Our Story
Metropolitan Schoolhouse came into existence organically through a dire need of a school just like ours. A place where the school meets the students, rather than forcing the students to fit into the rigid structure of a school.
Our founder, Jennifer Kelly, worked with our founding students as an educational therapist prior to the CPS Teacher Strike of 2012. She wanted to provide some stability for her clients and began full day programming during the strike. As the strike came to a close, the parents urged her to keep doing what she was doing. Jen took the rest of the year to lease a space, build a curriculum, and hire teachers. Metropolitan Schoolhouse opened its doors for its inaugural school year in September of 2013.
What started with four students has now become close to forty. Each year has welcomed new challenges and has been met with innovation. We began, quite literally, as a one room schoolhouse and have now expanded into multi-classroom space which includes a library, kitchen, therapy room, and sensory room. We’ve expanded our staff from one teacher dedicated to her students to over ten professionals that share their expertise and talents with all of our students. Each year we’ve continued to add resources and programming that respond to the unique needs of our students.
We are proud to be a leader in inquiry-based, hands-on learning – fostering cohesion between our grade levels and enhance real world application of all teaching and learning occurring at Metropolitan Schoolhouse.