At Sudbury Valley School, staff members play an essential role in maintaining the school community. While their responsibilities may look different from those of teachers in traditional schools, their work helps create the conditions where students can grow, learn, and participate in a democratic environment.
Who Are the Staff at Sudbury Valley School?
At Sudbury Valley School, staff members are fully participating members of the school community. Their role is different from what many people expect in a traditional school.
Rather than directing learning or managing students’ academic progress, staff focus on maintaining the conditions that allow meaningful learning and a healthy community to flourish.
The Role of Staff in the School Community
Staff are responsible for the safety, continuity, and day-to-day functioning of the school. They help manage operations, finances, relationships with the outside world, and the care of the building and grounds. They also support the democratic systems that allow the school community to govern itself.
Much of this work happens openly within the community, allowing students to see what it means to take responsibility for a real institution.
How Staff Support Learning
Unlike teachers in conventional schools, staff do not assign work, design curriculum, or evaluate students.
Instead, they model adult responsibility in action. Staff listen, participate in conversations, ask questions, and share knowledge or skills when invited. They engage with students as fellow members of the community rather than as authorities whose role is to manage learning.
Responsibility, Safety, and Judgment
The role of staff requires presence and judgment. Staff intervene when safety is at risk, support students through conflict, and help uphold the school’s justice system.
Just as importantly, they know when not to intervene, allowing students the space to negotiate challenges, work through disagreements, and develop independence.
Building Respect and Independence
Over time, students come to see adults not as supervisors or controllers, but as trusted members of the community.
Without adults directing their activities, students experience the school as their own place—built and maintained alongside other students. This relationship fosters independence, mutual respect, and a realistic understanding of what it means to participate responsibly in the wider world.
Staff Are Not Teachers in the Traditional Sense
In most schools, adults are responsible for directing what students learn and how they spend their time. At Sudbury Valley School, the structure is different.
Staff members do not assign lessons, give grades, or evaluate students’ progress. Instead, students take responsibility for deciding how they will spend their time and what they want to pursue. Learning happens through exploration, conversation, collaboration, and participation in the life of the community.
Staff support this environment by maintaining a safe, stable school and by participating in the community alongside students. When students want help, advice, or collaboration, staff are available as experienced adults who can share knowledge, perspective, and support.
This approach reflects the core belief that young people are naturally capable of directing their own learning when given the freedom and responsibility to do so.