FAQ

The curriculum at ZDS has two major components: the personal and the relational.  Within the personal component, the curriculum involves developing the executive function and self-awareness to live with intention; on a deeper level, each student is their own curriculum; each gets to work on whatever comes “up” for them, whatever is most vital for them personally.  They get to practice life and develop skills across numerous domains essential for daily and long-term fulfillment.

ZDS also serves as a venue in which any curriculum and/or learning methods and modalities may be utilized, including off-campus learning (college courses, internships and apprenticeships, employment, etc.). Most students elect to take a “post-curricular” route consisting of a mix of activities, formal and informal, traditional and unconventional, collective and independent.

Conventional schooling reduces learning to bite-size curricular objectives packaged into lessons and “delivered” to students in classes without experiential context. It’s a fine way to study and acquire some knowledge, among many other fine ways. It has some advantages, such as optimizing the expense of teacher’s time, and it has some drawbacks, such as being relatively ineffective and boring for many students much of the time. Regrettably, this method dominates conventional schooling to the exclusion of other methods – so much so, that the word “learning” has come to be widely associated with this one overused method, applied to the standard academic curriculum.

Democratic schools restore the meaning of “learning” to include many learning methods and domains of learning. Some of these learning modes, methods, and mechanisms, which are mostly unavailable and unknown in conventional schooling, are interest groups, self-service systems, systemic or meta-message learning, public process, accelerated culture, near-stage transmission, commerce and entrepreneurship, multiple lines of development, self-balanced development, deep play, and functional apprenticeship (for more information on on all of these, please see Jim Rietmulder’s When Kids Rules the School).

In short, democratic school students sometimes learn in the same ways they do in conventional schools. More often, though, democratic school students learn in a variety of ways, enhanced by self-directed and community dynamics. The result is learning that is more meaningful and enduring and daily life that is more fulfilling.

We consider the traditional academic “basics” – reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic – to fall outside the academic category; rather, they are basic life skills, and students here pick them up as byproducts of living their lives in an interesting, stimulating, and text-rich environment. Their learning is seamlessly integrated with their lives; rather than study “the basics” as discrete objects during discrete periods of time, they absorb them as ways of thinking while they pursue other interests and goals. For example, many students learn to think mathematically by baking or by working at our school store, and many students teach themselves to read or become literate by playing video games, texting, getting certified for the microwave, and writing motions for School Meeting. The “basics” are so important to functioning independently in our world that all students eventually have a very good reason to acquire them, and, motivated by that reason, do so rapidly.

Mandatory curriculum harms children’s learning, intelligence, and joy of life in many ways: it displaces better developmental opportunities, promotes shallow learning, turns kids off to academics, undermines introspection and self-awareness, deadens initiative, fosters passivity, disempowers, alienates, and normalizes coercion. Ouch. If nothing else, democratic schools avoid the damage.

It gets worse. The educational theory of standardized curriculum has been discredited by science and scholarship. Aside from broad patterns, each child’s development is unique and unpredictable, influenced by infinite variations in cultural, environmental, and personal factors. The idea that a standard sequence of learning steps will lead every child from kindergarten to college and economic prosperity would be laughable if it were not so deeply entrenched in our institutions of mass education. What’s wrong with coercive curriculum? It doesn’t work and it causes harm.

Virtually all children who are organically able to do so learn basic reading, writing, and arithmetic at ZDS. Beyond that, the possibilities are as vast as human knowledge. Most children learn about many traditional academic subjects and many other subjects as well. Most learn some things more deeply, joyfully, and durably than is likely in standard schools. Generally, kids learn what they’re interested in, what they must learn in order to function in their world, and what they must learn in order to achieve self-chosen goals.

At ZDS, young people develop cognition, general intelligence, and critical thinking as they practice life in a stew of culture, community, nature, and technology. Instead of worksheets and word problems, or sometimes in addition to, students tackle personally meaningful challenges – social, emotional, physical, intellectual, political, situational, and existential. Self-directed education cultivates introspection, self-awareness, initiative, decision-making, and resilience. Community cultivates collaboration, awareness of others, and life skills for navigating society. Collective self-governance and school administration cultivate authority, political sensibility, policy awareness, and public mindedness. Through it all, learning and self-management become fulfilling lifelong practice.

