We’re In the News!
Sunset Sudbury has been in the news a lot lately. Check out the following links.
- Natural Awakenings Magazine… an announcement about our school is on page 15 and a really good article on Democratic Schooling is on page 28.
- And watch for us on Channel 6 (NBC) news on Friday night!
We’re almost set for the first day of school on August 23rd. You are invited to our upcoming Open House on Saturday, August 14 from 3 to 5pm. Please help us spread the word.
Here are several ways to stay in touch and up to date with what’s happening at Sunset Sudbury School.
- join our Google group if you want to participate in discussions about the school
- “like” us on Facebook
- follow us on Twitter
We look forward to seeing you and your families in the near future.
Construction Update
We are learning so much about the construction industry! The first pipes are in for our new bathroom. One big hurdle down!
First pipes are in!!
In this process, we’ve also gotten to know the government officials at the city and county levels pretty well. Yesterday when I visited the building department for our plumbing permit, one of the people who works there stopped mid-sentence with another customer and called out across the room, “where is he?” I answered “who?”, to which she replied…”your son, where is he?”
…A sure sign that my seven year-old son and I are spending too much time in government offices! — Idelma
Who knew bathroom pipes would be so exciting?
Wish List
Some of you have been asking us to put together a wish list for the school. Here it is…
Remember that all donations are tax-deductible. We would be happy to provide you with documentation for your donation of anything on this list. You can send e-mail to info@sunsetsudbury.org or call 954-200-8949 to make donation arrangements. Thank you so much for your support!
Computers
- Laptops (Minimum Windows XP / MacOSX)
Furnishings
- Credenza 6-8 ft long x 2 ft wide
- Ottoman or bench 3’ x 3’
- Large round ottoman (leather of vinyl)
- Couch – up to 8 ft (vinyl or leather)
- Bean bags (leather or vinyl)
- Outdoor picnic table
Rugs
- Rugs (all shapes and sizes)
- Outdoor and indoor rubber-backed entry mats
Small Appliances
- Toaster oven
- Vacuum cleaners (3)
Tables
- Large dining room table up to 8.5’ long x 3’ wide
- 2 tables – 6ft long x 2 feet (no wider than 3 feet)
- Various sizes – rectangular or square tables for our art room
Seating
- Benches up to 8 feet long
- Folding chairs (20)
- Leather or vinyl side chairs (2)
- Stools / chairs for our art room
- 5 wheeled office chairs
Shelving
- Shelving all types and sizes (free standing or wall mounted)
- stackable shelving (metal wire or plastic) 4.5 ft w x 2 ft deep
Other
- Garbage Cans w/ lid
- Paint (interior and exterior wall paint)
- Flooring – Wood/bamboo/cork (650 sq ft)
- Step ladder
- Lockers
- Cork / dry-erase boards
- Coat hooks – wall mounted
- Throw pillows
- Shoe cubbies
- Games - (Board games, video games, Wii games)
- Books - (middle school & high school)
- Toys – (Legos, other logic / building games) for ages 10 and above
- Art & crafts supplies – any and all
- Gift certificates for Office Depot, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Publix, Whole Foods, etc.
Building Fund
Thank you everyone! We raised over $5, 600!
Thank you!
Our campaign is closed!
We are thrilled to announce that we have found a wonderful place to serve as the home for Sunset Sudbury School! Please help us bring this much needed school option to families in this area by donating whatever you can.
Our school offers a unique environment where kids are free to be themselves and find their passions.
Use your debit or credit card to donate… by clicking the orange ChipIn! button on the right sidebar.
If you prefer to donate by check, you can mail it to…
Sunset Sudbury School
PO Box 290944
Davie, FL 33329-0944
You can help us raise the money we need to install a new bathroom and fire alarm system required for us to open our doors this August. Donate what you can and then help us spread the word to others in your circle. Encourage them to ‘chip in’ to this very important cause.
Sunset Sudbury School is a non-profit organization. Your donation is tax-deductible. We appreciate your help!
