Barbara Bloom had this dream: to create an inexpensive adult community education program that would bring residents together to get to know each other, to share their diversity, where “neighbors would teach neighbors” in non-traditional classroom settings in the community. She had the perfect neighborhood in mind - Mt. Airy. That dream became the Mt. Airy Learning Tree, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a number of events under the theme, Celebrating Diversitree.

How Mt. Airy Learning Tree, affectionately known as MALT, has sprouted over the two decades. The first catalog in February 1981 was a folded over sheet of paper with 17 classes, which attracted 125 registrants. Now, MALT prints a designed catalog of more than 50 pages for its three terms during the year, and has a web site, offering over 200 classes each term. While initially concentrated in Mt. Airy, MALT now draws more than 1,500 students, 75% from outside of Mt. Airy. From one computer class in Fall 1981 -- before even the dawn of their consumer use -- to 16 classes advertised in the current Fall catalog, many hosted at the new Mt. Airy Community Computer Center. There are now paid staff members, with Jonna Naylor as Director, Susie Flaschen and Sabra Townsend as Office Administrators, and a number of volunteers. More than 1,000 individuals and organizations have served as teachers during its 20 years.

“There was no education service program here plus I felt this was a community eager to share and learn,” explained Bloom, who remains involved as a member of the MALT Board.

That eagerness was more than she could have anticipated. She approached West and East Mt. Airy Neighbors, organizations dedicated to maintaining the diversity and quality of life of its neighborhoods. On November 12, 1980, Bloom and Pat Henning of WMAN met with Dianne Reed, Bill Ewing and Eversley Vaughan of EMAN, and Michael Lefkowitz, editor of the Germantown Courier. The EMAN board approved the concept on December 2, and WMAN followed a week later. Vaughan coined the name Mt. Airy Learning Tree, in tribute to photographer and author Gordon Parks’ autobiography, The Learning Tree ( Parks would speak at MALT’s 15th anniversary).

The genesis for the MALT idea was in the “free university movement of the ’60s” when low-cost, ad-hoc and anti-establishment programs began to appear on college campuses. “The idea was ‘anyone can teach, anyone can learn,’” Bloom explained.

That might be true, but seeing it come to fruition was no easy task. Bloom, Ewing, who is still on the Board, Henning, Vaughan, Reed, Lefkowitz, Sue Beetle - now the President - Carolyn and David Hale, Gayle Koster, Nya Patrinos, Rob Harting, Robert Rossheim, Ralph Warshaw and John Wineland were the first organizing committee. Interestingly, the committee included some teenagers. Henning found the locations. Lutheran Theological Seminary has hosted classes since MALT’s birth.

The 17 courses indicate the interests of the times, but are also curious for the similarity to classes of today. Titles were: City Council of Philadelphia, Electronic Games, Finding A Job, Home Plumbing Repair, How to Finance A Small Business, Introduction to Personal Computing, Issues in Early Childhood Development, Making Changes (a support group for women facing personal or career changes), Mt. Airy: A Pioneering Community, Planning and Publicizing, Railroads and Mt. Airy, Repairs, Riding Like the Experts, Talking About Books, Tutoring Basic Reading Skills, Women As Super Heroes in Comics, and Writing.

Worth noting was Personal Computing was co-taught by “...Scott Anderson, a seventh-grade student at Abington Friends School...who is familiar with the operation of the APPLE computer; and by Bob Rossheim, a computer consultant convinced of the benefit and fun of home computers.” Repairs was a practical class with “...participants making minor repairs to Weaver’s Way Food Co-op and the WMAN office...” Women As Super Heroes in the Comics was co-taught by “Nya Patrinos, a student at Masterman, who reads the comics regularly, and Barbara Bloom, who has just rediscovered them.” All courses were $15 unless noted, but people who could not afford the fee were still encouraged to attend and pay what they could, or donate time to organizing the next session of classes.

MALT mailed 12,500 brochures, the most by a local community organization. A year later, WMAN and EMAN decided to publish a local newspaper, Mt. Airy Times, now the independent Mt. Airy Times Express. The MALT catalog became an insert three times a year, with MALT paying for the postage, thereby providing the means for the first distribution of the paper.

Since 1993, more than 70,000 have been sent to residents in the region by bulk mail, as well as being dropped off at various distribution points. In 1999, http://www.mtairylearningtree.org was born, offering the catalog online, with class updates, forms to suggest classes and to submit registration. While MALT is still geared primarily toward adults, there are some classes for young adults and kids.

Many teachers have developed loyal followings. Josh Mitteldorf first appeared in the Fall 1983 catalog teaching yoga. He has taught ever since.

During her year and a half as Director, Naylor, who is originally from Texas, has been most impressed with the enthusiasm of everyone involved with MALT.

“I have had the wonderful experience of getting to know the neighborhood and the neighbors,” she says. “The Mt. Airy Learning Tree is the perfect arena for doing that. You have the opportunity to meet such a fabulous variety of fun, friendly, talented folks. We are all about connections ..... people with their passions and people with people. I’m never sure who is having more fun .... students, teachers, or staff.”

“MALT has a presence in the community,” adds Mitteldorf. “Everybody knows about it and looks forward to the catalog. When I run into people who say, ‘you look familiar to me from somewhere,’ - ‘somewhere’ usually turns out to be the Learning Tree. I plan to keep teaching as long as students keep coming.”

One of the major ways MALT has built community is through the cooperation of the institutions - schools, colleges, churches, community centers - that have served as classrooms, as well as the teachers who have opened up their homes.

Sometimes, dreams can come true.