Caillou

This is Caillou, a sweet, mischievous, and persistent gap-toothed guy who loves his friends as big as the ocean and falls asleep anywhere on a dime. We dote on him like new parents, squabbling over what treat he is most like: cookie bite? Doughnut hole? Peanut? We give him money and food all day long (we can’t say no). He’s locally famous for the alarming intensity of his affection for peanut butter and jelly. Why does he like it so much? He says, “Well, it’s the taste of the jelly and the peanuts making a taste that combines those two. It tastes like peanuts and berries…but not like heaven.” Yes. Once he spent like $70 he didn’t really have (due to a clerical error at the school bank) on cookie bites at the school store. That’s a lotta cookie bites. He put them in a big box and paraded around dishin’ em out – oh, happy day!

But let’s not sell him short – he’s not just cute and mischievous: he’s also articulate and loving; he’s got his priorities straight: what he likes most about school is his friends: “My friendship means having fun times, you know, having a good time together. I help people a lot because I don’t like when they are sad. So I help them so it’s good. My heart is so big because it’s helpful to help people and it’s good to help people. Actually, it’s really hard not to help them…What’s hard about this school is when you come and your friends aren’t here. Then I make new friends.” His best buddy Rubber Ducky says, “[Caillou] is my best friend because he’s just a really nice guy. I couldn’t even pick the nicest thing he’s ever done because they are all so nice, everything he does is tied to niceness.” Awwwwwwww.

Outside school Caillou is a slick surfer. He says, “It’s nice to surf. It feels like I’m playing with my friends, like they are pushing me on a swing, but the board is a swing and the wave is my friend.” God this guy is good.

Caillou, you keep us grounded and remind us of what’s important and why we work at Hudson Valley Sudbury School; you take such good care of your friends. We’re looking forward to loaning you hundreds of dollars and buying you mountains of snacks over the next 12 years ❤️

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.