Democracy

The Santa Barbara Free School is a democracy

Teachers and students collectively decide what happens at school. That means the student budget, the schedule, the classes and coops– everything is discussed, debated, and voted on– envisioned by students, guided by faculty, decided by consensus.

Every Wednesday at School Meeting we get together to to share gratitudes and stories, create policies and procedures, plan activities and field trips, and tackle issues that matter to our students: “What should the Off-Campus Certification look like? How is our Spanish language conversation class going? What speakers should we bring in for our seminar series? How can we address the challenges of social media and emotional health?”

Why are we a democracy? Because when young people are given the opportunity, the trust, and the guidance… they take ownership of their own education and their own lives. Instead of taking a class, they create it. Instead of cramming for the test, they learn for the joy of learning. Rather than act only for themselves, they embrace responsibility to their community. Rather than learn to follow, they learn to lead.

Rights and Responsibilities

We acknowledge that there can’t be a complete and total democracy in a school of children and adults, because there is an inherent power differential between those groups. Our mission is to enfranchise young people, enshrine their rights and responsibilities, and uphold our roles as educators and mentors.

That’s why we enumerate the rights and responsibilities that are separate, and which are shared, between staff and students. Adults generally refrain from interfering, but may offer their advice and perspective when it’s requested. Likewise, young people don’t have control in the adult’s realm– but their advice and perspective is sought and valued.

Most matters of substance, though, fall in the democratic realm– the shared realm of rights and responsibilities. These issues are discussed and decided upon by the school during our weekly meetings. The primary responsibility of all school members is to show up at the weekly School Meeting– not necessarily to share, vote, or voice an opinion, but to show up.

Our school depends on the investment of every member. We believe that by having a clear-eyed vision of the roles of children and adults in the community, we distinguish ourselves from traditional democratic schools, and fulfill the potential of creating a caring, collaborative, dynamic, transparent community.

We visualize our democracy like this: