During the 2023-2024 School Year Hudson Valley Sudbury School (HVSS) became Zena Democratic School (ZDS). All references to HVSS in articles, social media posts, blogs, etc., should be considered to refer to the history of ZDS!
Where Do Students Get Their Nutrition From?
This is another guest post Frida, an intern from Taiwan. If I had to describe the state of the students at this school, I would say it’s an “I’m not […]
Go With Your Spirit
This blog is written by Frida, a volunteer from Taiwan. I am often intimidated. I just opened my ears and kept receiving beautiful hearts by accident. Last week I […]
School Meeting has Canceled the Judicial Committee
The School Meeting at Hudson Valley Sudbury School is undertaking a great experiment in how it protects safety, manages conflict, and maintains order on campus. While a few may grimace […]
It’s Important to Know How to Fail
At Hudson Valley Sudbury School, our “learning standards” are categorically different from the standards used at other schools; our goal is that students learn whatever is most salient for them […]
The Lessons of Summer
Well it’s July folks, and the fish are jumpin’. It’s been less than a month since our last day of school, but I already can’t remember any of our policies […]
David Langan’s Thesis
As I sit here writing this paper, I think about what my life would have been like if I hadn’t enrolled in HVSS, and how things would have changed over […]
Reflections from Staff Week
This week the staff has been buttoning things up around the campus and getting ready to (mostly) shut things down for the summer. Inevitably it is a reflective time, and […]
Special Snowflake Syndrome and Other Good Questions
Earlier this year a new parent mentioned to me that she had suffered through a couple awkward conversations about the school in nearby communities. The people she had spoken with […]
But They’ll Just Screw Around All Day
This is part 3 of the 3 part blog. Part 1 can be seen here: Special Snowflake Syndrome and Other Good Questions. Part 2 can be seen here: But What about […]
The Challenge of SDE: Our Arrogance and our Wisdom
I grew up at the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham Massachusetts (1985-97). It is one of the oldest and best known democratic schools in the world. This experience provided me […]
Nina’s Parting Words
I am so appreciative to everyone I’ve known at the school, and for all of my experience at HVSS. I want to share four important things that I learned: That […]
Amelia Iaia’s Thesis
My experience at HVSS has enabled me to develop the problem-solving skills, the adaptability, and the abilities needed to function independently in the world that I am about to enter […]
Alanna Fowler’s Thesis
I’m writing this paper today to show how I have grown to be a productive person in society, and how my education helped me achieve that. In 2004, when I […]
Wasting (Almost) Everyone’s Time Teaching Lots of Math
This week our blog is featuring guest author Wes Beach. Wes is a writer, speaker, and the director of an unusual high school that supports kids who want and need something other than entrapment […]
Let’s Talk About Screens; “Screen Time” and Self-Directed Education
There is an ongoing cultural debate about “screen time” and its effects on well-being. Most of the evidence is theoretical or anecdotal; there are no large-scale studies, meta-analyses, or longitudinal […]
The Psychological Ecology of Sudbury
Faulty Assumptions When I tell people about how Hudson Valley Sudbury School (HVSS) works, they sometimes ask if it’s like William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. They imagine a vicious […]
What the Sudbury Model is Really About
As a child of the 1990’s, I grew up a cultural orphan, severed from the traditions and worldview of my ancestors, even of my grandparents. I had no religion, or […]
Compulsory Math is a Bizarre Institution
Math is vital to civilization. But it doesn’t follow that everyone should be made to study it. Math is a ubiquitous requirement in school curriculums all over the world, even […]
Strength in Solitude
Most of my days as a staff member at the Hudson Valley Sudbury School are busy as can be. My list is often long and I usually leave having only […]
But what about academics!?
This is part 2 of the 3 part blog: Special Snowflake Syndrome and Other Good Questions. But what about academics!? The whole theory of their so-called education was that it […]
A Fish out of the Hudson – A Sudbury Student goes to India
You can imagine my excitement when I was invited to speak at The Association of Internation Schools of India (TAISI), the education conference for private schools of India taking place […]
It Feels Good
Yesterday was the second day of school at The Hudson Valley Sudbury School. For me it was an emotional start to the year. My youngest is now officially enrolled as […]
Welcome Back to Choice
That school bell’s ringin’! Giddap! Whoa! Welcome back, everyone. As I write this, the rest of the staff are scurrying around, collating files, scrubbin’ tiles, and wrastlin’ crocodiles, puttin in […]
Sudbury and the Fear of Falling Behind
Not long ago a parent told me that her son had “never been happier” since he enrolled earlier this spring. And indeed, that very morning I had seen him running […]
What are They Doing?
