Sant Bani School
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| Sant Bani School | |
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Be Good; Do Good; Be One
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| Location | |
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| Sanbornton, NH, USA | |
| Information | |
| Headmaster | Kent Bicknell, Ed.D. |
| Enrollment |
175 |
| Faculty | 40 |
| Type | K-12 Coeducational Independent Day School |
| Athletics | Fall, Winter, Spring |
| Mascot | Swan |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Established | 1973 |
| Homepage | Sant Bani School Website |
Coordinates: The Sant Bani School is a private K-12 day school located in Sanbornton in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The school was founded in 1973. It currently enrolls approximately 170 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
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[edit] Religious Origins
The name "Sant Bani" means "song of the sants." A sant is "someone who has experienced ultimate reality." The school was founded in the tradition of Sant Mat (see Contemporary Sant Mat movements), often referred to as "the Path" by its followers. Its Sant Bani followers maintain that the Path is not a religion and that anyone of any religious faith can follow it.
The majority of the school staff follow the Path, although the majority of the student body does not. It is not expected that anyone do follow the Path, and other religions are welcomed.
Sant Bani School requires a vegetarian and no-eggs diet while on school grounds or on a school-sponsored field trip. This rule is from the Sant Mat tradition, and is an expression of the principle of reverence for life.
The school is classed as a religious school, in a broad sense. Spirituality is encouraged at Sant Bani, but specific beliefs or dogmas are not taught, and people of all religious backgrounds are welcomed. The practice of vegetarianism is perhaps the most restrictive religion-based principle of the school.
[edit] School Life
Every day at the Sant Bani School begins with a thirty minute "Morning Session." This is where grades 3-12 sometimes kindergarten-2grade sit together for morning announcements as well as stories read aloud, sometimes a musical and dramatic performances, and an occasional guest speaker presentation. Morning Session ends with a Moment of Silence, in which the entire room is quieted and still. Sometimes the Moment of Silence is introduced by a prayer to the "Higher Power," but more frequently it is simply left open as a moment of meditation, calm, and reflection with which to start the day.
One very important thing at Sant Bani is community service. There is a fifteen hour community service requirement per semester at the high school level. Also notable are the policy on school cleanup, the percentage of students receiving financial aid, and the percentage of students who apply and get into college.
In grades 7-12 you have five minutes' clean-up after lunch. In the lower grade it is before they go out side. The school hires no janitor and is maintained by students and parents. Every family thoroughly cleans a section of the school two times a year.
Sant Bani is remarkable in the respect that it refuses no applicants for financial or economic reasons. Needless to say, many families receive financial aid. The school receives additional support through donations from frequently anonymous benefactors.
[edit] After Sant Bani
All Sant Bani graduates have been accepted to a four year college if they chose to apply. Nearly all have enrolled in college.
Sant Bani alumni have taken leadership positions in many professions, including finance, academia, the military, law and medicine. The high school curriculum is traditional and college preparatory. Sant Bani seniors have gone on to attend many of the best US colleges including MIT, Dartmouth, Cornell University, Stanford, Middlebury, Oberlin, Bowdoin, Williams, West Point, the Air Force Academy and other top schools. Many graduates attend the University of New Hampshire. Several alumni are current or prior active duty officers in the United States Armed Forces, and have served in Iraq and Afghanistan in OIF/OEF. Sant Bani has a much higher percentage of ethnically diverse and international students than any other school in the area.
[edit] "Toward the New Education: A Short Documentary"
On March 24th, 2007, the School unveiled the long-awaited School DVD in a public premiere & open-house. “The Story of the Sant Bani School,” a short documentary by filmmakers Donald Macken (long-time friend of the school) and Kai de Mello-Folsom (SBS Class of ‘07), began production in April, 2006 and took place in NH and San Francisco, CA. The DVD attempts to convey the unique atmosphere of the school, while telling about the origins, beliefs, and educational structure of the special independent school. For more information or for your own copy, check out www.santbani.org, or contact the school at (603) 934-4240.
