My daughter truly does enjoy attending this school - the change I have seen in her behavior and attitude has been overwhelming to say the least. I had a depressed suicidal teen on my hands at one point in time and now I have a daughter who tells me she loves me every day when I walk out the door.
Testimonials
Below are testimonials from current and former parents of students at HVSS.
"Both of my children have attended the HVSS since its inception, and I can honestly say I believe in it 100%. We chose this school because public school and other private schools let us down every time when it came to our son, who has a learning disability. He came to the HVSS, feeling insecure about school and not being able to read or write. Now, self-graduated, he is a fully functioning human being with two jobs and plenty of confidence. My daughter on the other hand, who just turned thirteen, has never attended a 'regular school'. She can't stand missing a day of school and I think that says it all. I know how hard it is get used to idea of this type of school, and I have spent a lot of time explaining the philosophy to our skeptical family and friends, but the proof is in our kids. The truth is that when you send you child to the HVSS, you don't put your trust in the school, you are putting your trust in your child. They know how to learn and they know what they want to learn. Why not let them? Something amazing might happen."
--T. Xiques, Dec. 2010
When I chose the Sudbury model for my child, that choice made a statement to my child that says, "this school is a place where kids get to make decisions about what goes on there. I trust you and expect you to take control of your education and be a change agent if necessary." Now my responsibility is to help him to become the kind of person who can do that successfully. He's already had some bumps along the way. The question is always "does the way you are behaving at this moment reflect the kind of person you wish to be?" If so, good for you. If not, what's getting in your way and what kind of parenting is needed from us to help you reach your goal? Constant reflection together.
There was this thing at his old school called "Power School" where you could see at any moment what assignments your child has turned in and what is missing at any moment of the day. I regret the time we spent chasing after assignments and arguing over homework. It made us ogres as parents. We were constantly either punishing or rewarding. Now we have no homework and flexible hours. We can focus on really listening to each other and practicing being the people we wish to be. We now have a relationship with our child instead of a constant power struggle.
-- Liz Corrado