At public school Sapphire was doing well academically but gained no satisfaction in focusing on grades, or in working with teachers she felt no connection to. The unending avalanche of homework also left no space for discovering her life’s passion and she often sensed that something important was missing. Given the freedom to experiment and grow through self-direction, she gave a lot more time to artistic pursuits. Her association at Bucks Learning Cooperative with performing artists her own age bolstered her resolve to audition and win a leading role with a regional theater company.

Sapphire moved on from BLC in spring 2019 to attend The College of New Jersey.

Testimonial by Shelby, Sapphire’s mom:

Sapphire was a member of BLC for 4 years and is now at The College of New Jersey, studying Art History. She left highschool in her freshman year as she was both burnt out and bored in traditional school.  At BLC she was able to take Art History “electives” right away, attend homeschool classes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and do an internship at The Met in NYC. As a college freshman, she was grateful for BLC every day of her freshman year. Although the transition to college is a major shift for any 18 year old, coming from 4 years of self directed learning, she never struggled with the independence and responsibility of college life. And she was glad to have opted out of the social drama of highschool. Today Sapphire continues to learn outside a traditional classroom as a Bonner Scholar, providing 250-300 hours of service annually to local organizations while learning leadership and civic engagement skills. She plans to graduate in 2023 and attend graduate school in New York City.