The Experimental College of the Twin Cities

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What is EXCO?

The Experimental College of the Twin Cities (EXCO) is a collective dedicated to supporting community initiated educational opportunities as a means for social change. Classes organized through EXCO are spaces of learning where people share their talents in an inclusive, open, non-hierarchal, and non-coercive setting. EXCO brings together community members, organizations, and movements to engage in a shared education mission. Therefore, EXCO has many parts:

We Are a School

We work to bring together community members who have expertise to share with participants seeking out information and education not otherwise found in traditional institutions. We have course offerings 3 sessions a year—where there are no grades, no requirements, and where learning is shared by all. We believe that EXCO classes are opportunities where educational is accessible to everyone.

Our core principal is that everyone can teach or take classes and all classes are free.

We Are a Community

From our organizing collective, to our participants, to our facilitators, and to our community partners, we bring together dedicated community members working together on shared progressive goals.

We Are a Movement

EXCO aims to transform education. We seek to change the nature of education from within our own universities as well as transform the purpose of education. We aim to partner with and help other movements in their educational goals.

Our Beginnings

EXCOs can be found all over the nation and have their roots in free school initiatives in communities and universities started in the 1960s.

Our EXCO started in 2006 after students fought the institution of classist admissions policies at Macalester College. We grew in 2007 with the addition of a chapter at the University of Minnesota started by students organizing around access issues caused by the closing of General College and other administrative policies made apparent in the 2007 AFSCME strike. In December 2008 members of the Latin@ community created our first community based chapter—the EXCO Academia Comunitaria—with a Cedar Riverside chapter planned to launch in Fall 2010.

As our EXCO was founded through struggles and collective action, we are committed to connecting education and activism, theory with praxis, and all learners with facilitators.

Accomplishments to Date

Since our first session of classes in Fall 2006, we have grown from 6 to 12 to 20 to 50 classes—with new classes and facilitators being introduced all the time. We have grown from 60 participants a session to nearly 500.

We have been able to support other community organizations and centers through holding courses there—gaining interest and members for those groups along the way.

We have seen EXCO classes become activist groups, seen amazing friendships and relationships come about throughEXCO, sometimes triggering new types of organizing, solidarity, and even new organizing chapters.

EXCO is a place to live and learn community building…

Where we go from here…

As we continue to build our EXCO community, our ability to offer classes and to connect with community groups will help us get closer to realizing our vision of social justice.

Contact Information
Email Address: 
Website: 
http://excotc.org
3237 Grand Ave. S. #1
Minneapolis, MN, 55408
Is Registered: 
USSF 2010