Indigo Sudbury Campus
| 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.
Educational philosophy
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.
School institutions
Campus meeting
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, committees, and 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
The Judicial Committee investigates and deals with allegations of Lawbook violations.
JC basics:
- The JC is made of one staff member and four students.
- The JC is staffed on a rotating basis.
- Every two weeks the Campus Meeting Chair selects and posts a list of the people who will form the JC.
- The JC meets Mon. - Fri. at 1:00pm unless no JC reports have been written.
JC process:
- A student or staff writes a JC report because s/he feels someone has broken a Campus rule.
- At the JC meeting, the person who wrote the report and the person written up can be asked to tell their sides of the story.
- The J.C. votes, after deliberation, if the person written up and/or anyone else involved in the "write up" is to be charged with having broken a Campus law.
- If the person accepts responsibility after being charged by the JC, the accused is invited to determine his/her consequence. If s/he doesn’t know what to suggest, the J.C. will deliberate and vote on a suitable consequence.
- A consequence must be passed by a majority vote of the JC.
- If a verdict is appealed, the appeal is held at the weekly Campus Meeting.
- Students and staff alike may be called in front of the Judicial Committee.
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.[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.
Staff
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.
- Nicolette Groeneveld
- Tim Moore
- Mark Ogle
Curriculum
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.
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.[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.
References
- ^ The Sudbury Valley School Handbook
- ^ The Sudbury Valley School Management Manual
- ^ Hara Estroff Marano: Psychology Today Magazine: Education: Class Dismissed. May/Jun 2006.
- ^ Daniel Greenberg, Mimsy Sadofsky, and Jason Lempka The Pursuit of Happiness: The Lives of Sudbury Valley Alumni. Accessed 10 Aug 2006.
See also
Additional reading
- Free at Last, by Daniel Greenberg, is a book often read as a first acquaintance with the school and its philosophy.
The Sudbury Valley School Press [1] is an active publishing house managed by the Sudbury Valley School from it's campus. Their catalog includes dozens of books, videos and audio recordings about the school.