"My kids were poor, and if they didn’t learn, they were going to stay poor. I wanted to put the responsibility of learning on them because until they wanted to learn, I couldn’t teach them."

Dr. George Richmond, Founder

The Power of an Idea
In 1967, Dr. George Richmond, then a 5th grade rookie New York City teacher, faced 33 unruly kids.  Having grown in poverty by a single mother up in a tenement on the Lower East Side of New York, he understood that when grades and discipline don’t motivate students to learn, freedom and responsibility would. From Richmond’s vision grew the MicroSociety program, a revolutionary learning model that drives students to want to learn classroom curriculum when real-world activities make it relevant to their lives. His 1972 book, The MicroSociety School: A Real World in Miniature, was reviewed for Harper and Rowe by Peter Drucker and remains the definitive work in the field.

About Us
MICROSOCIETY is a non-profit educational services organization with a 15 year track record as one of the nation’s leading experts in real world learning for the K-8 population. Through our innovative curriculum, professional development, and training in school and out-of-school programs, we create motivating learning environments that are continuous throughout the year. The interconnected, real world experiences are relevant and meaningful to children and purposefully engage the community in their evolution. The result – students learn and practice 21st Century skills in class and “on the job” by managing their own miniature community, not on-line, but in real-time, for one period a day. And what’s more, they begin in kindergarten!

About MICROSOCIETY’s Programs
Click here

• Increase Academic Achievement
  Program impact has been especially remarkable with those who struggle hardest to succeed - children from low income families, children with special needs, and children with limited English proficiency.
  
  
• Improve Behavior and Reduce Violence
  Students learn the value of rules and laws when they create them, interpret them and enforce them in order to get along in their shared society. They also learn empathy and respect for others and hone valuable conflict resolution skills in order to get along in the progress of its evolution.
  
  
• Motivate a Desire to be in School
  By connecting curriculum to real-world activities and through a balance of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, the program re-engages students who are disinterested in school because they don’t see its relevance to life.
  
  
• Enhance Citizenship, Service Learning  and Community Engagement
  Students learn why voting is important and that demanding ethical decisions of their elected officials is not only their right, it is their responsibility. They witness firsthand how engaged citizens play a vital role in the success of a community and its ability to thrive.
  
  
• Cut Drop Out Rates
  Improved attendance occurs in the first month of program implementation because students are motivated to learn. Research shows that boredom is one of the top three reasons children drop out of school. Teaching basic skills by themselves is boring and ordinary. The MicroSociety program changes the context for leaning - connects it to students lives - making it interesting for them to learn.
  
  
• Prepare Tomorrow’s Workforce
  This innovative educational design is an incubator for the kinds of workers who will take the lead in running the businesses, government agencies, and charitable organizations of tomorrow. By linking real world activities to classroom room learning, MicroSociety puts meaningful work into the experience of childhood. Students develop the critical 21st century skills like communications, critical thinking and decision-making, team-building, and personal initiative that will enable them to thrive in a global economy.

• Improve Financial Literacy
  Students uncover the fundamentals of finance as they buy and sell products in the marketplace, create personal and business budgets, maintain checkbooks for both, calculate taxes, and meet payroll. MicroSociety teaches financial literacy in a real world context that is meaningful to students. These practical challenges strengthen their aptitude math-related areas like banking, investment, and personal finance. Students come to recognize the value of a dollar and how to make more informed decisions about their own financial futures.

Contact Us
For more information about supporting the work of MicroSociety and to learn more about the organization, contact Rob Kutzik Senior Vice President, (215) 922-4006 ext.130 or rkutzik@microsociety.org.