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Friday, May 31, 2013

Introduction

The Hudson Valley Sudbury School on the border between Kingston and Woodstock, NY is a private school for students from age 5 to 18.  HVSS is based on the educational philosophy first developed by the Sudbury Valley School in 1968.

A Sudbury school respects their students.  This respect is demonstrated by the trust placed in the students to determine their own curriculum and to be part of the democratic governance of the school.  As a result of the respect given to students, they develop the qualities and skill necessary to be successful adults.

Follow the links at the bottom of this article to get a brief introduction to the school, our educational philosophy and why it works.

Responsibility

At HVSS, students take responsibility for every aspect of their education. All day, every day, students decide how to spend their time. They identify what is important to them  and establish their own goals. They figure out how to accomplish these goals for themselves. In doing so, they develop the confidence and the skills that will allow them to continue to challenge themselves.  They learn that they have control of their lives and that if they want to do something, it is up to them to make it happen.

The Sudbury philosophy acknowledges what research shows: people learn best when motivation comes from within rather than from an external source.

Work and Play

Students at Sudbury schools don't differentiate between work and play; learning and fun. Dividing a student's time between "classes" and "recess" communicates the message that work and play are separate; that classes and learning is "work" and that recess and fun is "play".  Sudbury students don't have this differentiation, they play anything and everything with passion and intensity. They work at play like musicians work at music, like doctors work at medicine, and they play at work like writers play with language and carpenters play with wood.

The passion that students bring to their play is the same passion that they bring to their work.  The seriousness that they bring to their work, they bring to their play.  There is no difference between the two.

Age Mixing

Just as the lines blur between work and play, the lines of age become non-existent. There is no separation or grouping by age, instead there is a community of people with different skills and different interests. The competition created by putting kids of the same age together is transformed into friends helping each other move through life in a natural and supportive way.

Staff members at HVSS are part of the age-continuum.  They are friends, mentors, counselors, and they support the environment that allows the freedom, trust and responsibility to flourish in each student.

Expectations

The underlying message a Sudbury school communicates by holding people responsible is that they are capable: capable of taking care of themselves, of deciding their path, of being an integral and active part of a larger community and helping to shape that community.  Sudbury students come to understand that their voice matters and that they can effect change in the world.

Sudbury schools have very high expectations of their students. It is not an easy place to be. There is room to make mistakes but everyone must take responsibilty for their choices. Students have freedom to do as they choose but also the responsibility to respect the freedom and rights of others.

Democracy

Sudbury schools are run by a participatory democracy. Each student and each staff has equal representation and an equal vote in the weekly School Meeting. This meeting makes all of the day-to-day decisions necessary to run the school. It is chaired by a student who has been elected by the school and is run like a town hall meeting. All the policies and procedures of the school, including rules of behavior, use of resources and staff hiring are determined by debate and vote at the School Meeting. There is no principal, no higher authority, and no veto power.

Sudbury schools trust their students to make the important decisions that effect the school every day.

Graduates

Students who complete a Sudbury education are independent. They are responsible for themselves and responsible for their community. They are passionate and articulate. Through their independence they know what they want to do with their lives and are focused on accomplishing their goals.

Instead of passing a standardized test to receive a diploma, students of HVSS must prepare and defend a thesis in order to receive our Certificate of Graduation. The topic of the thesis is "How I have prepared myself to be an effective adult in the larger community". A study of Sudbury school graduates shows that 82% continued their education at a higher institute of learning and that 94% of those graduates were accepted at their first choice.

Further Information

Thank you for reading our brief introduction.  You can learn more about our unique form of education by exploring the rest of our website. There are articles about the Sudbury philosophy of education.  You can watch videos prepared by other Sudbury schools that demonstrate different aspects of their school.

If you are ready to take the next step, the Admissions gives details on our Open Houses, tuition and you can fill out the Interview Request Form online.

The Support Us section describes all of our various fund raising activites and the Contact Us section shows you how to get in touch with us including how to join our email list.

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