The Tutorial School

Specialties

The Tutorial School is an educational community dedicated to the development of independent, responsible students, prepared with life skills that encourage and sustain a thoughtful, successful, and meaningful life.

We are an independent, alternative, democratic school for ages 6 – 19 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, offering an education based on freedom, trust, and self-​governance.

History

Established in 1982.

The Tutorial School was started by Richard Testa as a tutoring service in his home. It subsequently developed into an alternative private school. It was non-​coercive but used a standard correspondence curriculum. In 1992, after studying the Sudbury Valley School, The Tutorial School moved to its current location and became fully democratic by dropping the curriculum and adopting a form of self-​government.

Meet the Manager

Moe Z.

Manager

Moe Zimmerberg is one of the leading educational visionaries working in the United States today. He has evolved and advanced the concept of holistic childhood education through decades of work at The Tutorial School. For Moe, The Tutorial School addresses «healing people emotionally and psychologically, healing our relationship with the planet, ending war and oppression, and promoting gender equality.» He is also an active participant in the global Democratic School Movement.

Moe has been involved with the school virtually from its inception with Richard Testa, who founded the school as a place for children to heal and blossom. As a philosopher, scholar, and graduate of MIT, Moe brought a unique perspective to the development of The Tutorial School. After the passing of Richard in 2002, Moe’s understanding of the philosophy and his commitment to the school deepened. He discovered that «Everything I believe in, and in fact my whole life is being actualized by working at the school.»