In my book, Navigating the Educational System, 5 Strategies to Get the Best for Your Child, I talk about the various educational settings available for parents to choose from today. My belief is that parents are best qualified to determine what is best for their child. One of the factors to consider is the level of responsibility your child will have for their education. In a public school, the state takes responsibility for most aspects of a student’s education. The student is only responsible to learn what is taught. In most private schools, the school’s administrators take a greater role in determining curriculum than a public school. The student is still only responsible to learn what someone else has determined is important to learn. In a home schooling environment, the parents take the responsibility. In some states that responsibility is still shared with the state in the form of required curriculum and end of level testing, but in others the parents would have full responsibility. They may choose to share that responsibility with their children so that students who are homeschooled have the potential of taking a greater level of responsibility in their education.
In a Sudbury School the student takes full responsibility for their education. In the Sudbury model, named after the Sudbury Valley School founded in 1968 in Massachusetts, students have total control over what they learn, how they learn, their educational environment and how they are evaluated. The results of the Sudbury Valley School are impressive. Eighty-seven percent of their graduates continue on to some form of further education. They do not get into college based primarily on their transcripts and extra-curricular activities, but on their clear focus on identified career choices with applications that stand out from the crowd. Forty-two percent of former Sudbury graduates report that they are self-employed or are engaged in entrepreneurial ventures.
I recently had the opportunity to attend an open house for a private school in Utah County based of the Sudbury model, Alpine Valley Academy. They will be opening August 20, 2018. I met AVA’s dedicated and passionate founder and two of their staff members. This is a K-12 School run by a School Council comprised of every student and staff member, each with an equal vote. Operating on the same schedule as Alpine School District, they will be open from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. There is a sign in board near the main entrance to keep track of attendance. Children can be dropped off at their parents’ convenience and home school students are able to attend part time. The staff members will serve as facilitators. My impression was that this learning model could eliminate much of the need for accommodations for special needs students as all students would be creating their own personalized curriculum and setting their own pace for learning.
AVA is not accredited, which, staff members explained, is an advantage in applying to colleges and universities. When a student graduates from a non accredited school, admission is based more on ACT and SAT scores than transcripts. One staff member related that her daughter had been home-schooled, with a diploma issued by her mother, but was still able to be admitted to college based on her ACT scores. Also, in the Sudbury model, college bound students are free to focus on preparing to take a college placement test to get the best possible score.
On the tour I saw an art room, a dance room, a library, several study areas and conference rooms that could be used for several purposes, an office for staff members to work with students one on one or in small groups and extensive grounds for outdoor activities including a horse arena. AVA does not own horses, but students who do are welcome to bring them to the school.
They have open houses scheduled Tuesday, July 31st and Thursday August 9th. I strongly recommend a tour if you are interested in learning more about student directed learning. If you go, don’t look for a traditional looking school. They are using a remodeled home in Lehi with a capacity for 80 students. The Sudbury model has proven successful and this school is run by some of the most committed educators I have ever met. It is well worth learning about.