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nurtures a child’s inherent love of learning.  Freedom, responsibility, equality, cooperation, creativity and play are core values of the community.

    The Dragonfly founders’ educational values are in alignment with those of the Sudbury Valley School, which is the principle source of inspiration for the structuring of our educational environment.  This successful independent school, which has existed in Framingham, Massachusetts since 1968, has originated and articulated an educational philosophy and practice which gets right to the heart of learning.  At its core, the Sudbury philosophy asserts that children know best what they need to learn and when and how they need to learn it. 

       Sudbury features the following practices, to which Dragonfly also adheres:

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2. •The school is governed democratically by a body of staff and students, each with one vote, of which the majority rules.  This body (called the School Meeting) acts legislatively and executively; among its functions are developing and refining a code of conduct, managing finances, deciding programming, and choosing staff.  Through being immersed in a thoroughly democratic milieu, children imprint the value of individual freedoms and the skills needed to participate as US citizens when they get older.
   

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4. •Social responsibility is maintained through the innovative Judicial Committee, in which every child gets a direct and hands-on experience of justice.  In this system, each community member has the right to have any other member “brought up” before the Judicial Committee for an alleged infraction of a given rule.  In accordance with due process, the brought-up member is considered innocent until proven guilty.  The Judicial Committee, which meets daily, is comprised of a number of students, (drawn by lottery from names grouped according to age so the group serving reflects a breadth of ages) who serve for a period of one month.  A rotating staff advisor is also present.  It is the JCs responsibility to question the defendant, question witnesses, determine if there is a charge, obtain a plea, reach a verdict, and deliver consequences. 

1. • It is the children at Dragonfly who determine what they will learn.  Staff are screened for their capacity to mindfully set their own agendas of ‘what should be learned’ aside.  This allows each child the space and time to really discover what his or her interests are, and allows groups of children the freedom to develop relationships and explore interests together.   All faculty, visitors, and guest presenters are invited by or seek the permission of the Club Meeting in order to visit campus.
   

1. • Decisions on broad, general issues that face Dragonfly, like the lunch program, calendar, and fees, will be decided by the Assembly.  This body is comprised of parents, students, and staff.
   

Dragonfly experimented with the JC system from 2006 to 2008.  Both staff and students felt that they had a reliable way of obtaining justice.  Staff reported that it was relief to be spared the authoritarian role that can often come with the job.  Students, down to the youngest at 5 years, looked forward to and enjoyed their time on the JC.

Members attend Dragonfly from 8:30 to 3:00, 3 days a week.  Attendance is for 144 days over the course of nine months.  Very affordable membership fees are on a sliding scale.  Some work-trade positions are available in the CSA for qualified low-income families. 

For more INFORMATION or specific inquiries, please contact by email.

Sudbury Valley School

        For more information about the Sudbury method, we strongly encourage you to visit the extensive Sudbury Valley School website.  Some of our favorite pages are:

1. • the About Us section, which offers crisp descriptions of the school’s fundamentals
   

2. •the Bookstore from which we recommend these inexpensive, introductory items
   

3. •  And Now for Something Completely Different . . .
   

4. •  Sudbury Valley:  a School for Today   (audio cd)
   

5. •  Introduction to Sudbury Valley  (dvd)
   

       The Sudbury Valley School has inspired a movement of over 30 similar schools, many in their 2nd or 3rd decade, that practice its methods.  You can find a list of these schools here.

For more INFORMATION or specific inquiries, please contact by email.

What’s New

1. •During spring break, DELC built and repaired its marimba set.  Here is fun video documenting the process.
   

2. • DELC has acquired a playground set with slide, swings, and monkey bars.  View here.
   

3. • The Kids of Koa’e 4-H Club has just completed a number of new videos in its “Going Green 2009” series.  We hope you enjoy viewing them as much as the members enjoyed putting them together.
   

4. •On May 29, 2010,our “And Now for Something Completely Different” celebration  drew over 75 people and lots of kids.  Here are clips. 
   

5. • On April 24, the Kids of Koa’e 4-H Club manned a booth at the Earth Day Festival at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.  See photos here.
   

•  On December 17th, over 100 people attended the winter solstice OPEN HOUSE.  Video soon available.

The Dragonfly Learning Environment has gratefully accepted sponsorship from Hawaii 4-H.  Our focus on citizenship, use of Robert’s Rules of Order, and emphasis upon child-directed learning all align with 4-H values.  Participation in the Dragonfly Learning Environment confers automatic 4-H membership, and participation in regional 4-H activities will be an option for all members.

www.dragonseyecenter.org

DELC is delighted to welcome Emma Abby and Kurt Holmes, former Sudbury Valley School students, who will be staying indefinitely as Kids of Koa’e 4-H Club Staff and as prospective community members. 

Here is a video showing some of the activities chosen by members during the 2009-2010 year.