Perfect. Playing is *fun* and kids *need* to have *a lot* of fun in order to be healthy and happy.

And not only that: play is the ultimate learning modality, and many children have an innate desire to play constantly, from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until the moment they finally close them, in exhaustion, in the evening. Children rapidly learn huge amounts of a wide variety of knowledge and skills through various types of play. They make meaning, construct causal maps and world models, develop counterfactual reasoning and theory of mind, and cultivate a whole host of other physical, intellectual, and emotional attributes and skills. Different types of play – symbolic, rough-and-tumble, locomotor, etc., lend themselves to particular types of learning. And it all happens naturally – as a matter of course – while young people simply follow their instincts, pursue their passions, and enjoy their lives.

Also perfect. Students here sometimes spend long periods of time doing what looks like nothing. So do hunters. So do monks. So do many scientists and artists, and so do most animals. The point is just that there are often invisible processes underway which are ultimately quite valuable to the student’s development and well-being. Sometimes students are processing events, information, feelings, or thoughts. Sometimes they are resting. Sometimes they are looking for themselves, whether they’re aware of it or not.  Sometimes they are just being. Sometimes they are testing the adults at school to see if they’re serious about refraining from interference. And sometimes they are “deschooling.”

“When you teach a child something you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself.” ~ Jean Piaget

Students at our school are exposed to many topics, activities, ways of thinking, and information, since they are free to investigate whatever they want, associate with who they want, and witness what everyone else is doing around school every day. Perhaps more importantly, our students benefit from what they are not exposed to (see Why is it so important to have autonomy in curriculum? above) and from being free of the limits of the classroom and its standards and objectives.

The range of activities going on at Zena Democratic School at any particular moment in time is rich, diverse, and never twice the same. At the moment, as this is being written, students are developing new school policy, playing ball, hockey, reading, gaming, recording a video, journaling, singing, reading the School Meeting Agenda, working on applying to college with a staff member, enjoying an early lunch, talking excitedly with each other, making art in the art room, having a Nerf war, and many other things.

“Children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions.” ~ Alfie Kohn

Even though adults may not notice it, children set goals for themselves all day long. When they are young, the goals are usually small: they may want to make a birthday card for a friend; they may want to learn how to play a video game; or they may want someone to read a book to them. Some goals are larger, like proposing a new rule or planning a field trip. In our program, children learn how to accomplish these goals for themselves. They become skilled at creating their own reality by doing things on their own or asking others for help. As their confidence grows, so do their goals. The important thing is that students don’t rely on anyone else to set goals for them.

“What I have learned, very slowly and painfully over the years, is that children make vital decisions for themselves in ways that no adults could have anticipated or even imagined.” ~ Hanna Greenberg, founder of Sudbury Valley School, in The Art of Doing Nothing

The adults at ZDS chose not to call themselves teachers because everyone and everything is a potential teacher. We do, however, recognize our special role as leaders and caretakers in the community; staff members are ultimately responsible for maintaining safe conditions and for the smooth functioning of the program. On a day-to-day basis, staff members focus on holding the space in which children can be free within the boundaries of safety and respect.

Staff are hired for who they are, how they fit into the community, their skills relevant to managing and caring for the school, and their skills relevant to student interest. They are expected to provide a variety of models of effective adult behavior and to be available to students as resources. Generally, staff members spend about half their time engaged in administrative or maintenance tasks and half their time “on the floor,” so to speak, engaged with the community.

They can learn it! Often on their own, using the school’s resources. But if they want support for their learning, robust support is available. For certain things, especially arts, sports, and more active or team activities, one of the school’s Cooperatives may be the right place to start. For other things, another student or a staff member might be qualified to help.

When students initiate tutoring or an interest group or a class, it’s an organic process, and it always ends up looking different. Sometimes a staff member creates a curriculum and leads the class like a “teacher.” Other times all the participants learn alongside each other as peers. If there’s no one on hand who’s qualified to offer the type of instruction a student is seeking, they can go to the Source Committee to request assistance. The Source Committee can help make plans, locate and pay for instructors, plan trips, find internship placements, and access other resources. It maintains a catalog of parent and volunteer offerings which it refers to first when seeking an instructor.

