What is the role of adults at Sudbury Valley?

Adults at Sudbury Valley are fully responsible members of the school community. Their role is not to direct learning, but to uphold the conditions that make meaningful learning and healthy community life possible.

Staff members are responsible for the safety, continuity, and day-to-day functioning of the school. They manage the school’s operations, finances, and relationships with the outside world, maintain the building and grounds, and support the democratic systems that allow the community to function. This work is done openly, so students can see what it means to take responsibility for a real institution.

Adults do not assign work, design curriculum, or evaluate students. Instead, they model adult responsibility in action. They listen, participate, ask questions, share skills when invited, and engage with students as fellow human beings rather than as authorities whose job is to manage learning.

This role requires presence and judgment. Staff intervene when safety is at stake, support students through conflict, and help uphold the school’s justice system. Just as importantly, they know when not to intervene, leaving space for students to negotiate, struggle, and grow.

Over time, students come to see adults not as controllers or supervisors, but as trusted members of the community. Away from their parents and without adults hovering, students experience the school as their place, built with other students. This relationship fosters mutual respect, independence, and a realistic understanding of what it means to be an adult in the world.