Review of our trip to Spring Valley

This past November, 10 Miami Sudbury students, 2 staff, and 2 parents drove up the West Coast of Florida to visit the Spring Valley School, a Sudbury School in their 29th year in Palm Harbor, FL. Their school is very much a cozy house with a dynamic and also very cozy Community. They made us feel right at home - 40 faces waiting to greet us in the front window as we drove in and warmly welcoming us as we came through the door.

It was so comforting to feel immediately familiar with their community’s systems and culture - freedom of movement and expression paired with shared ownership and accountability. It was like a family reunion with relatives we’d yet to meet who share our values and speak the same language of deep respect for youth. There was an easy solidarity.

They recently capped their enrollment at 40 while they build a second building on their property - and they kept apologizing that the backyard was under construction so there wasn’t as much space to play outside as usual. The whole place felt plenty spacious to us. Their Staff are down to earth and move through the house with an ease that speaks to thoughtfully cultivated mutual consideration and care. One of their founders, Diane, exudes a palpable warmth and kindness that seems to set the tone and permeate the premises.

Our group eased into their ecosystem, observing and engaging, playing chess in the lounge, board games in the main room, legos in the game room… joining a roundtable discussion on Sudbury philosophy in the “big classroom” that would later become the JC room, and playing a giant collaborative game of sharks and minnows at a park nearby. We added our group’s groceries to the sharing table in the middle of the central kitchen and some joined their weekly ritual of ordering Friday pizza slices. 

The familiar dance of ages 4 to adult was choreographed impromptu as we moved through the day and a half together, our shared Sudbury background providing a calming and energizing common ground.

What a gift to share the time, space, and charism of Sudbury with their community - part of our Sudbury International Community, penpals to many of our students, and now a delightful part of our Community’s own story.