Personal devices are allowed at school, with restrictions.  The personal device policy is as follows:

Phones, consoles, handheld video games, laptops, computers may only be used for: taking photos or videos, listening to audio, communication, quickly looking something up, academic study, and official school business. Individuals may apply to School Meeting, the Resource Committee, or the Medical Clerk to use their personal devices for a specific pursuit that doesn’t fall under the above list. For example, those who want to use their devices to research, pursue active creation, for medical reasons, or for a specific pursuit can apply for approval.

The school owns a broad array of technology which is also available for student use.  Some devices are specifically intended for what we call “active creation” and/or “academic study,”  and some are available to gaming, streaming, or any other “recreational” use; there is a two hour limit per person for each type of usage, watching others included.

School Meeting also has long-standing regulations regarding what content may be viewed at school.

The on-going cultural debate about screen time, especially the aspects of that debate related to safety, is often discussed at school, both informally and in our School Meeting.

Read More: Let’s Talk About Screens

No! That is, not unless a student chooses to involve themselves in a class or activity which requires it. Over the years many parents have commented to us that they are very grateful to be released from their roles as homework helpers and enforcers.

No! Unless, again, a student chooses to take a test. College admissions tests are often useful tools for our students, as these tests allow them to offer colleges quantitative data as a signal of competence.

A cooperative (coop) is a group of like-minded students and staff who organize around a common interest, like music, art, or sports. Once organized, coops can get access to school resources like space and funding. Most coops spend time enjoying activities together, such as going on relevant field trips, organizing community activities and workshops, and receiving skill-improving instruction.

In addition to the cooperative mechanism, Zena Democratic School offers students access to resources via the Programming Committee, which maintains an endowment funded by the surplus in the school’s budget. Any student, staff, or group at school may go through a simple grant-writing process to apply for funding for instruction, materials, travel, etc. The Programming Committee can also assist students to create plans, locate information, find an instructor, or gain a placement in an internship or apprenticeship.

Yes! Usually, lots! They can be as small as one student, and as brief as a trip to the supermarket, or as large as close to the whole school, and as elaborate as traveling to Latvia or Spain. They can be “private” – a specific group of students, or a particular cooperative – or they can be “public” – open to anyone at school to sign up for.

There is now! We have recently created an Advisor Program, and we are launching it in the winter of 2023.  This program automatically enrolls every student aged 14+ (it is possible to opt-out).  Advisors help high school students to create their high school experience and to think about and plan for what will come afterward.

New students are greeted with enthusiasm by students and staff alike. All aspects of an individual’s identity are accepted, with no questions asked. New students’ choices and personal space are respected – they aren’t forcefully pulled into activities, but they are routinely invited.

No! Students and staff mix freely regardless of age or ability.

Not only is age-mixing safe, it is one of the most potent developmental experiences at ZDS. Segregating individuals by age doesn’t make sense from an evolutionary perspective; we are “designed,” so to speak, to be in a mixed-age community.  At ZDS students of all ages gain knowledge and skills from those who are more advanced than they are, regardless of age. We see 16-year-olds ask 8-year-olds for skateboarding tips, 5-year-olds reading to 7-year-olds, 14-year-olds drawing with 9-year-olds. It becomes a familial relationship of role modeling and caretaking. Older students are required to think about the effect they have on others and teenagers retain an ability to stay young longer, inspired to play by their younger counterparts.

On occasion, regardless of safeguards that are in place, younger students are exposed to conversations or topics they might have been sheltered from in traditional schools. This often results in conversations between parents and students, which parents have noted have been some of the most important moments they have been able to connect with their children.

In his article Deschooling: A Work in Progress, Ben Draper defines “deschooling” as, “a personal process of deconditioning our schooled mindset, which sees all learning through the lens of traditional education, and coming to see learning more clearly for what it is: an inevitable outcome of living one’s life.”

Deschooling is sloughing off the paradigm, attitudes, perspectives, ideas, and practices associated with conventional school – but since that paradigm is so deeply embedded in our culture, the process is ongoing for everyone at ZDS, including the staff (parents go through it too); the paradigm of conventional school, based on instruction and authority, does rear its head at our school with some frequency, and all our students have to contend with the deeply ingrained notions of what school, education, and learning are supposed to look like.

