Meet Anne Wintemute of Highlands Micro School in Northwest Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Wintemute.

Anne, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Before starting Highlands Micro School, I had experience starting and operating a handful of other businesses. I also had experience advocating for evidence-based maternity care. This combination was what set me on the path to opening Micro.

Through my work in maternity care advocacy, I learned a lot about the gap between what we know works and the care we actually provide. I also learned about the extended length of time between the conclusion of the research and when evidence-based practices become norms in the field. When it was time for me to find a school for my own children, I began to see that the same problems I knew were affecting outcomes in maternity care were present in education. Whose needs were we serving – those of the institution or the individual? Why don’t schools/hospitals use evidence-based practices with fidelity?

Anyone who knows me knows that when I start thinking about a problem, I want to find a solution. While on a walk with a friend, chatting about what I was seeing, she joked, “you should just start a school.” That friend became one of our first families.

Has it been a smooth road?
In many ways, the road to today has been smooth. The bumps we did experience were not the ones we expected. Before the school opened we had some challenges with the building department that delayed the project right up to the school’s opening. We finally received our certificate of occupancy about 48 hours before students arrived for their first day. Then we had recurrent issues with head lice our whole first year. We never expected that! Fortunately, we are now able to laugh about it and can frequently be heard addressing new challenges with, “well, at least it’s not head lice!”

We want our students to see challenges as opportunities for creative thinking and we live that out in our own experiences managing the school. Challenges with parents ask us to think more deeply about our methods and styles of communication. Challenges with space invite us to solve three-dimensional problems through a lens of practicality. Challenges with a learner require us to dig deeper within ourselves, reach out to experts and shift our measurements of “success.” Challenges are our opportunities to exercise the parts of ourselves that yearn for more than automation.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Highlands Micro School is a small, independent elementary school serving kids in Northwest Denver. We specialize in learner-centered education and the development of life-worthy skills. Learners at Micro are allowed agency over their education so they can invest deeply and in ways that are personally meaningful. Our two-room schoolhouse looks and feels like home, and learners spend as much as six years with familiar classmates and teachers. Our proudest accomplishment is managing to convert a lofty ideal into a working schoolhouse serving the individual needs of our awesome kids.

Who else deserves credit – have you had mentors, supporters, cheerleaders, advocates, clients or teammates that have played a big role in your success or the success of the business? If so –who are they and what role did they plan / how did they help.
Susan Calkin is our founding lead teacher and the woman who brought Highlands Micro School to life. I may have designed the set and filled the theatre, but she is the woman who stepped out on stage and gave the audience a reason to clap. I remember the first time I interviewed her. We met at a coffee shop and she told me, “If you don’t hire me, I’m going to start my own micro-school.” She didn’t say it to threaten me. She just meant that one way or another she was going to be working in a learner-centered environment like the one we ultimately created. I thought, “You know, she’s just the kind of crazy we need!” I can’t imagine doing this without my co-pilot.

Pricing:

• Tuition $13,200

Contact Info:

• Address: 3719 Perry Street
  Denver, CO 8212
• Website: www.highlandsmicroschool.com
• Phone: 720-379-6375
• Email: anne@highlandsmicroschool.com

Image Credit:
Both photos attached by Bloom Photography

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