| Indigo Sudbury Campus | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 11004 150th. St. Edmonton, AB Canada |
|
| Information | |
| Established | 2002 |
| Grades | K–12 (ungraded, ages 4+) |
| Campus type | urban |
| Philosophy | Sudbury |
| Governance | Campus Meeting (democratic, vote by students and staff) |
| Website | http://www.indigosudburycampus.com |
The Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States. There are now over 35 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 the ages of 4 to 19.
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The school's educational philosophy asserts that giving children trust and responsibility at an early age enables them to learn what they want, why they want it, and how to achieve it. 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 Campus Meeting, which uses a modified form of parliamentary procedure.
Students and staff are invited to participate in the running of the school via the Campus Meeting, with each participant receiving one vote. The meetings are conducted using Robert's Rules of Order. The Campus 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 Campus Corporations.
Clerks are essentially administrative officers that handle tasks within the Campus, such as grounds maintenance or attendance records. Committees handle larger tasks, such as school aesthetics or rules violations; the membership of the Judicial Committee is described below, but all other standing committees in the school have open membership -- any Campus Meeting Member (staff or student) may join any committee. Campus Corporations are the equivalent of departments or clubs at traditional schools -- all Campus Meeting Members (students and staff) may be members of each corporation, and each corporation elects its own directors.[1][2]
The Judicial Committee investigates and deals with allegations of Lawbook violations.
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.[3]
ISC's building was a small neighborhood shopping centre and has been transformed into a series of connected spaces. There are general purpose rooms, as well as specially designated rooms such as a computer room.
There is no tenure at Indigo Sudbury Campus; an election for staff is held each year. The current staff have been involved professionally with the school for one to eight years.
Curriculum and testing are non-compulsory, so there are no required activities. Students are free to spend their time as they wish, making use of all available resources, including equipment and staff.
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.[4]
Indigo Sudbury Campus has had 8 students graduate from the Campus by going through the thesis procedure, which involves writing and defending a thesis.
The Sudbury Valley School Press [1] is an active publishing house managed by the Sudbury Valley School from its campus. Their catalog includes dozens of books, videos and audio recordings about the school.