The Beach School is located on the second floor of Corpus Christi School at 42 Edgewood Ave. just west of Kingston Rd. and Dundas St. East (viewmap) and is open Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm with the exception of school holidays (see Calendar).

The Program
The Beach School program rests on the cornerstones of self-initiated learning, democratic governance, trust, age-mixing, and community, as explained in the school's Charter. Therefore:

• Self-Initiated Learning: During the day students decide how they would like to spend their time at the school. The staff serve as role models and resources. Students determine their own activities, set their own goals, set their own schedules, and evaluate their own progress in any way they choose. This teaches skills in areas such as self-motivation, self-evaluation, goal-setting, creativity, time-management, persistence, resourcefulness, and in some situations, leadership. Students at The Beach School learn particular skills and information related to their own interests, but most importantly learn how to learn in their own unique style. The philosophy of the school is that self-initiated learning produces the most meaningful and lasting results for students.
• Democratic Governance: The Beach school is run democratically through the weekly School Meeting where students and staff each have one vote and participate in everything from rule-making, policy-setting, discipline, budgeting, to even appointments to administrative positions and staff hiring. This teaches skills in areas such as communication, organization, decision-making, ethics, public speaking, and financial management.
• Trust: Students at the school are trusted to make meaningful decisions about their learning and the running of their school. The school believes that children learn to handle the responsibilities of adult life by being given responsibility at a young age.
• Age-mixing: The Beach School accepts students aged 4-19. Students are not separated into grades or classes, but rather interact as a whole community. This allows students to acquire the skills outlined above within a community of people from various backgrounds and at various stages in life. The Beach School's philosophy is that age-mixing enhances opportunities for teaching and learning both subject-specific skills and life skills such as communication and tolerance.
• Community: Participation in the community of the school itself provides many opportunities for learning subject-specific and interpersonal skills. The larger community of Toronto also provides opportunities for learning in diverse areas, which are accessible to students through school resource lists and internship programs.

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The Proof
Since 1968, the original Sudbury Valley School, and now many similar schools, have turned out a stream of accomplished, confident, resourceful graduates. At the Sudbury Valley School, the majority of graduates go on to post-secondary education at the institution of their choice despite having no grades and no transcripts, and sometimes having taken no formal classes ever. Although graduates may have to 'catch up' in certain areas, the learning skills they have acquired during their years at a Sudbury school allow them to do so easily. They have gone on to diverse and interesting careers in academia, entrepreneurship, the arts, skilled trades, business, medicine, technology, and many other areas. Graduates of Sudbury schools are responsible adults who understand that learning is a life-long adventure.

Sudbury Valley has performed some in-depth research and studies about alumnae members. For more information about the legacy of students who have attended Sudbury Valley School, visit their online bookstore at: http://www.sudval.org/02_book_06.html.

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Post-Secondary
In the past, Sudbury Valley students pursuing post-secondary studies have largely done this through an interview process. The students demonstrate their maturity, their ability to express themselves, their persistence and their passion. Most universities and colleges are looking for those students who stand out and Sudbury students are definitely unique. Many Ontario universities and colleges are now developing policies for admitting students with alternative kinds of education and non-traditional credentials, such as homeschoolers. For more information on specific institutions, seehttp://www.ontariohomeschool.org/universityCanada.shtml. Although The Beach School is not accredited to grant Ontario Secondary School credits, staff at the school will support students who wish to obtain credits through options such as distance education, and are also available for help preparing portfolios or studying for standardized tests in preparation for application to post-secondary institutions.

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