I am Carol Nash, one of the co-founders who worked with the TDSB over the 2006–2007 academic year to create Alpha II Alternative School. I received my PhD in Philosophy of Education from the University of Toronto in 1989. Before co-founding Alpha II, I co-founded several programs for self-directed learners at the University of Toronto through the Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Physics. I was also Director of Graduate Alumni Affairs. 

 

I left the University of Toronto when I had children. I have two children. Both attended Alpha II for six years. My son is currently in his second year of a PhD program in English at McMaster University. My daughter has a four-year degree in Socially Engaged Art from Goddard College in Vermont. She is a comics artist and a teacher of all levels and topics at Create Art Studio, a private art school in Toronto’s east end. 

 

In 2012, the History of Medicine Program at the University of Toronto invited me to become its Scholar in Residence. The Program is part of the Department of Psychiatry. I publish research on self-directed learning and consensus decision-making, and act as a reviewer for many international academic journals. I have kept records regarding Alpha II since its founding. I would be happy to answer any questions Alpha II members might have regarding Alpha II, self-directed learning, or consensus decision-making.