Well it’s the first warm day of March, and most people here are outside, climbing trees and rolling in the mud, building sandcastles and playing street hockey. I just played […]
Through the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass is the adventurous tale of a young girl named Alice who is exploring another part of Wonderland. On her journey to become a queen she meets […]
School Meeting Dispatch: Sleeping at School
Last week a motion to ban sleeping at school(!) came before our School Meeting. Although sleeping isn’t a widespread practice here, it is common to see one or two students […]
This one tip from Sudbury could save American democracy
[Ed: We, as a school, do not take any position on the candidates in any election.] The 2016 presidential election has delivered us many novelties and peculiarities, and its outcome […]
School Meeting Dispatch: Bathroom Rules
And we’re off, almost into October, and Sudbury education is under full sail here at HVSS. I think of learning at our school as happening in three basic ways: formally […]
Know Thyself – Know Thy Fun
Early excuses. Toys and schools. Looking through children’s toy catalogs I’m always struck by the language. Scattered throughout the pictures of all sorts of toys, plastic or wood, bright colors […]
Welcome Back to the Real World
Hark, the school year beginneth! The long, languid, dreamy days draw to a drier, crisper end. Time to get back to reality. How utterly gratifying to return to a school […]
Playground Build 2016
I have to admit that I was nervous last Friday morning. We had really paired down our plans for build day because most of our project leaders were unable to […]
HVSS Theater Co-op Presents “Spamalot”
A surprising thing happened this semester for the Theater Co-op. Once we chose our spring musical, Spamalot, many of the older members decided not to take part. Thus many of […]
Gaming, Parkour, and the Art of Moving Like Water
Take a peek into our “Lounge Extension Room One,” any hour of any day, and you’ll likely see a half-dozen or so 9-12-year-old students doing…something, intently on their laptops, often […]
Hudson Valley Sudbury Basketball School
[Ed. One of the questions often asked during our Open Houses is, “Do kids at a Sudbury School challenge themselves?” Matthew address this question in the blog below.] The Underdogs […]
Happy, Healthy, Strong
HVSS does not have an official mission statement; the closest we get is the text of our graduation process, which states that, in order to earn a Certificate of Graduation, […]
Apprentice Learning
Apprentice Style Learning at HVSS One of the most effective ways of learning a new skill is through an apprenticeship. This style of learning is essential to a Sudbury model […]
Sacred Acorns
There are times that I stumble upon an activity at the Hudson Valley Sudbury School that make my jaw drop in awe of the brilliance of children: their creativity, their […]
To What Will They Return?
The best thing about working “in education” is, undoubtedly, the summer. Oh wait, I mean the kids – the best thing is the kids. Wellllll, no – sorry! – it’s […]
Commencement Speech 2015
[Ed. Kiran specifically requested to be “roasted” by Matthew.] I am really honored and flattered to be asked to speak again this year. It’s always a pleasure for me to […]
Pursuing your Passion
“Having space and time to develop and pursue a genuine passion” is one of the aspects of HVSS that gets a lot of airtime in our PR materials and Open […]
Learning to Unplug from the Cultural Grid
A Fragment of a Sudbury Parent’s Journey The day we offered the option to homeschool to our children will be etched in my mind forever. Not because it felt so […]
Clued In: Behind the Scenes of the Theater Co-op’s Performance
I have been working in theater for the past 12 years (directing for 9), and in that time I have worked with numerous groups of peers and students of all […]
An Educated Person
Education is a misunderstood term. It is often confused with related concepts such as knowledge and school. Education sometimes happens at school (and sometimes doesn’t), and knowledge can be […]
Back to Joy
On Wednesday the third, the first day of the school year, the kids came streaming off the buses and nearly broke down the doors, even though they were unlocked. I […]
It’s Up to You
I’m really honored to be invited by our five graduates to speak here at their ceremony. I’ll begin with a quote from a science writer, Elizabeth Kolbert: “Zalasiewicz is convinced […]
The Sudbury Conversation
I was talking to the father of a newly enrolled student recently. During the conversation he told me about his experiences telling his friends about having his son enrolled at […]
