The Discovery School

Of course, a child may not know what he may need to know in ten years (who does?), but he knows, and much better than anyone else, what he wants and needs to know right now, what his mind is ready and hungry for. If we help him, or just allow him, to learn that, he will remember it, use it, build on it. If we try to make him learn something else, that we think is more important, the chances are that he won't learn it, or will learn very little of it, that he will soon forget most of what he learned, and what is worst of all, will before long lose most of his appetite for learning anything.- John Holt

At Discovery we are committed to the following core prinicples:

Trust & Support
We trust that all students, empowered to follow his own interest at his own pace, will learn to develop and discover the world around him in ways that are meaningful and valuable to him. The role of the staff at  The Discovery  School is to support the endeavors of each student, helping each child follow thier own path, pace and style of learning. Staff act as resources, mentors, tutors, coaches and guides. Sometimes our Staff challenges students to set personally meaningful goals and provides them with encouragment and support to help them see their projects to fruition and sometimes they simply step aside and let the learning process unfold.  Most importantly, the Staff at The Discovery School model compassionate communication, responsibility and a genuine interest and love for learning.

Compassionate Communication
At The Discovery School we offer children understanding, a chance to truly hear one another, and support in finding strategies for learning and being that meet everyone’s needs. We listen for the underlying feelings and needs behind behavior and help children do the same for themselves and each other. We trust each child’s process and ability to work things out and give practical help through a language of observations, feelings, needs, and requests. *

Democracy
The Discovery School operates as a participatory democracy both in its business management and in the day-to-day operations of the school. The various governmental bodies within the school are designed to protect individual rights, and guarantee members of the community a voice in decisions that affect them. The school encourages civil discourse and honors every member's right to free expression. Students may participate as equals in processes that govern the functions of running the school, making and enforcement of the rules, and in the decisions regarding the allocation of resources.

Community
At  The Discovery School we support the interconnections all of our students with the larger community.  The school welcomes anyone wishing to share their knowledge and skills, or family members wanting to share in their child's life and learning, into our school.  Each person- child, staff, parent or visitor- contributes to the diversity of knowledge and experience when they participate in our school community. As a school, we will also go outside our walls in support of our student’s interests,  taking advantage of our community’s tremendous resources, including people, parks, museums, and libraries. 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. 

Age Mixing
Students are not segreagated by age, grade, or ability at The Discovery School. This provides  a natural context for students of all ages to learn, work and play together.  Students can reap the benefits of experiencing many perspectives, and can learn both by example and by teaching others.

Wholeness
We support the whole expression of each individual by giving each member of the community the freedom to explore their emotional and spiritual selves in addition to their mental and physical capacities.

Accessibility
We appreciate students’ and staff’s diverse backgrounds and are committed to keeping our school accessible and welcoming to people of all economic classes, races, ages, orientations, and abilities.

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 and also financial sustainability.
 

*Acknowledgements to Michelle Arensberg 

** Acknowledments to the many free & democratic schools who inpsired our core documents, including the Village Free School, The Living School, the Shenandoah Valley Community School and many Sudbury Schools around the nation.