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A new charter school in Manhattan is putting middle schoolers in charge of their own education, allowing them to choose what they want to learn and how.

"No other school that I looked at was like this," said "Innnovate Manhattan" student Tyler Rose.

"Innnovate Manhattan" is an import from Sweden, based on the idea that every student learns differently.

"It helps them learn why they can want an education and how to have control over an education," said "Innnovate Manhattan" Principal Eileen Coppola.

A curriculum does exist at the school. Students just move through it at different paces based on their academic goals and work plan. Those are set in daily conversations with a teacher, known as their coach.

Classrooms have open plans, with different nooks for small groups or whole classes. There is also time for students to focus on their interests.

"We get to pick our own classes. And my favorite class is social studies," said "Innnovate Manhattan" student Danaliz Vargas.

"I like math because problems that I have trouble with, I like to work out it till I get it right," said "Innnovate Manhattan" student Nayda Colon.

Founding principal Eileen Coppola may be best known for resigning as head of the elite Hunter College High School over concerns with the schools' lack of diversity and test-based admissions policy. She says this new school is just what she was looking for.

"It just has all the components I think are important to take education in a different direction," Coppola said.

Despite being part of its name, critics say innovation means experimentation, and when school experiments fail the students get hurt.

"They've been doing this for 10 years in Sweden. They've been doing it for a couple of years in the UK and there is data that shows that it works really well," Coppola said.

The company, Kunskpsskolan, runs 33 schools in Sweden. This is the first in the US. It was chartered under the old state law, which allowed for-profit companies to start schools.

"We provide educational services. We don't manage their finances, their operations, any of it. We stay out of all of that," said Peg Hoey of Kunskpsskolan USA.

The school hopes to expand through 12th grade, and the company hopes to partner with more new schools in the city and across the nation.