Hi! I'm Lauren McCarthy. I come from a family of educators where dinner table conversation revolved around students, lessons, and other school-related topics. I began teaching in preschool classrooms at age 14 and received my BS in Elementary Education by 21. I then went on to earn additional certifications in secondary Language Arts, Social Studies, and Theatre Arts as well as an MA in Educational Theatre. Over the last 20 years, I've taught ages 2-18 in private schools, public schools, museum and theater education programs, homeschool cooperatives, and private tutoring (including pre-covid online learning!). I've headed an arts enrichment business and launched half a dozen homeschool learning programs for various groups and organizations. Through all of this, I've welcomed hundreds of students into dozens of classrooms and learned to navigate the homeschooling communities in two different states with my own four children. Metanoia is the culmination of this work and is my attempt to put into practice everything I have come to believe about education, students, and their families. I welcome you from the very bottom of my heart and hope that you will find a home and a community as you join our journey here at Metanoia! 

Since before I even had children of my own, I've been drawn to alternative models of education. One of my favorites has always been a hybrid or university model style that allows students to attend classes a few days a week while leaving schedules free on the rest of the weekdays for independent studies, travel, arts, or athletic activities. We've been fortunate enough to participate in a few of these over the years in various forms, but have never found a consistant program that works for our entire family. We've also discovered how beautiful online learning can be. My kiddos have taken classes in cars, onboard cruise ships, in airports, and in a variety of states and countries! When my oldest, Aedan (who you will see as a Teaching Assistant in the elementary and junior high programs or if you participate in our rpg Adventure Guilds), found out that his beloved online high school program was dissapearing, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Aedan and I happened to be traveling together (to his school's Rainbow Prom!) soon after and spent a weekend of airport waiting, flights, and rainy hotel stays dreaming up Metanoia. 

Our goal with Metanoia is to be a guide for your unique journey. We provide tools and a community in which we believe you and your child(ren) can thrive. We foster critical, outside the box thinking. We read banned books. We intentionally focus on historically underrepresented groups such as indigenous peoples, POC, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. We are a safe space. We will provide classes, curriculum. resources, field trips, celebrations, and personalized educational consulting to support our families in every way we can. Still, your journey is your own. Metanoia is not a school. We are not accredited. We do not issue official diplomas or transcripts (though we will happily help you craft yours!) By remaining independent, we believe we give families the best of both worlds: a community to learn in, the support of experienced staff, and also the freedom to pursue their own learning goals. 

I will be adding other staff bios as we find the right folks to bring onboard the Metanoia team. If you and your family would like to join our journey, please contact us!!! Talk to you soon! 

-Lauren