This program is not for people that want a “self directed” course. 

It is a space of learning in community.

You want to know why?

Because, teaching children to read and write can be overwhelming, criticality is deeply rooted in exchange, and liberation is a collective experience.

Sometimes, you really do need community. 

Can I get an amen?

If you are a parent or caregiver looking to develop your knowledge of literacy instruction but also engage with print in our homes beyond school levels and metrics, we might be your people. 

We're talking about literacy as the foundation for criticality and social consciousness; for empathy and self-exploration; for connection and real life learning or even, compassion and healing for a child already  struggling to read. We are modeling, being, and crafting a more beautiful way to engage with literacy. 

When asked, "Where will children learn to read, write, think critically, and connect through literacy?" Member of this cohort will say: our homes and in community.

Home as epicenter is a thing and we are creating it!

Each week, we will meet live as a group, do work individually, and share resources and feedback. Once a month, we will troubleshoot and share wins. 

You will be equipped in areas of direct literacy instruction as well as criticality and connection and experience a shift in themselves and their abilities. 

If you are ready for a personal, familial, and collective transformation, join us!

Nikolai Pizarro

Mother | Author | Educator | Consultant | Advocate 

For almost 15 years, Nikolai has worked to empower predominantly Black and Brown parents and caregivers, particularly segments further marginalized by socioeconomic factors, with science based frameworks of early brain development, literacy instruction, non-violent discipline, and self-directed education. Her book, Ring the Alarm, has been used by programs sponsored by Brooklyn Kindergarten Society and the Department of Health. She has facilitated workshops at hundreds of preschools and private early childhood centers, including over 300 Early Start and Head Start Centers.

Since 2014, she has additionally equipped hundreds of educators and parents with tools to facilitate foundational literacy instruction and developed an early literacy program and framework built on the Science of Reading. 

Over the past 8 years, as her own self-directed education journey with her children unfolded, her work has increasingly included private and small group coaching and collaboration with families looking to transition from conventional schooling to self-directed models and just as importantly, a commitment to reconnect with our assignment to children rather than the school system, curriculum, values, and metrics. "This work is bigger than where and how children do school. This work is in defense of childhood and our divine assignment to center humanity and belonging " she shares. 

Her framework Decentering School at home to Center Humanity (trademark pending) invites all families to create a home culture that centers humanity.

In 2022-23, she has embarked on a new assignment: Decentering Schooling at School, with now two schools engaging with the work. 

Nikolai's work is listed as an anti-racism and resilience resource by Harvard Kennedy School, Center for Public Leadership