Sudbury Valley School
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The Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States. There are now over 40 schools based on the Sudbury Model in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Germany. The model has two basic tenets: educational freedom and democratic governance. The school is attended by children from 4 to 19 years old.
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[edit] Educational philosophy
The school's educational philosophy asserts that by giving children trust and responsibility at an early age, it is much easier for them to learn what they want, how they want it, and how to achieve this. Students at the school are free to choose how to spend their time.
Democratic freedom is also a central tenet of the educational philosophy. The school is run by the weekly school meeting, a meeting based on the traditional New England town meeting (see School institutions below). Students are also guaranteed full protections within the school under the Bill of Rights.
[edit] School institutions
[edit] School meeting
Students and staff are invited to participate in the running of the school via the School Meeting, with each participant receiving one vote. The meetings are conducted using Robert's Rules of Order. The School Meetings determine rules and regulations for all aspects of the school, including finances, new rules, and the election of staff. To keep the school running smoothly, it also creates Clerks, Committees, and School Corporations.
[edit] Clerks, committees, and corporations
Clerks are essentially administrative officers that handle tasks within the school, such as grounds maintenance or attendance records. Committees handle larger tasks, such as school aesthetics or rules violations. For example, the Judicial Committee investigates allegations of school rules violations, holds a trial, determines a verdict, and imposes a sentence (much like the current judicial system in the United States).[1] If a verdict is appealed, the appeal is held in the weekly School Meeting. Students and staff alike may be called in front of the Judicial Committee. School Corporations are the equivalent of departments at traditional schools.
[edit] School assembly
There is also an annually-held School Assembly, which is the broad policy-making arm of the school.[2] It consists of staff, students, and parents of students. Its main purpose is to approve the school budget submitted by the School Meeting. It also elects a Board of Trustees, which only exist in an advisory capacity.[3] Its purpose is to study questions posed to it by the Assembly and report back to the Assembly when it is ready to do so.
[edit] Facilities
Following the educational philosophy, the school facilities are somewhat different than most schools. There are no traditional classrooms and no traditional classes, although children are free to request instruction on any subject or talk to any staff member about an interest.[4]
The main school building is a large Victorian-style mansion. There are many general purpose rooms, as well as specially designated rooms such as reading rooms, music rooms, etc. There are also several outbuildings, with facilities for woodworking and other activities. The ten-acre grounds house hills, woods, a traditional playground, and a large pond. Computers with internet access and video games are also accessible.
[edit] Staff
There is no tenure at Sudbury Valley School — an election for staff is held each year. The current staff have been involved professionally with the school for ten to thirty-seven years.
- Daniel Greenberg
- Hanna Greenberg
- Mimsy Sadofsky
- Joan Rubin
- Scott David Gray
- Mach Bell, singer with Mach 5, formerly with Thundertrain [5]
- Mikel Matisoo
- Morningstar Medaye
- Denise Geddes
- Paul Duddy
[edit] Curriculum
The school is non-compulsory, so there are no required activities. Students are free to spend their time as they wish, making use of any available resources, including equipment and staff.
[edit] Alumni
Sudbury Valley School has published two studies of their alumni over the past thirty-five years. They have learned, among other things, that about 80% of the students continue to study at other schools after graduating from Sudbury Valley. Most alumni have been accepted at the university of their first choice. Students also generally report happiness with their lives, and many have a stated commitment to public service.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ The Sudbury Valley School The Judicial System. Accessed 10 Aug 2006.
- ^ Scott David Gray: A Few Words on SVS Accessed 10 Aug 2006.
- ^ The Sudbury Valley School Handbook: How the School is Governed.
- ^ Hara Estroff Marano: Psychology Today Magazine: Education: Class Dismissed. May/Jun 2006.
- ^ The Phoenix - Cellars by Starlight, Rock-and-roll dreams - Thundertrain return; John Powhida and the Rudds obsess, Brett Milano, 8 August 2003.
- ^ Daniel Greenberg, Mimsy Sadofsky, and Jason Lempka The Pursuit of Happiness: The Lives of Sudbury Valley Alumni. Accessed 10 Aug 2006.
[edit] See also
[edit] Additional reading
- Free at Last, by Daniel Greenberg, is a book often read as a first acquaintance with the school and its philosophy.
[edit] External links
