Play Full Ground is set to open a creative microschool for high school students.

Thinking outside the box and turning dreams into tangible objects is one guiding principle for artist Mai Ryuno. Now, the artist and educator is combining her skills to create a microschool where high school students can apply what they learn in math, science or English into creative projects at Play Full Ground in Monterey, which Ryuno founded in 2017.

“I wanted to create this place to be a community of learning. Not just so much academics like math or science, but those subjects are everywhere – things like cooking require some knowledge about science and math,” Ryuno says. The same, she adds, can be true for art.

The number of microschools with fewer than five students in California doubled in the 2023-2024 school year compared to prepandemic numbers, reaching nearly 30,000 students, according to data from the California Department of Education. (Only one is currently registered in Monterey County.)

Ryuno hopes to attract students who are interested in alternative private education, or who are homeschooled.

Students will be enrolled in an asynchronous online school where they will learn the required curriculum. Ryuno will guide them to create topically related projects.

Students will make projects from scratch. “We’re going to connect the knowledge to some real projects through the principles of art and design,” Ryuno says. She adds that creative thinking is a process that can be applied to any subject – engineering, chemistry, math, etc. – beyond what is conventionally understood as “art.”

The school is expected to open in fall of 2025, with help from Kaipod Catalyst Program, for up to 10 students in grades 9-12.