Jerrine Corallo and Tracy Manning were looking for an alternative type of schooling for their children. When they couldn’t find it in their area, they decided to create it.

Their not-for-profit school, Country Classroom, will welcome its pioneer class — with six children ages 4 through 6 — in Middleburgh this fall.

Corallo is not an educator by trade. She has spent her life working for not-for-profit companies and is handling the business side of the school.

She grew up living on the Huyck Preserve and said being in nature and able to explore was integral to her upbringing.

“I want the same for my kids,” said Corallo, who now lives in Middleburgh. The school will, in fact, be run out of her farmhouse, which sits on 60 acres and borders the Schoharie Creek.

“There is a lot of research that backs up how important it is for children to experience nature and learn from it,” she said.

She discovered that other parents nearby were thinking the same thing she was — that there had to be a way to allow their children to learn in a different manner than a public school curriculum.

She connected with Tracy Manning, the head teacher, on a Facebook page specifically for Middleburgh residents. Manning was looking for childcare, and so was Corallo, so the two began communicating.

They discovered how much they had in common, particularly their philosophies on education, and began formulating a plan for a new school.

Manning, who received a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies at the state’s University of Buffalo, and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis on science at Antioch University New England, in New Hampshire, said she has “lived and worked all over the place.”

She taught in Alaska and then worked at the Farm School in Massachusetts.

“It isn’t a traditional school; it’s a place where students visit for extended field trips,” said Manning.

The school is a working farm and the students are expected to help with the work.

“It was real work that we relied on and with that sense of responsibility the children always lived up to our expectations,” said Manning, describing activities like milking cows, weeding gardens, and even clearing trees. “We trusted them and that’s what was so important.”

But, she said, she missed the extended knowing of a group of students, since field trips at the Farm School lasted for only one week.

“I didn’t get to see how I really impacted — or didn’t impact — their lives,” said Manning.

She moved to the Capital District and taught at the Bethlehem Children’s School until she had her daughter three-and-a-half years ago, at which point, she began working with home schoolers.

Once she connected with Corallo, Manning became excited about the possibility of forming her own curriculum.

She called their school’s approach “project-based interdisciplinary learning.”

“It basically means we are going to study one thing at a time and study it really deeply,” said Manning. “We are going to use that one thing to fit in science, social studies, writing, and art.”

As an example, she said the students would use the creek as a learning tool.

They would learn about the animals and organisms living in the creek and the environment of the creek that makes it optimal for the animals, conduct science experiments by monitoring the temperature fluctuations and flow of the creek, use materials found near the creek to create art, and write stories about the creek to hone language-arts skills.

“We really believe in outdoor education and embracing nature as a classroom,” said Manning.

She also believes in what she calls a “democratic classroom.”

“While I am the adult and I do have a long view, I believe the children should have a voice in shaping the classroom,” she said.

The students will help come up with the classroom rules. Manning believes children are more invested in things they have helped to create; it gives them a sense of ownership.

“It’s also wonderful to have a mixed-age classroom,” she said. “The older kids really set the tone for the younger kids and take on a leadership role.”

The County Classroom does plan to use testing as a tool, though it won’t be standardized testing, and the curriculum won’t teach to the test.

“Yes, we test, and no, they aren’t high stakes,” said Manning. “Testing is a good way to see what kids are learning, and I want kids to be able to take a test because there will always be situations in life when they might need to.”

The Country Classroom is not a charter school, although it received a charter from the State Education Department.

“The main difference between us and a charter school is we are not looking to get any funding through the state,” said Corallo. “It will be funded entirely through tuition.”

Country Classroom had to prove it fulfilled 21 requirements before it got approval from the state. Its charter is a provisional one, meaning it has three years to show that it is able to thrive independently as a school.

“We plan to evolve based on what the students and the community needs,” said Corallo.