Who is Milestone Democratic School?
If a decision affects you, you have the right to help make that decision.
Membership In Milestone
Students, families, and staff are legally guaranteed the right to vote on issues affecting our school, and to elect our Governance Board, because they are members of the school under our Bylaws. Community stakeholders can also apply for membership as “Friends of Milestone,” so long as they believe in and support the mission of our school.
Are you interested in joining Milestone as a Friend? Contact us for an application!
The School Design Team
Milestone’s School Design Team makes all decisions about what our school will be like. The Design Team is randomly selected by sortition from volunteers from the student body, caregivers/guardians, and the staff. All decisions made by the Design Team are by consensus, so everyone’s voice is heard. They publish their work in the School Plan.
Ace Green
Student at Milestone
AJ Miller
Student at Milestone
Genevieve Nadolski
I am on Design Team because I want to help school be family-friendly. I want to be on the Design Team to help improve the school. We learn how to start a school from scratch.
Jess Bernstein
I serve on the Design Team because I’m passionate about student-directed learning and am excited to help Milestone make a robust and relevant education possible for a diverse group of students.
Gersely Rios
I was born and raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela. My role in the Design Team is to give experience and feedback for the new culture of our school as a community stakeholder, student, and former designer.
Victoria Zupancic
I serve on the Design Team as the representative from the Educators' Cooperative. I sit in this role to learn how to shift the power dynamic of schools from that of authority to student voice.
Kyen Schrieber
I serve on the Design Team because I believe that the since the majority of the school is students, students should have majority say in what happens.
Roland Kahl
I am a student in Madison, WI. I have been a Design Team member since late September, 2019.
Zeke Bernstein
I serve on the Design Team because I like to lead and help people.
The Governance Board
The Board of Directors of Milestone is also known as our Charter School Governance Board. The current Board was elected by the membership of Milestone in December of 2020 and will server through December of 2021.
President: Gersely Rios
I was born and raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela. I am the president of the Board. During my time working at Milestone, I've had the chance to give back to the Latinx community and learn about education.
Vice President: Clifton Davis
Treasurer: Shaya Schreiber
I am the board treasurer and serve on the finance committee. I believe in MDS's model of centering student/family needs, voices and experiences in curriculum, policies, practices and structures.
Secretary: Sean M.Z. Anderson
I believe democracy is an act, a practice, and a commitment, and I bring these values to my work on the Board.
Michael Davis
I am a community-organizer with Freedom, Inc., and a PH.D. student in the Educational Policy Studies Department at UW-Madison. I am happy to serve as a Board Member and general volunteer for Milestone!
Damita J. Brown, PhD
Milestone shares decision making with youth and embraces a vision of liberation which it practices at every level of the school. As a gay, educator, artist and revolutionary, I am honored to serve.
Courtney Hayward
I'm serving as a board member for Milestone because I believe all students have a right to a quality education even if that does not look like the traditional model.
Barb Mergen Alvarado
I am privileged to be part of the participatory learning process designed by Milestone students since an experiential, critical education is essential to build a more democratic, anti-racist society.
Kyen Schreiber
I serve on the Governance Board to make sure that there is a student voice to be heard in the "Higher Membership".
The Educators' Cooperative
The staff of Milestone is interviewed and hired by the Design Team, and then they organize themselves into an independent, democratic, worker-owned cooperative. As a #TeacherPowered school, the Educators’ Co-op manages and operates the school by sharing administrative duties between themselves.
Art Richardson
I am youth culture specialist and with all my past experience working with youth in the community I felt called to match my expertise with the climate of the last 5 years in the country.
Victoria Zupancic
I believe the purpose of education is to aid in the development of compassionate, healthy, and intelligent citizens of a global community who use critical and rational thinking skills to be a positive asset to society. It is my hope that by being successful within my classroom, my students will create a positive vision for their future as an individual and as a part of something bigger than themselves.
Sean M.Z. Anderson
I love how learning happens at Milestone, and all the things we learn together every day. Care and dignity belong to us all. To read more of my background, you can view my portfolio.
Friends of Milestone
Some community stakeholder members of Milestone volunteer to serve as “Friends of Milestone.” Friends make themselves available to support the Design Team, the Educators’ Co-op, and the Board with their expertise, guidance, time, and energy. Thank you, Friends!
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