Stuart Grauer says he owes his courage as an educator to a man who preferred ping pong to basketball and almost always wore a rumpled T-shirt.

Jerry Mintz, founder of the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) and a pioneer of democratic schooling, died at home. He was buried Tuesday, Oct. 13, in West Babylon, Long Island.

Grauer, who founded The Grauer School in Encinitas, published a tribute column Wednesday, Oct. 14, describing more than 20 years of mentorship that shaped his school's approach to student-led learning.

"He profoundly affected my life, giving me courage as a teacher and as a human being," Grauer wrote. He added that thousands of educators worldwide "kept on trucking because Jerry and his organization, AERO, helped them recognize that their work belonged to something larger than their own little school."

AERO assistant director Peter Berg and the organization's team announced Mintz's death on Instagram, writing that he "passed away … at his home." The organization said it plans celebrations of life and memorials, with details to come.

A life building alternatives

Mintz founded Shaker Mountain School in Vermont in 1968 and directed it for 17 years. Students there formed the majority of the school's board of trustees. In 1989, he founded AERO to connect educators and families working across democratic schools, homeschooling, Montessori, Waldorf and other alternative traditions, according to his AERO profile. He helped found more than 100 public and private alternative schools and was a founding member of the International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC).

He lectured and consulted in more than 25 countries. He edited "Handbook of Alternative Education" (Macmillan) and wrote "School's Over: How to Have Freedom and Democracy in Education."

Encinitas connection

Grauer wrote that Mintz's influence pushed The Grauer School to identify what Grauer called "pockets of democracy." Those included students choosing their own expeditions, honors projects and mastery learning levels.

Grauer described a tension familiar to Encinitas educators: straddling the alternative and mainstream worlds as the city gentrified. "I couldn't create a free school, so I created a freer one," he wrote.

AERO published Grauer's book "Fearless Teaching" and later invited him to deliver the keynote at its annual conference. Grauer credited both Mintz and educator Deborah Meier, whom he met through AERO, as teachers who shaped his own work.

In recent correspondence, Grauer wrote, Mintz had been recovering from surgery. The two had planned an interview for Grauer's latest book. Mintz told him he had "personal stories that would take this all further, probably shock you," according to the column. That conversation never happened.

AERO said it will share information about memorial events as plans develop.