Our new building, located at 4200 N 66th Avenue in Davie, features… 2,400 square feet of spacious and beautifully remodeled indoor space, a grassy outdoor space for playing tag, exploring, or picnicking, and a garden filled with native and exotic plants for having fun and learning in nature.
Enrollment Update
We are in the very last stages of the necessary paperwork to finalize our
location. Be on the lookout for more details very, very shortly.
In the meantime, click here to learn more about our Admissions Process.
As most of you know, in January we began running a “Friday demo school” for
students who have already committed to enroll. Let us know if you would like to schedule a visit on a Friday. Feel free to call the school phone number (954-200-8949) so that we can talk about it.
Video Conference Report
A great big THANK YOU to Corri and Diane Ballou for taking time out of their Sunday last week to answer questions and share their experiences as a student and founder of Spring Valley School. Their Sudbury school has been successfully operating for 13 years in Palm Harbor, Florida and serves as sister and mentor to Sunset Sudbury School. Here’s a quick taste of what happened at the meeting, for those of you did not make it to the live video conference last Sunday.
This meeting focused on the experiences of 11-13 year old students. Corri (13 y/o) answered the question of what a typical day looks like for her. She shared with us that she is currently the Chair of the Judicial Committee, a role that rotates every 2 weeks to different students at her school. She is also teaching a class on the Holocaust to 3 other students at school. Corri explained that she usually spends time the entire week preparing to teach this class that takes place once per week.
An audience member also asked Corri what she would do if she needed help in mathematics, abstract or geometry concepts. Corri and Diane both looked at each other and smiled. Diane was a math teacher prior to starting the school and has taught math classes for students at Spring Valley, when they requested it. In fact, in about 3 months time Diane was able to teach all of the basic math concepts for K – 8th grades to small groups of students. This is what can happen when students want to learn and are able to get the individualized help they need. Diane went on to explain that if a staff member or online resources are not enough to answer a student’s questions, the school will hire consultants to work with students. On many occasions, this need has been filled by parent volunteers at Spring Valley.
Much of the rest of the conversation centered around the parents. Diane said that,
We talked about the importance of offering parents support with ample opportunities to talk to staff and to each other. This is something we, at Sunset Sudbury School, are trying to make sure happens even before our school is officially open.
One participant asked Diane to share what was the biggest reservation expressed by parents that enrolled their kids at her school. Diane responded that even when parents have a thorough understanding of the model, there can be moments of discomfort. One example is when a child doesn’t learn to read by the expected age. Diane herself experienced this fear with one of her own children did not show an interest in reading until after she was 9 years old. Diane admitted to moments when she worried, but waited and trusted that her daughter would eventually find that interest. Diane said that her daughter had developed an unorthodox way to learn to read. She could decode new words by sounding out the letters, but only if she did this by starting at the end of the word and worked backwards. Diane is sure that if her daughter had been attending a different school, she would have been labeled with a learning disability. She finds it amazing the way that when we allow them to do it, the kids find their own strategies for learning. Her daughter began reading at age 9 and is now (2 years later) reading, and most importantly, enjoying books above her typical grade level. She is currently reading The Spiderwick Chronicles.
We are working on setting up an in-person visit to our school from Corri, Diane and others at Spring Valley. Keep an eye out for details on that event. We end this article with one of our favorite quotes from our conversation with Diane.
“Learning is not something that happens to you, it’s something that happens from the inside out”
If you have any suggestions for future information events, please let us know.
Exciting News from the IRS
Just kidding, but please keep in mind that all donations are now tax-deductible.Looking forward to seeing some of you at our event this Sunday.
Inviting Middle School Students
Please join us for a very special information session featuring 13 year-old Corri Ballou and other students from our sister school, Spring Valley.
This will be a live video conference with Corri and her mom, school founder, Diane Ballou. They will be talking with us directly from their school in Palm Harbor, Florida. We welcome all parents and we send a special invitation to any 11-13 year olds who are considering enrollment at Sunset Sudbury School. Students and their parents will learn from and ask questions of another student about what it is like to attend a Sudbury School. Here are the details:
Sunday, March 7th
1:30 – 3:30 pm
The Hollywood Birth Center
2316 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood- Click here for directions
Please help us spread the word by telling your friends and neighbors about this event!
