Meet the team

Passages was founded in 2020 by Kristina House. In 2021 we became a registered charity, and in 2022 received a Ministry of Education BSID as a non-credit granting school.

Staff

Our deep commitment to self-directed, democratic education allows us to support the young people at Passages with deep trust and care. As a team, we work to meet learners where they are, support their natural interests, and encourage them to stretch.

Kristina House (she/her) — Founder, Executive Director, Lead Staff

I’m Kristina, Founder, Executive Director, and Principal at Passages Centre for Self-Directed Learning. I’m also a lifelong questioner of systems that just don’t feel right.

Before starting Passages, I worked as an American Sign Language–English Interpreter for over 15 years, supported women and families as a Birth Doula for 10 years, and spent two years in midwifery school at TMU. While those things might seem pretty unrelated to education, there has always been a common thread for me: autonomy, informed choice, and questioning the idea that the person with the professional title automatically knows what is best for someone else.

My real education in education, though, came from raising and unschooling my own two AuDHD kids for the last 15 years. When school didn’t fit them, we eventually stopped trying to make them fit school. Giving them space, trusting them and watching where their interests took them led me down a radically different path, one that prioritized autonomy, curiosity and respect over compliance and control.

That path eventually led to Passages.

Since opening Passages in 2020, I’ve had the privilege of learning alongside dozens of young people, and they have probably taught me as much about education as anything else I’ve done. I’ve watched what happens when young people are given real freedom, but also real responsibility. When they have a voice in the community they are part of. When adults get curious instead of immediately stepping in to direct, fix or control. And when learning is allowed to be part of life rather than something that only counts when it looks like school.

As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent person myself, I also bring a deep understanding of how poorly many of our systems fit people who think, communicate, learn or move through the world differently. Passages serves many neurodivergent young people, but our work isn’t about getting them to better tolerate systems that weren’t built for them. It’s about helping young people understand themselves, discover what matters to them, build community and figure out what a meaningful life and learning can look like for them.

At the core of all of this is something pretty simple: I trust young people. I believe they deserve meaningful autonomy over their own lives and learning, with adults beside them who will support them, challenge them, share what we know, and take them seriously.

Kristina was nominated as an Urban Hero in 2022 and won the People’s Choice for Education
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Spencer Munro (she/they) – Program Facilitator

I’m Spencer and have been working alongside Kristina as a Program Facilitator for two years. I took the traditional education route my entire life, right up until my recent completion of a Master’s degree in social work at York University.

My time in educational spaces growing up was difficult, and I often felt as though I was swimming upstream and unable to keep up without tutoring and compromising my mental & physical health. I came out of mainstream education not knowing myself, lacking a sense of connection and belonging with others, and succeeding on paper while feeling emotionally bereft and lost. Only once I understood myself and was diagnosed with AuDHD in adulthood did things finally begin making sense.

While practicing social work, I worked directly with neurodiverse youth and young adults in varying capacities, from direct one-on-one support to informal drop-in spaces. I witnessed the ways in which educational institutions were repeatedly failing to meet their needs or provide reasonable accommodations. These institutional failings often negatively reflect on young people’s self-worth, confidence, and motivation to engage in learning. Witnessing this was infuriating, as these young people continued to try to force themselves into systems not designed for them to succeed. Trying to address these issues within social work/not-for-profits appeared to be fraught, as most organizations only offered ABA or other pathologizing interventions. Ever since then I have been incredibly passionate and determined to be part of an alternative form of learning for neurodiverse youth in which they were respected, accommodated, and free to be their whole selves. When I found Passages it felt like the stars had aligned! My hope is to provide the understanding, freedom, and support which was not readily available to me when I was going through the school system to the learners at Passages.

I endeavour to be a trustworthy adult that models a neurodiversity affirming approach to life & learning, and a firm believer that young learners are not “wrong” just because they approach the world differently. I am excited to be a member of this community of learners, as we venture into a future rooted in radical self-acceptance, freedom, and community.

Our vision

We aim to create life-long learners and envision a world full of young people who are empowered and thriving.

Our mission

To create a thriving and sustainable community where youth can freely choose their educational journey in a way that is meaningful to them supported by Mentors.

Reducing financial barriers

Finances should not be a barrier to receiving the education that meets your needs. Young people wishing to lead their education will be supported by Passages through our Tiered Member Fee Model–fees in relation to income. We believe in this wholly and rely on donations and grants to support our centre.

As a registered charity your donation will be recognized with a tax receipt in the full amount that you donate, and is issued automatically to your email address.

Charity Registration Number: 717 989 537 RR0001