Vera

This is Vera, a barefoot forest sprite who likes painting on canvas, eating sushi, and aggressively operating small businesses. She is sweet but tough, kinda like a stale marshmallow 😝. She is upright and honest but also stealthy, not unlike a yearling whitetail 🦌. She is observant and insightful, like a child in a fairytale 🧚‍♀️.⁣
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Vera says she prefers being barefoot because her feet “feel stuck in shoes.” She says it “feels really good to feel the ground and the warmth of the sun” on her feet. We notice that she is quite grounded, and we wonder if there might be a connected to her practice of neglecting footwear 🤔. ⁣
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Vera has only been here a year, and she’s moving away already. It’s sad, and we’ll be sorry to see her go; we hope she’ll look back on this year fondly. She says that at Hudson Valley Sudbury School she has learned “how to be the boss of myself.” She goes on, “when you grow up, not everybody is the boss of you anymore and you have less help than when you are a child. You get to practice for it here.” Vera has also gotten to practice her business skills here, which is good because she plans to one day run a small smoothie and food cafe called Heart and Arrow. Her first school business was selling slime, and more recently she has started a rice crispie business. She knows her customers. Of her experience in the business world, Vera says, “I’ve learned a lot. When you have a business, you don’t just earn money. You also have to spend money. And you have to keep track of the money.”⁣
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But the best part of the school year for Vera has been the people; she totally loves her friends, and is with them constantly ❤️. She says, “I never thought this would happen to me, but I made friends the very first day and I have kept them. I have really good friends.” At HVSS, Vera also gets to go to school with her older sister which she says has been “really good.” ⁣
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Vera, we will miss you like crazy when you are gone. Thank you so much for being here with us this year, and bringing so much life and energy and fun to the school. Please come visit sometime and sell us rice crispies. 🌈⁣

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.

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

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

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

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.

Screens are allowed at school, with restrictions.

Each student aged 13+ is automatically enrolled in our High School Advisor Program;

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

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

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.