Hudson High School is a large suburban public school that began its work as a First Amendment project school by launching an innovative experiment in school governance. “In 2004,” says school Principal John Stapelfeld, “the entire Hudson High School community implemented a new governance model based on democratic town meetings.”

To facilitate the meetings, Hudson first unveiled a new school building, the design of which reflects the school community’s belief in two concepts: First, that a cluster model of organization (approximately 125-150 students per cluster) will engender closer connections among both the students and the staff; and second, that the cluster model will provide an ideal democratic governance structure, and involve more students in the daily life of the school’s operation.

How does it work? The clusters are organized thematically around broad areas of student academic interest. Clusters do not restrict students academically and students still have full access to the school’s curriculum. Weekly cluster meetings, however, provide time for students to develop service projects, hear from guest speakers, attend workshops relative to their cluster themes, and participate in school-wide governance meetings. At the same time, the clusters are meant to be places where a real democratic community can be built, one that affirms First Amendment rights within the context of a larger, expanding school population.

And how has it worked? Teacher Brian Daniels admits that “at times it’s been hard, but it’s hard to be counter-cultural. At first, the kids didn’t really know how to act, and neither did the teachers.”

Student Rita Paulino agreed. “A part of the reason for this is our conditioning in school up to this point,” she said. “We’ve always been taught that what the teachers says goes – so when you’re suddenly given power, you don’t really know what to do with it.”

But as the year progressed, Hudson’s experiment in liberty started to yield some positive results. “And,” Brian added, “the growth of the leadership among students has been amazing. Kids who would have never done so in the past have stepped forward. And four of the six clusters decided on their own to take the time to build in some leadership training.

“The process of democratizing a whole school carries with it the requisite time required for real change to occur,” Daniels added. “And our community is committed to do exactly that.”

Learn more about Hudson High School:

• Visit their Web site.
• Read this recent article about the school.

Last updated: Thursday, September 2, 2010 | 12:36:54