Can’t Wait Until Music Night
“This is the kind of gig I had in mind when I moved to the Hudson Valley.” That’s what Jason from the King of Rome said when he took the […]
Why So Many Song About Rainbow
[Ed. The title is a literal translation from American Sign Language] Perhaps it’s because rainbows operate in our psychology as a symbol of plenitude, especially for children, most of whom […]
The Growth of a Sudbury School
While we have not yet started to make a big deal of it (yet – just wait), we are fast approaching the 10th anniversary of the first day of school […]
The Education of a Sudbury Staff Member
Recently, our fledgling Gardening Coop put on a milkshake sale to raise money for seeds. Being the only staff member involved with the coop, I was the default pointman, because […]
There and Back Again: through Sudbury’s doors
I have recently become a volunteer and substitute staff member for HVSS. Since I’ve been at the school, memories that I had not thought of for many years have resurfaced. […]
Sudbury and the Quarter-life Crisis
Recently my wife’s best friend came up for a visit from The City. At some point in one of our conversations, the three of us began smugly deriding middle-class college […]
State of the School
Greetings, Members of the Assembly and its Trustees, School Meeting and its Officers, and friends and dissidents alike. It is my great honor as Chief of Blogging Operations to report […]
Why are you sponsoring that motion, Matthew?
Last Thursday as I put together the School Meeting Agenda I noticed that it was thin – it outlined what would surely be a quick and boring meeting. I wanted […]
Perspective from an Alumna (Part 2)
This blog is the second part of an Alumna’s perspective on her HVSS education. The first part can be read here: http://sudburyschool.com/blog/perspective-alumni-part-1. This installment largely focuses on what Marina has done […]
Perspective from an Alumna (Part 1)
I can’t tell you how many versions of this I’ve written. Each one desperately trying to fully paint the ways in which Sudbury paved the path for the work I’ve […]
What do Staff do at HVSS?
A parent suggested an informational blog post on “what staff do at HVSS.” He added that when he explains the school to people they often infer that, because no one […]
Uncommon Core
One of the biggest ongoing stories in education today is the debate over the Common Core, a set of K-12 standards dictating what students should learn and which has been adopted by […]
Chase and Pursuit
How and Why Laws are Created – or Not – at HVSS Recently, a staff member made a motion to put a defunct law called “Chase and Pursuit,” which forbids […]
Open Letter (rant) to Those Who Advocate the Tough Love of Traditional Schools
One criticism of the Sudbury model that comes up again and again is that it fails to “prepare kids for the ‘Real World’” because Sudbury provides too ideal an environment. […]
The Individual in Community at Sudbury
Last week we had a trial that raised some interesting questions about the age-old problem of individual rights vs. community – an intense philosophical, political, and metaphysical problem that still […]
Chemistry at Sudbury
Every day, somewhere on the Sudbury campus, students are engaging in scientific pursuits. In the last couple of days this has included cooking in the kitchen, making homes for wooly […]
My Depression
Seventh grade was when my depression began. Now before anyone asks, nothing triggered this. I just started feeling like crap in seventh grade, despite my loving family, amazing friends, stable […]
Images of Sudbury
Periodically, our blog entry will be a photo journal. This photo journal is presented by Vanessa. This year – my tenth as a staff member at the Hudson Valley Sudbury […]
The Qualities of a Sudbury Education
Last year I spent my afternoons tutoring students who came to me mostly from high-powered traditional private schools. I didn’t do much during sessions; I spoke casually with the students, […]
Right to Remain Silent Law?
I am a new staff member here at Hudson Valley Sudbury School. I moved from Massachusetts with my wife Ana and our baby Susannah to be a part of this […]
Connor’s List
Why do you want to go to The Circle School, anyway, Connor? Connor attended the summer session and liked what he saw. He dictated this list of his own personal […]
In Praise of Yu Gi Oh
Oh, how I like Yu-Gi-Oh. I am not a seven-year-old boy, but a 36-year-old mother. Since September my five-year-old son has begun his formal education at the Hudson Valley Sudbury […]