By Christian Mignot

The School for Independent Learners, a Los-Altos based secondary school providing an alternative to home schooling, started the new school year two days ago with a dramatic increase in its full-time enrollment figures.

After opening in 2001 with only three regular students, the growing roster will count about 22 full-timers for this academic year, with more expected to join throughout the year. There will also be approximately 30 part time students coming in for tutoring or supplementary classes.

Developed by Dr. Herman Ohme, an education specialist and teacher for more than forty years, the full time schooling program is the most recent service offered by the California Education Plan, a company Ohme owns providing academic counseling and tutoring.

The school caters for students who seek flexibility in their academic programs. It provides a solution for students who want to learn at their own pace - be it those looking for more challenge than regular high school programs can offer, or those who need more time and assistance with their studies than is readily available.

“We provide for students who march to a different drummer than those of regular high schools; here, they don’t have to be lock-stepped into the pace of others,” he said.

For the last twenty years, Ohme had taught home school students one-on-one.

“The only problem with home-schooling is that it gets pretty expensive,” he said. “So I decided to start a school where kids could go at their own pace, learning in small groups with individual attention from teachers.”

Ohme said the school tends to attract a great deal of students who are intent on pursuing professional careers, such as sports prodigies or musical geniues.

In particular, one student currently attending is a world-class cellist, who must balance her education with performances across the nation.

“With our program, kids can take time off school without falling behind, because they don’t fall behind,” he said. “All their schoolwork is individually tailored to them, so when they return they restart where they left off.”

Jane Barbeau, whose 15- year-old daughter Jordan balanced her performances as an equestrienne with classes at the school last year, praised the flexibility of the program.

“Jordan likes how she can shift around her schedule as she pleases so that she can skip days to go to equestrian shows,” she said. “She also loves the individual attention provided and being able to co-enroll in classes at Foothill College.”

Rhonda Ohme, daughter of Herman and currently the principal of the school, related the growth in student numbers to customer satisfaction.

“We help all students on their terms, and we provide a learning environment tailored entirely to their needs,” she said. “In essence, we put them in the driver’s seat and treat them with respect.”

The teaching philosophy engendered by the school features a “no failure” policy and is non-punitive. Rhonda said if a student were not performing well, then teachers would examine the problems and go overproblematic material until it was understood and perfected.

Only one student graduated last year from the school in its first year.

Adam Smith, who is heading up to South Lake Tahoe Community College to continue his education, was the first and only senior to receive his high school diploma from the School for Independent Learners.

“When I was going to a regular public high school, there was a lot of boring class work that I had to get through,” he said. “The School for Independent Learners allowed me to work through those really quickly and then to get to some classes that I really wanted to spend time on.”

The school, which charges fees of $2,000 per month to students taking five classes each day, is not the first school of this kind set up by Herman.

The education consultant, who also taught at universities like Stanford and Yale, was instrumental in the development of the Mid-Peninsula High School in Menlo Park, as well as Cubberly High School in Palo Alto.

He has also released several publications regarding education and study skills.

For more information about the School for Independent Learners, call 493-5512.