The River Valley Sudbury School opened on September 8, 2009 in Chester, Connecticut and will close June 18, 2010. During its operation, the school maintained an educational environment where children were extended the freedoms and challenges of living in a democratic community with the trust and respect to direct their own learning. The River Valley Sudbury School was a small faction of the worldwide "Sudbury" movement to create schools that offer intellectual autonomy, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to young people.
Sudburyschools allow children to exercise their strongest, most sought after and inherent quality: the ability to focus intensely on self-initiated goals. Adults who have the ability to focus intensely on the things they are curious about are successful people. Children given the opportunity to live in this way learn what they truly want; they learn to articulate why they want what they want; and they sustain an internal drive to succeed.
Thefounders of this school would like to encourage families to explore this educational philosophy, seek out Sudbury communities, and support this respectful way to be with young people.