Deschooling is also exciting and invigorating – as the constraining perspective of the schooled mindset melts away, the walls of the classroom do too, and the world opens up.

Usually new transfer students are quite happy to arrive here; they are free of the burdens of conventional schooling, and their childhood is back in their own hands. At first, they spend most of their time doing whatever it is they most feel like doing, especially if there’s something they’ve been blocked or prohibited from doing before. It’s a honeymoon period, and it can last anywhere from a few weeks to a year or more. But- you don’t have to be Shakespeare to know that all honeymoons come to an eventual end. The truth is, it’s challenging to be responsible for your own life, and all our students run out of gas or hit roadblocks during their Sudbury experience; they get bored, listless, even mildly depressed. They mope, they complain, or they act out. They say school is “boring” or that there’s “nothing to do.” They search for external agents to blame for the negative emotions they’re experiencing. Often they ask to go back to from wherever they came. We call this “hitting the wall,” and it looks different for everyone, but the crux is the same: the student is transitioning, preparing for development.  They need to reflect and ask themselves vital questions such as, “who am I now,” “what do I want to do next,” and “what is my next task?” If the student can stick it out through these challenges, with the support of their family and the school community, meaningful action will come out of the crisis. Our students usually don’t go through this only once either – it’s twice, or thrice, or more. We like to say that our students get to have their quarter-life crisis when they’re 9, and they’re mid-life crisis when they’re 13.

Read More: Amelia’s Story

“When kids are constantly having to make decisions [in a democratic school], they begin to know who they are, and to know how they feel about almost everything. When these kids go into an authoritarian situation, they do not feel threatened about losing their identity; they see the situation, instead, as a game that has to be played in a certain way.” ~ Jerry Mintz, founder of Alternative Education Resource Organization

We’ve had several students transfer from our program to conventional schools. In terms of placement, schools usually place students in their age-appropriate grade level up to high school. When students transfer into high school, it can be more challenging to get into the age-appropriate grade level, depending on the administration of the particular school the student is transferring into. Either way, all the reports we’ve received from these transfer students have claimed that the academic transition has been fairly smooth and easy – sometimes stunningly so. Some students have required some targeted remediation, but every one we’ve heard from has caught up rapidly and many have excelled. It’s not a surprise to us, because we know that even when students here are not doing academic work they are acquiring all the skills which support any kind of effort.

Students may graduate when they feel they are ready, provided they will be a minimum of 16 years of age before December 1st of the year they are graduating. Students simply declare their intent to graduate to our registrar.

We award our own diplomas to students who elect to participate in and then successfully complete our diploma process (see next question).  Our diploma is not a Regents Diploma, nor is it accredited (and the lack of an academic curriculum means that it cannot be accredited at this time).  At this time our diploma cannot be presented to SUNY schools for admission; SUNY requires our students to take a different track to a high school credential, such as the GED or the college credit pathway.

Students may receive a diploma if they elect to undergo our internal diploma process. The process functions as a kind of rite of passage as well as a display case for diploma candidates to demonstrate their abilities and passions.  It includes organizing and participating in a multi-day Adventure, carrying out a significant Act of Service, writing a “thesis” which justifies their preparedness to graduate, and preparing a transcript as both an artifact of their experience at school and a signal of their competance to potential schools, programs, and employers.

They fill out the applications and cross their fingers, just like everybody else!

The format and content of each transcript we create is unique, reflective of each student’s path, choices, accomplishments, and goals; they stand out among the many standard transcripts colleges receive each fall. Because our students spend so much time at school in conversation with interlocutors of all ages, they’re often articulate and confident in person, and perform well in college interviews. And because they’ve had the time and space to discover and nurture their calling (whether it is a general field, a set of skills, or a particular activity), they often strategically target colleges for specific reasons, further increasing their odds of admission.

There are a couple of effective alternative routes to college that also work well for our students, including beginning at a community college and transferring after a year. It is worth noting that “getting into college” per se is actually very easy.

