My visit to the Spring Valley School

While I've focused predominantly on free schools and community learning centers during my travels, I have wanted to visit other educational alternatives as well: Montessori (particularly a middle or high school), Sudbury Valley, Neo-Humanist, KPM, and arts integration/social justice programming. In my preliminary research, many months ago, I considered a visit to a Sudbury school in Palm Harbor (currently the only one of its kind in Florida), called the Spring Valley School, but it wasn't until I gave up on the winter plans Northeast that I actually tried to touch base with the school.

When I did, I discovered, to my surprise, that the school's admissions committee (made up of mostly students) would have to meet to decide whether I could come to visit. So I'm thinking: well, what can I say that will convince them that I should visit? I clumsily announce that I'd be happy to offer classes, only to be told that adults don't really offer classes in their environment: students decide for themselves what they want to learn and then ask for it. Ok, well, hmmm...stumbling over my words, I acknowledge this aspect of their program, and the kind teacher on the other end says, "But you can tell me a little about your skills and interests, and I can present a full idea of your background to the committee." Well, I taught history at the high school level, I'm a performance poet and a graphic designer, and I've recently completed training to teach hula-hooping- "Hula Hooping?!?! Oh, our kids LOVE hula hooping. Well, I'll let the admissions committee know, and I'll get back in touch with you in a few weeks." And I slowly let out that breath I'd been holding, confident and surprised that, once again, hooping was the one thing that mattered most.

Sudbury schools are modeled on the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Massachusetts. They share some core tenets with free schools, particularly a devotion to freedom for participants, but the implementation of these principles looks, well, more structured than any of the free schools I visited. Quoting from their website:
"Creating leaders

Sudbury Valley School is a place where people decide for themselves how to spend their days. Here, students of all ages determine what they will do, as well as when, how, and where they will do it. This freedom is at the heart of the school; it belongs to the students as their right, not to be violated.

The fundamental premises of the school are simple: that all people are curious by nature; that the most efficient, long-lasting, and profound learning takes place when started and pursued by the learner; that all people are creative if they are allowed to develop their unique talents; that age-mixing among students promotes growth in all members of the group; and that freedom is essential to the development of personal responsibility.

In practice this means that students initiate all their own activities and create their own environments. The physical plant, the staff, and the equipment are there for the students to use as the need arises.

The school provides a setting in which students are independent, are trusted, and are treated as responsible people; and a community in which students are exposed to the complexities of life in the framework of a participatory democracy."

The Spring Valley School in Palm Harbor has been operating for just over ten years. They have around 15 students, ranging in age from 5 to 16-17. The school property is really great- a converted home, with an acre of land in the backyard containing progressively more difficult climbing trees and lots of open space. On my tour of the building, I noticed that every space was VERY neat, VERY clean, and VERY beautiful. Of all the schools I've visited so far, Spring Valley is the most visually pleasing.

Later that day I learned WHY the school is so beautiful- responsibilities for the facility and resources are delineated to different corporations, clerks and committees within the school. Students are elected to serve in various capacities for periods of time ranging from a week for some positions to a semester or year for others. There are elections held at specific intervals for different posts, and meetings held to attend to the business of each corporation or committee. The school is so beautiful BECAUSE THE AESTHETICS COMMITTEE MADE IT THAT WAY. It is so clean and tidy because students really care about making the school that way, and develop strategies to separate young messy ones from everyone else so as to isolate their messes.






Diane and Kelly are the only full time staff: Diane is trained teacher who fought her way through public schools until she discovered Sudbury philosophy and Kellie came to work with Spring Valley through identifying a new calling for herself after a career in set design for film and television. Both are truly dedicated to the model, but I get the sense that they wish to connect with other like-minded educators in the area to discharge some of the day-to-day issues that develop in this kind of environment.

So, ok. I had an awesome time with the students. By the end of the week I was really reluctant to leave them! They made masterpieces out of the tubing and tape- one student worked on her hoop for 2 hours without a break, and it was gorgeous! We played games, chatted, danced, and learned about each other the whole time.









There are some elements of the school that I object to, and these are largely in terms of the school structure. For starters, I found the school's way of describing/labeling the different areas of function and management to be simulating an actual experience of adult responsiblity to the degree that they were actually contrived. So, for example, one position of school governance might be the 'elections clerk.' Why is it called that? Did the students decide to appropriate the word 'clerk'? I'd find that hard to believe. What about 'corporation'? This brings up a discussion I had with Chris Mercogliano back in June about the separation of young people from the functional life of their communities, and school's role in re-creating functions within itself as simulated experiences that are sanitized from the larger environment of the 'real world'. It is unsettling to me, partly because it can promote a student's power in unhealthy ways: when someone has control of a particular position, they could emotionally feel justified in exercising their control in a domineering, subordinating fashion. Of course, overt expressions of this power can be handled by the community at large, but sometimes the expressions are too subtle to be noticed by adults. I did see some students doggedly campaigning to keep their positions during the election cycle, and while it is admirable that the school places so much trust in their students as to give them that power, I am concerned about how the power is applied and maintained. Also, the elections occur by way of secret ballot: where is the transparent community support of the process? Why are these students not elected openly in school meetings? What about the students who can not yet read or write- why are they left out of the process? What does it say that at least one student adamantly did not want to participate in the elections- she really did not care who she'd be answering to, whatever the outcome. I noticed that she was pressured to care for a time, and nearly guilt tripped into voting, but eventually allowed to choose NOT to vote. Fundamentally, majority rules at Spring Valley- a form of democracy to be sure, but not the only form around! But the effect of these things is likely negligible, and honestly, in most cases I feel that, even if I find them slightly objectionable, their structures seem to work really well for the school as a community.

Also there is a noticeable lack of diversity at the school. I think there are many reasons for this, the demographics of Palm Harbor being a major one. Also, because the school is small and private, I think they have a harder time attracting and keeping people who are differently identified (differently abled, of different ethnicities or races, etc).

I know that the staff and students express and live from their best intentions everyday, and the school is a genuinely warm environment, just as warm as any of the free schools I've seen. I'm grateful for all the work Diane and Kelly do to keep this space available and thriving for their community- and I'm grateful to know them.

WHILE IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH I mentioned that Spring Valley School is currently the only Sudbury school in Florida, there IS a group founding another Sudbury school in Broward County: The Sunset Sudbury School is in the works, and they are holding events in anticipation of opening soon.