The Beach School: Difference between revisions

The Beach School
The Beach School
Location
	42 Edgewood Avenue; Toronto, ON; Canada
Information
Established	2003
Grades	JK-12 (ungraded, ages 4+)
Campus type	urban
Website	http://www.thebeachschool.org/

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Revision as of 07:21, 9 August 2008

The Beach School is a free school in Toronto which was based on the Sudbury principles of education; The model had two basic tenets: educational freedom and democratic governance. Small and independent, The Beach School is a community of self-motivated learners aged 4-19. Located at 42 Edgewood Ave near Kingston Road and Dundas Street East, the school opend in the fall of 2003. The Beach School ws incorporated as a co-operative and was one of two Sudbury schools in Canada; the only one in Ontario.

Philosophy

The Beach School closed as a Sudbury Valley School in June 2008 and reopened (the same day) with a slightly different philosophy and policies, in order to appeal to a wider set of parents and students. Parents were unhappy about unlimited use of technology and video gaming, so media policy was changed in order to limit gaming. More emphasis has been given to ecology and the environment. Intervention over and above the school meeting was taken to initiate these changes.

The Beach School community believes that learning which is initiated and pursued by the learner happens naturally, and is more enduring and meaningful. As such, there is no set curriculum; instead there is individual curiosity and self-initiation direct learning. Beach School students are trusted with their own education and are free to draw from the school’s resources. The Beach School encourages self-evaluation; there are no grades, tests, or assignments unless desired. This educational approach is based on the Sudbury belief that everyone is instinctively curious; therefore when trusted to do so, they will discover independently the knowledge and experiences they need, becoming self-aware and resourceful in the process.

Programming

Each day at The Beach School was a unique combination of formal and informal activities, including classes, books, video- and computer-games, unstructured play, meetings, debates, tree-climbing, pillow fort-building, paperwork, and cooking. Some people participated in most of these activities; some spent their whole day on one.

A free drop-in program entitled ‘Parent and Tot’ operated at the school on Friday mornings from 9:30am -11:30 am for children aged 5 and under and their guardians.

The Beach School had been an annual participant in the Beaches Easter parade and they have hosted an annual school play.

Governance

All members of the school community, both staff and students, were equally responsible for the daily affairs of the school.

School Meeting

Decisions on rules and policies, staffing, use of resources, program opportunities, discipline, budgeting, and other communications were made at the weekly School Meeting, which every student and staff member may attend to debate and vote on current issues.

Judicial Committee

Students and staff took turns serving on the Judicial Committee or JC, a group that met daily to formally review complaints about behaviour, and help those involved find solutions.

Assembly

Parents, staff, and students participated in the operation of the school as automatic members of the school assembly, which meets at least twice a year to discuss issues of overall policy involving school by-laws and finances. People who were not already directly involved in the school could be elected as public assembly members.

Board of Directors

The directors were elected by the Assembly and acted as occasional advisors to the School Meeting.

Tuition

Because the Ontario Ministry of Education does not fund independent schools, The Beach School charged tuition in order to fund the basic operations of the school. The decision on what amount to charge was made each year by the Assembly. The Beach School was recognized by the Children’s First Foundation through the Fraser Institute, which provides grants for education to disadvantaged families.

References

External links

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 ==Philosophy ==
-The Beach School closed as a Sudbury Valley School in June 2008 and  reopened (the same day) with a slightly different philosophy and policies, in order to appeal to a wider set of parents and students to attract enough students to remain viable. The two issues which parents were unhappy about were unlimited use of technology and video gaming, and not enough students to make a stable school. So media policy was changed in order to limit gaming. More emphasis has been given to [[ecology]] and the environment. Intervention over and above the [[#School Meeting|school meeting]] was taken to initiate these changes.
+The Beach School closed as a Sudbury Valley School in June 2008 and  reopened (the same day) with a slightly different philosophy and policies, in order to appeal to a wider set of parents and students. Parents were unhappy about unlimited use of technology and video gaming, so media policy was changed in order to limit gaming. More emphasis has been given to [[ecology]] and the environment. Intervention over and above the [[#School Meeting|school meeting]] was taken to initiate these changes.
-The Beach School community believes that learning which is initiated and pursued by the learner happens naturally, meaningfully, and enduringly. As such, there is no set curriculum; instead there is individual curiosity and self-initiation direct learning. Beach School students are trusted with their own education and are free to draw from the school’s resources as much or as little as they see fit. The Beach School encourages self-evaluation; there are no grades, tests, or assignments unless desired. This educational approach is based on the Sudbury belief that everyone is instinctively curious; therefore when trusted to do so, they will discover independently the knowledge and experiences they need, becoming self-aware and resourceful in the process.
+The Beach School community believes that learning which is initiated and pursued by the learner happens naturally, and is more enduring and meaningful. As such, there is no set curriculum; instead there is individual curiosity and self-initiation direct learning. Beach School students are trusted with their own education and are free to draw from the school’s resources. The Beach School encourages self-evaluation; there are no grades, tests, or assignments unless desired. This educational approach is based on the Sudbury belief that everyone is instinctively curious; therefore when trusted to do so, they will discover independently the knowledge and experiences they need, becoming self-aware and resourceful in the process.
 ==Programming==