The Collaberg School (originally known as the Barker School) founded in 1961 was the first 'free school' in the United States based on the model of the Summerhill School in England. The school was located in Stony Point, from New York City. Collaberg School enrolled between 25 and 50 students from kindergarten through high school in its experimental curriculum. The school closed in 1970 but during its short lifespan was a touchpoint for many of the notable figures of the burst of creative energy that was the 1960s.
Founding
In 1960 following the publication of A.S. Neill's book Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing about a radical, free-school in England, a group of parents and educators in the New York City area began talking about trying to start a Summerhill type school. A number of this group had attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina, an experimental college started in 1933. This was the meeting place for a notable group of creative free-thinkers including Paul and Vera Williams, John Cage, M. C. Richards, Karen Karnes, David Weinrib, Patsy and LaNoue Davenport. After leaving Black Mountain in the early 1950s they founded the Gate Hill Cooperative (known as "The Land") in Stony Point, New York, 30 miles from New York City. Many in the group were interested in education and had young children of their own but did not want to enroll them in a traditional school. Educational philosopher and Gestalt therapist Paul Goodman who had spent a summer at Black Mountain teaching, was living in New York and came to know the folks at the Land. They shared ideas about education and were particularly interested in Summerhill. Goodman suggested that Robert Barker, a frequent visitor to the Land and teacher, go to England. Barker spent a year working at Summerhill and learning about their new approach to education from 1959 to 1960. When Barker returned he led the founding in 1961 of the first school in the United States based on the Summerhill model. Incorporators of the school were Bob Barker and his wife Esther, Mabel Chrystie, Paul Goodman, and Harold Ardnoff. The school was founded on two central principles: community and collaboration. Both of these principles had been part of the ethos of Summerhill and Black Mountain. In contrast mainstream education in that era was based on hierarchy and competition.
1961-1963
The Barker School, as it was first named, initially was located in rented space in Stony Point, New York, in the building that is now the town hall. Unlike the Summerhill School which was a boarding school, the Barker School was only for day students. The faculty included Robert Barker (headmaster), Vera Williams (art), Paul Williams (shop), Stanley Amdurer (science), Mabel Chrystie (kindergarten), Patricia Davenport (music), Betsy Epstein (kindergarten), Herbert Haslam (music), Selma Hill (dance), Paul Hultberg (art), and Ellen Rockwell (kindergarten). Following the model of the Summerhill School attendance at classes was voluntary. Following the Summerhill model, the school held regular democratic meetings at which everyone, even young children, had an equal voice and vote. The school sought to cultivate students's innate curiosity and to foster a lifelong love of learning. Headmaster Barker said that the school philosophy was: "We keep creativity to the maximum, competition to the minimum."
Moving to Thiell's Road
In the fall of 1962 with financial help from architect Paul Williams (and husband of school co-founder Vera Williams) the school purchased a thirteen-acre piece of land on Thiell's Road in Stony Point. A large Victorian house, farmhouse, and barn were on the property. The new location enabled the school to expand its curriculum and with the renovation of the farmhouse began accepting boarding students. In the move to Thiell's Road the school lost some teachers but gained others including: Remy Charlip (dance), Karl Riley (science), Steve Durkee (art), George Ancona (Spanish), Don and Paula Plesnicar (music). The school had close connections throughout its history with the nearby Gate Hill Cooperative ("The Land"). There was a constant back and forth between the Land and the School. Many of the students at the School were children of members of the Land. Students from the school went to the Land and were exposed to artists living there such as musician LaNoue Davenport, potters M. C. Richards and Karen Karnes, singer Sheila Schonbrun, and multi-media artists Sari Dienes and Stan Vanderbeek. It was indeed a rich educational environment.