Events
| Wed Sep 08 @09:00AM - 03:30PM New Student Orientation Day |
| Thu Sep 09 @02:30PM - 08:30PM Day At The Park - 1st Circle Meeting |
| Fri Sep 10 @08:00AM - 08:00PM Camping Trip |
| Sat Sep 11 @08:00AM - 08:00PM Camping Trip |
History
Original Core Principles
Back by popular demand, here are the early principles that were first adopted by the group that helped bring the school from idea to actuality. The school has adopted new core principals since then, but this gives you a look at where we started.
FREE CHOICE – The students are the directors of their own education. Because wisdom teaches that everyone learns at different rates, and that peer teaching is one of the most effective ways of learning, the students will be free to associate with whomever they want within the school. Their accountability will be to themselves and to those around them rather than being enforced by the staff. Natural curiosity and a genuine desire to learn are the motivation of each student’s self-directed education.
TRUST AND SUPPORT – Students are supported in their endeavors by a working staff. Staff members are chosen for their ability to be compassionate mentors and to assist intellectually, materially, and emotionally. They are there to model the trust, responsibility and self-empowerment that the school is built upon.
DEMOCRACY – The day-to-day running of the school is governed democratically by the students and staff. This is achieved through regular school meetings in which students get to have their input about the resources and direction of the school. In order for it to truly be their education, the school must be in their hands.
COMMUNITY – Family, friends and the community at large are all important parts of a child’s education. The school welcomes anyone wishing to share their knowledge and skills, or family members wanting to share in their child’s life and learning- all are free to participate. Students are empowered to find mentors or apprenticeships outside the school. Those whose interests do take them off campus are supported in engaging and contributing to the world at large. In this way, the community will benefit from the school as the school benefits from the community.
ACCESSIBILITY – Diversity is inherently valuable and therefore it's important that the school is accessible and welcoming to people of all economic classes, races, ages, orientations, and abilities. Our creative flexible tuition plans make the school as affordable as possible. We aim not to turn students away for financial reasons.
WHOLENESS – The school atmosphere is one that allows for the whole expression of each individual. This means that in addition to the freedom to explore their mental and physical capacities, students are also given the freedom to explore their emotional and spiritual selves.
SUSTAINABILITY – It is our aim to be as sustainable as possible, considering always the long-term welfare of the school and its environment. For us this means ecological responsibility– using environmentally conscious products and supplies, participating in green energy programs, etc. It also means financial sustainability- funding for the school and its operations should come from a diverse number of sources (tuition, fundraising, donations, etc.). This assures that a dependency on a single source is not formed.
A Retrospective
Once the Village Free School was just an idea.
I had my own idea: a one-room schoolhouse at an intentional community out in the country. It would be a place for the kids to come together and learn and play and a base from which they could go out into their community and set up apprenticeships with the people who lived and worked there. I had that idea on hold, because I lived in the city. But then I read Free at Last, a collection of stories from the Sudbury Valley School, and I realized that such a school could exist in Portland after all.
Scott and Hollie had their own ideas and so did Bija and Gavin. When we all met for the first time in September of 2003, we realized that our ideas might actually work together. One of our first agreements was simply to meet for three more weeks for three hours and see what came of it.
That fall and winter, we spent many hours around a small table at Scott and Hollie’s PSU apartment discussing the details of a free school and how we would go about getting it started. Eventually, we started going around town to libraries and other places to speak our vision to anyone who would listen. We met lots of interesting and interested folks, who encouraged us. Many people we met had similar ideas themselves and decided to join us.
