Bastian

This is Bastian, an effusively friendly and charmingly sensitive guy with cozy-chic fashion and the whimsically playful sensibility of a Pokémon character. Speaking of Pokémon, catch him in the lounge sometime delivering a Master Class on the topic. Or catch him in the kitchen, or the office, or the playground, delivering the same. His favorite foods are ring pasta, tomato soup, Domino’s, and Pizza Hut.

Bastian is a good friend, and he takes special pleasure in encouraging others and helping folks out when they need it. In fact while we were interviewing him for this profile, he paused to comment to another student who was drawing nearby, “if that’s supposed to be an elephant it’s really kind of good! Keep going!” He also told us about how he had provided emotional support to two of his friends when they became upset playing “musical chairs from Squid Game” earlier in the day.
Bastian moved up from the city at the beginning of the school year, and he’s been enjoying having more space here. He says, “It’s very outdoorsy. At my old school there was just a little porch or a deck or something, but here there’s a porch and, yeah. A lot more. There’s land. It just kind of feels nice.” He likes to go outside and “have a lot of fun” with his friends. He says, “we like to roughhouse and talk and go on the swings. It feels really good to have friends.”

Bastian has been working on pushing through fear at school. For a while he was intimidated by one of our rope swings. As you can see in his portrait, however, he loves that swing now. He says that, leading up to actually getting on, he thought about it a lot and it helped to see others using it. He said to Vanessa, “then when you started pulling me on the swing, I whispered to myself, “this is fun! I like this. It’s cool.” We also have plans to experiment with some sledding when we get snow on the ground. Bastian’s advice for new students at our school is, “don’t be afraid to try something new. And don’t be afraid to talk to staff – unless they’re on a really important call.” Aww, Bastian, thank you for inspiring us with your courage and your wisdom and for being such a positive presence in our community. You’re doing so good!

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.

At Zena Democratic School, rule infractions and interpersonal conflicts are resolved using sophisticated restorative justice tools.

Age-mixing is one of the most potent developmental experiences at Zena Democratic School.

Each student aged 14+ is automatically enrolled in our High School Advisor Program;

Screens are allowed at school, with restrictions.

At Zena Democratic School, a Cooperative (coop) is a group of like-minded students and staff who organize around a common interest, like music, art, or sports.

At Zena Democratic School, the jobs of administration and maintenance are divided into roles called Clerkships;

Every student and staff at Zena Democratic School is assigned a cleaning job by the Physical Plant Clerk.

Students may receive a diploma if they elect to undergo our internal diploma process.

Zena Democratic School is located on a parcel of 67 wooded acres in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in the Hudson Valley region of New York State.

Zena Democratic School is a direct democracy; each student and member of the staff has an equal vote in managing all aspects of the school’s operation.