Students at Spring Valley are self-directed. They spend their time on whatever interests them, rather than what a teacher asks of them. There are no grades, formal classes, curriculum or homework.
Staff at Spring Valley are there to help students with whatever they need. This might be getting supplies for a project, helping to research something online, teaching about a specific topic or just having an interesting conversation. However, staff don’t push students in any direction. How students spend their time is entirely up to them.
The freedom given to students at Spring Valley comes with responsibility. Students understand that it is up to them to decide how they will spend their time and what they will learn. No one else will plan their day or give them work to do.
Students are also responsible for school governance. The school is run as a democracy, where students and staff have an equal vote in proposing and passing all rules of the school. This covers all operation of the school from the school budget to the contents of the snack bar.
Students also enforce the rules. A student can “write up” another student (or staff) if they have a complaint. The person that was written up appears in front a panel of students and staff to discuss the complaint. The issue is often resolved after a discussion. In some cases where the panel decides a rule was broken, the student receives a consequence.
Many schools teach democracy in classes. Spring Valley students learn democracy by living it every day.
Serious problems that plague other schools simply don’t exist at Spring Valley.
Bullying is unheard of. Students know that it won’t be tolerated and that they’ll will be written up and held accountable if they disrespect others.
Students are always excited to come to school because they know they are free to spend their time following their passions.
There is no homework to cut into family time and after school activities (although many students bring their work home because they want to keep working on it).
Spring Valley is modeled after the Sudbury Valley School in Sudbury, Massachusetts:
The Sudbury Model is a vast departure from traditional schools, but it’s not new. Sudbury Valley was founded in 1968 and is still thriving 54 years later. Spring Valley was founded in 1997 and continues to grow after 25 years.
Dr. Peter Gray completed a study of the graduates of Sudbury Valley. He found that they:
- Perform well in higher education and careers
- Often pursue careers that follow the interests they developed at Sudbury Valley
- Credit their Sudbury experience for their high self-motivation, self-direction, responsibility and respect for democracy.
Peter Gray talks about Sudbury schools and his research:
The best way to see how Spring Valley works is to visit us and see it firsthand.