Private school opens in Fairfield

A group of Fairfield parents has formed a new school called the Heartland School of Learning, which has been meeting in the former Medical Arts Building at 408 S. Maple St. in Fairfield.

The school opened on Sept. 14, and thus far has “a couple of families,” according to founder Anna Spanton, and is eager for more students to join. Iowa Rep. Jeff Shipley of Birmingham was present for the school’s opening day, and gave the school an Iowa flag and an American flag.

Spanton is a CEO and founder of a medical arts company. She said she started the Heartland School of Learning after being dissatisfied with the town’s public school and particularly its mask mandate. She pulled her son out of school last year during his junior year. Friends came to her to ask her to run for school board, but felt that a single school board member couldn’t “fix that machine.”

Spanton and a group of parents decided they wanted to start a school free of mandates, and one that focuses on a child’s “inner wisdom.”

“We’re the wisdom and freedom keepers,” Spanton likes to say.

Spanton’s mother, Elizabeth Spanton, has 52 years of experience in the education field, and was once a principal at a school in Tokyo, Japan. She is the main teacher at the school, and was named “Teacher of the Year” at three prior schools.

Amy Hazell has a degree in education and has worked as a nanny, infant and preschool educator. She is in charge of the school’s art program, and has the students do activities such as weaving, knitting, drawing, molding sculptures and working with beeswax.

The school is open to children in grades 1-8, though Spanton hopes to soon expand that to high school age.

Spanton said the school focuses on helping children become independent and less reliant on technology. The school pulls its curriculum partly from Waldorf schools and partly from other sources.

Fridays are devoted to off-campus activities including a recent field trip to Radiance Dairy north of Fairfield and another to visit Bentonsport with a group of home-schoolers.

In an effort to increase its exposure, the school is holding a “Wisdom Keepers Class” on the first and third Saturday of every month from 10-11:30 a.m. beginning Nov. 6. Children ages 5-12 can attend these sessions for a fee, and do not need to be enrolled at the school. Sessions will include crafts, songs and stories.