Of course, Zena Democratic School does not consider college to have more inherent value than other paths a young person might take, such as directly entering the work force, starting a business, finding an internship, traveling, making art, or anything else! Many students do find they want and/or need to attend college in order to accomplish their goals, and when students make that decision they have plenty of time and support to make a dedicated and successful effort to get in to the school of their choice.

Learn more: College Admissions for Alternative Schooled…Applicants

Our graduates tend to adapt to college more easily than their peers from conventional schools. The pattern is striking, and we hear it over and over. In conventional schooling, students commonly get the message they should sit down, keep quiet, wait for a teacher to tell them what to do, and then do exactly what they are told. These are the messages conveyed by the system itself, communicated to students regardless of teachers’ best intentions. In contrast, democratic school students build their lives on intrinsically motivated pursuits, supported and constrained by the community around them, without adults directing and enforcing. They become self-responsible and accustomed to overcoming obstacles to reach goals and build fulfilling lives. The independence and self-responsibility of college come easily to our students, because they’ve been practicing it throughout their school years. When our graduates go on to college, they adapt quickly and smoothly, sometimes bewildered by their peers’ struggles with self-direction and time management.

Staff are always happy to meet with parents to discuss our policies and philosophy, but we generally ask permission from students before discussing their activities at school in anything more than the most casual way. There isn’t a school policy guiding us here, just our ethos: we extend to our students the same respect and regard we would to our friends and colleagues. Maintaining this standard allows our students to feel true ownership of their time at school. It allows them to try things out, make mistakes, and recover from them, all on their own and without input from home if they don’t want it.

Of course, we recognize that our students have guardians, and we definitely communicate concerns related to safety whether we get permission from students or not.

The school has no formal mechanisms for assessing students. We are always happy to discuss with parents our impressions of how a student is doing, so long as the student gives their permission.

Absence of mandatory assessment makes several wholesome results more likely. First, children develop strong self-assessment habits and introspective skills, Second, they more freely seek and absorb meaningful feedback, gaining ability and confidence in their original thinking. Third, children’s natural curiosity and motivation are preserved – habits of growth, rather than action to please adults.

Parents who have paid close attention to report cards in the past are sometimes anxious at first. But by the time their children have been enrolled for a year or two, most say they know them better than ever before and they don’t miss the grades. Sometimes they can’t remember why they ever thought they needed report cards. For some, report cards have been a source of tension between parent and child, even with “good grades.” Removal of the tension comes as a relief, and the relaxed parent-child relationship flourishes.

Almost all. Students who, for whatever reason, are unsafe in an open environment are not suited to our school. But otherwise, students who are already self-directed thrive, and students who are not yet self-directed get the opportunity to learn those extremely valuable skills.

When students fail to thrive at ZDS, it’s more often about the parents than the student. When parents apply undue pressure on their children to spend their time at school in particular ways, or to accomplish particular things, or when they worry about their children “falling behind grade level,” etc., the children’s experience is often undermined.

Staff will not enforce agreements between students and parents. We generally discourage parents from making agreements designed to influence what their children do at school because such agreements tend to undermine the power and value of our program. Exactly what students do is is far less important than having the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to direct their own lives.

Parents’ experience of the school is a crucial factor in determining their childrens’ experience of the school. Children of parents who work hard to understand our philosophy, communicate with staff, attend events, and connect with the community usually get the most out of our program. Parents typically grow alongside their children as the family matures together within our bold, challenging, and trusting philosophy. Many parents find themselves doing things they hadn’t before enrolling their children in our school, like starting a business, taking up a new hobby, or dedicating themselves to art. Parents who remain open, think critically, and grapple honestly with questions and concerns about the program and their children’s education provide the best support for children at our school.

We depend on parents to participate on our Fundraising and Financial Aid Committees, as well as in our Assembly, our largest democratic body, which ratifies changes to our bylaws. Many parents volunteer their expertise, and there are always at least a couple who are regularly coming in to offer instruction. Parents are also needed to chaperone field trips, and most of our substitute staff are parents too.

Sending your children to a self-directed democratic school is a bold choice, and people will question it. Many parents find it helpful to attend our events and make connections with the community, and especially with other parents.

