on what matters most to you.

"Grauer’s writing reminds us that Great Teaching, singular, rare, unusual, is something that should be sought after and found. Thank you.”
Richard Dreyfuss, Actor, Oxford scholar, founder of The Dreyfuss Initiative

Click here to order Fearless Teaching® today

Dr. Grauer's Column: Archive of Past Columns

Dr. Grauer's Column - The Four Directions

Dr. Grauer is amidst a late draft of his forthcoming book, “The Way to Pancho’s Kitchen: Original Instructions for Small School Leadership,” and is thrilled to post a sample chapter here. This book, six years in the making, should be coming out late this year. 

Dr. Grauer's Column - A Magnificent Notion

Magnificence: Is it a moment, an achievement, a natural phenomenon, an interaction? The relationship between magnificence and high school education can be seen from various lenses: integrating the natural world, inspirational learning and teaching, and emerging human potential. 

Dr. Grauer's Column - School, Play, Love

What would it take to inspire students to say, "I love my school"? Join us in embracing the natural world and the spirit of play. We can ignite passion, creativity, and a love for learning in our children. Dr. Grauer’s column is guaranteed to leave you with a smile.

Dr. Grauer's Column - How Big is A Small School

Discover the surprising truths behind secondary school sizes. Dr. Grauer has been researching and writing in this area since 2012 and has arrived at striking findings. Dive into a groundbreaking analysis that challenges long-held beliefs about school size.

Dr. Grauer's Column - Less Drama, More Pranayama!

Dr. Grauer shares a lecture by Eoin Finn, globally-renowned yogi and surfer. Whether or not our schools subscribe to the philosophies of yoga and ancient wisdom or to modern western fitness conventions, these techniques are tools that anyone can integrate into education and home to promote a healthier life.