Table of Contents:

1. AERO Tribute to Jerry Mintz

2. My Friend Jerry

3. Virtual Celebration of Life for Jerry Mintz

4. Jerry's Essay in Turning Points

On behalf of AERO and Jerry's family and friends, we'd like to thank all of you for your outpouring of love and support. See a brief message here.

Jerry Mintz: Setting Learners Free

A tribute from the Alternative Education Resource Organization

AERO joins our friends around the world in mourning the passing of our founder, director, and guiding spirit, Jerry Mintz, last week at his home. He was 83.

For more than five decades, Jerry was the beating heart of the alternative education movement. He believed, without compromise, that children are natural learners, that young people deserve a real voice in their own education, and that schools can be run democratically. He didn’t just argue for these ideas; he lived them and spent his life helping people build them.

That conviction started early. When at fifteen, fed up with school, Jerry wrote a poem protesting against a school that locked students in and fed them dull, joyless lessons, smothering their natural interest in learning, and he vowed to rebel against it.

In 1968, Jerry founded the Shaker Mountain School in Vermont, a pioneering democratic school during the height of the free schools movement. In 1986, he took a leave of absence from Shaker Mountain to help develop the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools, growing their membership tenfold and planting the seeds for the founding of AERO in 1989

After founding and leading AERO, he helped to found IDEC (International Democratic Education Conference) in 1993 alongside David Gribble at the invitation of Yaacov Hecht, which he championed and advocated for throughout his life.

In creating AERO, Jerry provided a place for anyone who believed that learning could and should be different to come together, network, learn, and share, well before the days of the internet. Giving people a home and the feeling that they aren't alone.



Over the years, Jerry helped found well over a thousand schools and organizations around the world. Many more were started and still exist today based on Jerry's work. 

Jerry presented in dozens of countries, and consulted with schools in many more, such as England, Israel, Guatemala, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, and India where he was brought in to consult on introducing democratic processes to hundreds of schools. Jerry would likely scoff at this list because it excluded every country he grew to care about deeply as he shared his wisdom in support of learner-centered education for children around the globe.

He was invited to speak in Russia as that country began democratizing its education. He brought democratic processes to hundreds of schools in India. 

Jerry played a key role in helping to start the Brooklyn Free School and the Manhattan Free School, here in the United States, and in his back yard. He continued to be a fierce advocate and practitioner of youth rights, democratic process, and learner-directed education through his work with AERO. But it wasn't work to him; it was a way of life. 

Jerry built structures that became mainstays in the Alternative Education community, including the AERO Conference and the Alternative Starters course, which helped launch many schools and programs around the world. The conference featured the most prominent practitioners in education, including Sir Ken Robinson, Alfie Kohn, Herbert Kohl, John Taylor Gatto, Peter Gray, and many others. 

He was a published author and editor with such works as The Handbook of Alternative Education, The Almanac of Education Choices, The Education Revolution magazine, No Homework and Recess All Day, School's Over: How to Have Freedom & Democracy in Education, and Turning Points: 35 Visionaries in Education Tell Their Stories. His writing and words were featured nationally and locally, including National Public Radio, The New York Times, Newsday, and Fox News, among others.

Anyone who knew Jerry knew there were many layers to him. He was a champion table tennis player who taught the game to countless young people and others, and would thrash anyone brave enough to challenge him. 



He was an accomplished violinist, a lively conference auctioneer, a passionate gardener, and a lifelong Mets fan. Jerry approached all of these interests as he approached his life, with boundless energy and curiosity. 

His curiosity was genuine, especially when it came to kids; he was genuinely interested in their lives and their interests, and it went beyond just taking them seriously. 

Jerry had a way of making everyone feel important, valued, and seen. He had an incredible ability to remember people and what was important to them.



Jerry made time for everyone, no matter what time of day or night, or their level of experience or knowledge; everyone received his full attention. This was evident at the AERO conferences, especially when conference organizers would be looking for him and would often find him so engaged in a conversation or game of ping-pong that he lost track of time. 

His impact on people cannot be overstated, as countless people around the world can trace a turning point in their lives to a conversation or meeting with Jerry. 

It's difficult to measure the impact Jerry's work has had on the lives of children, educators, and parents. So many found their niche, perfect learning environment, or path for them because of Jerry's guidance and support. Others found the courage and inspiration to start a school or organization because of Jerry's guidance and support.  



Jerry always put the needs of others before his own, but he didn’t see it that way; it was just his way of life. His incredibly generous nature was evident in everything he did, giving anyone who needed it a place to live, volunteering and consulting with parents and students, never asking anything in return. 

Jerry's unwavering and unflinching conviction fed his boundless energy. Despite his vast experience and knowledge, he always wanted to learn more, approaching many endeavors with a "beginner's mind."

One of AERO's principles is inclusion; anyone curious is welcome, and that is in very large part due to Jerry's belief that everyone has something to contribute. 

The outpouring of love and respect from around the world this past week tells us that the impact Jerry’s life has had cannot be measured. It lives on in every democratic school, every democratic school meeting, every self-directed learner, and anyone brave enough to have started something new, or anyone contemplating it. 

Jerry would often say that what he started has only just begun. With Jerry's indomitable spirit in our sails, AERO will continue and expand his work. 



Thank you, Jerry, for all those you helped, inspired, and saved. We'll miss you more than we can express, but all that you've done will live on.  

My Friend Jerry

"I’m not sure the full force of Jerry’s loss has hit me yet. The emotions come and go in waves. I still expect him to call me and say “Hey Peter” Read the rest here

Please Join us for a Celebration of Life for Jerry Mintz

We expect that we that there will be a number of varied remembrances, and celebrations, that will be ongoing.

Many of us are feeling the need to get together in community (we know Jerry would be happy about that) and celebrate Jerry. In an attempt to accommodate all time zones, we will have two virtual sessions. We're asking anyone who would like to participate to register for one or both sessions.

Friday - October 30, 2026 - 9 pm Eastern Time - Register

Sunday - November 1, 2026 - 10 am Eastern Time - Register

We have received many inquiries with regard to making donations in Jerry's name to AERO. You can do so here; if you prefer PayPal, you can go here. You can also become a monthly AERO Sustainer here .

Jerry's Essay In Turning Points

What Do You Mean, You’ve Decided? We’re Supposed To Decide!

Read Here