Staffing Our School
The top three factors that parents are considering in the decision to enroll are: 1) Staff 2)Tuition and 3)Location. We learned this from the survey results we collected in December. Let’s take a look at the question of staff.
We have learned from the experiences of other Sudbury schools that getting the right person on staff takes time. It is likely that anyone who ends up being on staff will have spent a good amount of time working to start or maintain our school. This person will have also spent a good amount of time working with the start-up team and with our students (your children), before they are selected for that role. What we seek in staff is described well in the following quote,
“Good adult role models, whether teachers or not, are what [we] are looking for. People who are dynamic, intelligent, hard workers and who enjoy the company of children, and who have a strong moral and ethical sense…Nothing will amaze you more than how unimportant formal instruction is and how important the ability to communicate with children as human beings is….”
Starting a Sudbury School, (p. 114)
Our ability to hire paid staff during our first year is directly related to the number of students who are enrolled. We are fairly certain that the school year will begin with at least 12 students but we won’t have a clear picture of the actual number until we are much closer to officially opening our doors. So when parents ask us, “who will be staff at the school?” We generally answer that we know all three of the start-up team members will be serving as staff at the beginning of the school year.
Here is a little background on each of us:
Idelma Quintana – is mom to Ian (7). She holds a Master’s degree in educational change and innovation. She has 17 years of combined experience in education as a classroom teacher, diversity awareness trainer and providing professional development for school leaders and teachers on the use of technology for learning. She had a lot of ideas to un-learn in the process of embracing the Sudbury model of education. Her son’s experience in traditional schooling prompted her to re-evaluate her beliefs about education. Now she can’t imagine any place better for her son to learn and grow into a confident, self-directed and responsible person. She hopes that by opening this school, the many kids in our area who need this opportunity, will have the kind of schooling experience they deserve to have.
Dionne Ekendiz – is mom to Leila (soon to be 4 years old) and baby Luna. Dionne has over 12 years of experience in the engineering and computer science fields working for companies such as Ford, Boeing, and Microsoft. When she got pregnant with her first child, she decided to finally pursue her passion for education, so she returned to school to get a Master’s degree in Education. Watching her daughter grow and learn on her own made her question what she had been taught in the traditional education model. When she learned about the Sudbury model everything about it immediately clicked and she knew she would have to create this school in South Florida. Dionne currently works in the Applied Research Center at Nova Southeastern University’s school of education where she is slowly spreading the Sudbury idea. She can’t imagine her daughters attending any other school.
Kathy Williams – is mom to Joshua (8) and Benjamin (5). Before her children were born, she used her computer science degree to build a one-woman software consulting business with both national and international clients. Once her children were born her focus shifted to spending her time doing things that would allow her to focus on her role as a parent. She co-created the Hollywood Attachment Parenting Support group and by doing so developed a strong connection with other parents in South Florida. She went on to create an internet cloth diaper business that deepened her connection to the local mom community. She has 8 years of experience unschooling her boys. Both boys are excited to be entering our new school this fall. And Kathy is excited for them to be part of a community that will provide such fantastic opportunities for them to grow, build, learn and relate.
In the Spring of 2011 students will take part in the first staff elections that will occur annually. At that point students may choose to retain staff or to vote staff out of their position.
We invite your questions, comments and thoughts on this topic.
Site Selection Update
Here’s the story on our site search. We have literally looked at hundreds of sites over the past few months. We follow up on each and every lead that comes our way. At the very least, we drive past and decide whether to follow-up with a closer look. Our first choice is Davie, so we have spent a lot of time looking there but we are not limiting our choice to any one particular city.
There are 2 sites at the top of our list right now.
1 – A space located in a church building with a green outdoor area.
2 – A space located in a retail mall. It is very nice indoor space, but does not include green outdoor space.
We could potentially commit to either of these locations in the next 2-3 weeks but we continue to look for a strong 3rd option. We are hoping to find a house zoned for commercial use as our 3rd option so keep your eyes and ears open and let us know.
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