Business Idea: Afterschool Sudbury Programs

The public school system in America (or anywhere else really) isn't going away any time soon, and it is unlikely, despite data showing that teenagers perform better at schools with late starts, that schools will actually implement those policies either. This means two things:

1. We won't be getting Sudbury schools all over the place any time soon.

2. Afterschool programs for kids with working parents will still be a big deal for years to come. The gap between the end of the school day and the end of the work day won't close any time soon either, and even if it does there will just be a gap in the morning.

So with that out of the way, here's my idea. A business which provides daycare and before/after school care for children and young adolescents, in a Sudbury environment.

More than a daycare, it would provide children with facilities to engage in their own play, learning, creativity, and social groups. Faculty would be neither teachers nor supervisors, but sources of information and learning which the children could go to if they needed help. Ages would be mixed, and as at a typical Sudbury school "classes" may be held by children or faculty but attendance would be optional.

It would be an environment where the children could be independent, and yet supervised, safe, and encouraged to learn. That's much better than having them sit at home and watch shit on TV until their parents return home.

I doubt it would be any more expensive than a typical daycare/after school care business (except in initial investment, perhaps) and it should be accessible to large numbers of families in most cities.

If such businesses existed, might they help to convince parents and society at large of the value of the Sudbury approach? Please let me know what you think.