The Outstanding Ohioans Show, Episode 41-Interview with Anastasia Congdon & Margaret Lewis, Founders of Kokosing Valley School

Outstanding Ohioans

In Episode 41, I had the privilege of interviewing Anastasia Congdon & Margaret Lewis, Founders of Kokosing Valley School in Gambier, Ohio (Knox County).

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The Kokosing Valley School is based on the Sudbury School Model founded in 1968. It is a model based on freedom, self-paced learning, mixed peer ages, play, interest exploration, and democratic processes.

It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin without fail.

-Albert Einstein

Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:

• Anastasia and Margaret's backgrounds prior to founding the school in 2015
• How each person came across the Sudbury model
• The tipping point for taking action for their children, and why they felt the Sudbury model was the best fit
• The inspirational, massive action they took to create the school within 7 months
• are they impacted by the school establishment of the state
• how the beautiful property contributes to the experience of the students
• the what a day looks like for the school children
• the parental support needed to make it successful
• the benefits the children receive from the Sudbury model, including the value of mixed ages all together
• historical outcomes of students that have gone through this model
• their vision for the future and legacy they hope to leave behind

Some resources to learn more about the Sudbury school model or mentioned in the interview:

• Research articles and videos
• Free At Last: The Sudbury Valley School book by Daniel Greenberg
• Starting A Sudbury School: A Summary of the Experiences of Fifteen Start Ups by Daniel Greenberg
• Free to Learn by Peter Gray
• Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution that is Transforming Education by Sir Ken Robinson

To contact the school, you may do the following:

• website
• Facebook page
• Email at [e-mail]
• Phone at [phone]

Thank you for listening.