HOLYOKE -- LightHouse Personalized Education for Teens opened this fall, offering a learning environment unlike others in the city.
The alternative education program opened last month with a class of 30 teenage students.
"We serve the most interesting teens in Hampden County," LightHouse Co-founder Catherine Gobron said. "Teens who have vision and goals for their futures, and are inspired to learn outside the box and spend their energies on projects they find engaging and meaningful."
The school also operates in an interesting space. LightHouse has a 10-year lease for 3,500-square feet within the Sustainability Technology Entrepreneurship Art Media (STEAM) building, 208 Race St., in downtown Holyoke.
The space doesn't feature classrooms full of desks featuring a whiteboard but instead a music room full of instruments, a growing library, couches, multi-use tables for collaborative learning and Mac computers for individualized learning. The school is painted in warm, bright colors and filled with natural light.
View photos of the school above.