Of course! It’s hard to imagine running a modern family democratically anyway. The school provides an arena for young people to practice directing their own lives (and the life of their community). In that sense, the school offers a chance to counterbalance the conditions of heteronomy young people find themselves in almost everywhere else they go.

Please see our Admissions page for a description of the process and all relevant paperwork.

Prospective students are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Our program is not equipped to handle a student who experiences severe difficulties in learning independently or in self-correcting negative behaviors. While we welcome neurodiverse students, we are not qualified to provide specialized mental health support.

All our students need to be able to care for their own basic needs and remain safe without constant adult supervision. They also need to be able to consistently respond to dialogue and questions.  Our experience is that many students previously diagnosed with a “special need” can thrive in our setting, provided they have chosen to be here and their family trusts them to be in charge of their own education.

For many students diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, our school has been a sanctuary. Here, when you need to move, you can move, when you need to go outside, you can go outside, and when you need to switch activities, you can switch. Our program allows these students to shift not only their self-image from disabled to empowered, it also allows them to capitalize on their remarkable strengths.

Students traditionally considered “gifted” are able to move at their own (accelerated) pace at our school. Perhaps more importantly, they are freed of the “gifted” label and the tremendous yet often narrow expectations that label confers. They are able to acquire the “soft” skills which will support them in using their intellectual abilities effectively and responsibly.

Due to the nature of our program, there is never anything to “catch up to,” so we enroll students throughout the school year. You can contact us today to schedule an interview and a visiting week.

There are two ways to attend part-time; via the Part-Time Enrollment Contract or the Unschool Drop-In program.

You can find the current tuition on our Tuition and Financial Aid page. The school is committed to being accessible to everyone who wants to come and is willing to make a good-faith effort to pay what they can; to that end, we have a robust financial aid process.

We follow a traditional Northeastern school year, including a week-long break in February and a week-long Spring break. Our calendar aligns with our local districts, give or take a day here or there.

We are open 8:30-4:00; students are required to spend at least 5 hours at school during those hours (except for “kindergarteners,” who do not have attendance requirements).

On occasion, cooperatives serve meals. During many recent years the Kitchen and the Art Cooperative have consistently served a meal every week. And our School Store is usually stocked with lots of healthy snacks and a couple meal options. Otherwise, students bring their own lunches and snacks. Certification is required for students to use kitchen equipment, our open campus policy allows students to drive to nearby restaurants and shops, and ordering food for delivery is also an option.

About 60% of our students ride district buses to school. Depending on the students’ home school district, busing may be available; please contact the office for more details.

Students may enroll when they are five years old. Technically, there is no upper limit to the age of our students, but it is rare for a student to stay later than 19.

The staff at Zena Democratic School do not undertake a duty to directly supervise students. It’s possible for students to find privacy indoors and outdoors throughout the school day. However, we do rely on self-supervision and community-supervision to ensure safety around the school. Generally, we find that our students are actually safer because the staff are not supervising them. They know they’re responsible for their own safety and behavior, so they take care of themselves, and each other. Usually when someone is taking a risk which others judge a step too far – climbing up to the top of a swaying pine, for example, you can be sure someone will be standing at the bottom of that tree, checking in.

We all appreciate, so much, being trusted, and young people are no different. They know very well that they deserve to be trusted and are worthy of it, so they’re delighted when it’s extended to them. They take it seriously, and comport themselves very differently than when they are unsupervised and mistrusted.

Generally we have a fairly even spread of ages and genders with a cluster here and there. However, it is important to remember that students here often have a wide diversity of friendships, not limited by age and gender.

The best way to visit is to attend one of our Open Houses. If you would like to visit during a school day, please contact our Visitors Clerk by emailing them at visitors@sudburyschool.com.

Yes! If you would like to donate services, or if you would like to offer instruction to students (in anything), please send an email to office@sudburyschool.com.

No, students may not enroll in our regular program or our Unschool Drop-in program if they are unvaccinated.  ZDS complies with New York Department of Health and State Education Department vaccination requirements.  At this time the only type of exemption allowed by the state to the vaccine schedule is medical; school administrators have no discretion to grant medical exemptions.  The state does not currently require vaccination against COVID-19 for students.