Mimosa Jones Tunney
Education Expert. Entrepreneur. American Wife & Mother.
Founder & President of The School House and
The American Emergent Curriculum.
"We are talking about the color of the shutters while the educational house is on fire. HOW we teach in America needs to move into the 21st century."
-Mimosa Jones Tunney
It's Time to Change School in America.
Mimosa Jones Tunney saw a void in America's education system.
Seven years later, The School House & The American Emergent Curriculum
are considered the most innovative educational program in the United States.
We're Making Headlines...
Momentum is building, and the world is taking notice. The School House has become a magnet for local and national entrepreneurs, politicians, and major donor organizations—all drawn by our mission. But nothing prepares them for what they experience when they step through our blue doors. Their reactions speak volumes: wide-eyed wonder, astonished whispers of "How is this possible?" and, sometimes, even joyful tears. The magic of The School House isn’t just real—it’s transformative.
The Only School in America that:
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At The School House (TSH) children score 2x the national average (including all public, private, charter and parochial schools) without teaching to the test. There are zero mental health issues at TSH and a waitlist for this working family school for the past 4 years.
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The American Emergent Curriculum (AEC) – a six thousand-page document – implemented and tested at The School House for the last 6 years. The AEC is an Educator-led, Child-first approach based on over 150 years of pedagogical evidence. The ONLY curriculum of its kind in the U.S.
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TSH was built for HALF of what it costs to build an elementary school of the same size; it operates at HALF of what it costs to operate the same. 80% of the budget goes to Learners and Educators who are bonused. No more than 5 people are needed to administrate a school of this size.
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TSH is a school for Working Families. 90% of our children get aid bequeathed by donors. IEPs and all welcome. It will work anywhere in America.
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TSH/AEC Celebrates Traditional attributes that we used to love about American schools: Sports, Spirit Weeks, the Pledge of Allegiance, 1-hour recess and cultural exploration using stories and discovery NOT divisiveness.
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TSH/AEC Children get Technology NOT Screens. A Food on Mars Room + a Farm where children as young as 3 learn to grow food on Mars using only mineralized water and artificial light; these children also learn food production and the nitrogen cycle in their backyard Farm.
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TSH/AEC Children get Applicable Learning: Starting their own companies at age 10; Daily School Care (raising the morning flag with a Veteran); Presidential Fitness Program which the Obama Administration cancelled after 50 years; and Operating a Weekly Farm Stand where they learn selling, money and profit and loss statements.
The Problem:
The American Education system is failing our children. Curriculums are uninspiring and not aligned to how children learn. School Administrations have become bloated, ineffective and political. No one is putting the child FIRST.
The Facts:
Low test scores
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Reading and math scores are at their lowest in decades. Students also struggle with gaps in science and problem-solving skills.
Bullying
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Bullying is on the rise, with 19.2% of students in grades 6-12 reporting being bullied in 2024.
High costs
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The cost of education in the US is among the highest in the world.
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The cost of supplies and uniforms is a problem for schools.
Teacher shortages
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Teachers are understaffed, underpaid, and have scarce resources. We've had the largest mass exodus of Educators since the Pandemic: over 340,000.
Mental Health:
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Over 20% of children have a mental challenge; 67% suffer from anxiety.
Other challenges
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Mental illnesses and absenteeism are on the rise. Schools are struggling to use new teaching methods and technologies effectively, and they face conflict and violence.
"We need to smart kids up, not dumb them down..."
-Mimosa Jones Tunney
Mimosa Jones Tunney
Founder & Creator of The School House and
The American Emergent Curriculum
In 2010, Mimosa Jones Tunney firmly believed that she had reached the highest level of success: her own parking space on the Warner Bros. lot. The spot – which came from writing on a critically-acclaimed television show – was evidence of her worth. As was directing her first documentary short series and developing a film with Tom Hanks. But it was through writing a mini-series for Oprah and HBO about the Life of Ida Tarbell that suddenly made the parking space seem irrelevant. That… and having her first child.
 At the turn of the last century, Ida Tarbell’s boss, S.S. McClure, invented syndication, took down John Rockefeller – the wealthiest man in the world - and partnered with President Teddy Roosevelt on more reform than the U.S. had seen then or since. McClure was, at one time, the most famous person in America. And yet, Tunney discovered while in the Library of Congress reading an original letter from McClure’s friend Alexander Graham Bell, that McClure’s greatest contribution wasn’t any of those things. It was bringing Dr. Maria Montessori to America to reform Education. The effort by McClure failed and cost him his career. Yet, the letter affirmed that we had been here before. That 2020 might as well be 1910. That everything – commerce, transportation, medicine, communication, even toothpaste – had advanced in our society with the exception of our education system. And what a beautiful system it is… founded on the premise that we could educate the largest group of people mankind had ever known.

 Where is that majesty today? That passion for getting it right when it comes to our youngest and most valuable citizens? Why, after all this time and countless reincarnations and reinventions of America, haven’t we created a system based on the development of the child and what we know scientifically works in learning? Why haven’t we focused as much on getting it right for American children as Apple has focused on selling iPhones?

 It doesn’t take long after reading the great pedagogical writers of history – Piaget, Comenius, Gardner, Montessori, Malaguzzi and many others – to understand how humans learn. It’s not like trying to understand biochemistry or statistics where you might need a certain gene to process complex ideas. These ideas – ideas about education – are blatant. They are outwardly logical. And they all point to giving children the foundation to work independently, make good choices, lead, compromise, find happy moments, overcome failure and understand their own self-worth and abilities. This along with academic standards is the only thing that moves our human culture in a positive direction.

 Years before Tunney worked in Hollywood, she graduated from American University’s School of Public Policy in Washington D.C. and worked for one of the most powerful senators on Capitol Hill. She then served as the youngest gubernatorial speechwriter in the United States before starting two innovative non-profits bringing her the distinction of Deal Maker of the Year when she was still in her twenties. In 2017, with her experience, acute research skills and a deep understanding of the why behind our collective failure to reimagine a better version of American education, Mimosa Jones Tunney set out to build the new American school: The School House.

 The School House is the culmination of logic, gumption, hard work and innovation. It’s a school worthy of the American child with a new kind of curriculum and a new kind of Educator culture. It’s a school based on today’s science while still holding true to our nostalgia and love for our public institutions. It’s place and a curriculum that any community, anywhere, public or private, can build for a third of what it usually costs. And where working families across the nation can enroll their children.
 Mimosa Jones Tunney is married to John J. Tunney, III. The Tunney Family created and funded The School House and John voraciously supports this mission by serving on the Board of Directors. She is mom to John and Duke -- the inspiration of all things including this endeavor.