PODCAST · education
Alpine Valley School Podcast
by Alpine Valley School, a K-12
Alpine Valley School is a K-12 school in Wheat Ridge CO founded in 1997. We are a non-profit, independent school that follows the Sudbury Model of education. This podcast features interviews with graduates of our school, plus discussions of our unique philosophy, and ways to get involved.
Episodes
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From Teacher to Revolutionary - One Journey in Self-Directed Education
In this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast, we continue our Visionaries & Voices series with a powerful speech by Cassi Clausen, founder of The Open School in California. Cassi's journey from a conventional educator to a pioneer in self-directed learning is both inspiring and...
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How Trust Transforms Learning
Join us as we dive into the transformative world of self-directed democratic education with Larry Welshon, founder of Alpine Valley School. With 28 years of experience and a background in public education, Larry shares powerful insights on how trust and vulnerability shape a truly nurturing...
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Freedom to Learn Differently
In episode 59 of the Alpine Valley School podcast, we share an insightful interview with Addison Ault, a former special education teacher who has transitioned to a staff role at Alpine Valley School, a self-directed democratic school located in Denver. Addison shares her profound insights on...
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Parenting Self-Directed Kids
In this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast, host Marc Gallivan talks with conscious parenting coach Angela Young about how to set clear boundaries with your children while still supporting their independence. This episode is a great listen if you're looking for support and advice on how…
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Challenges and Opportunities
Staff Members at self-directed democratic schools like Alpine Valley School are often asked what sorts of unique challenges students experience at places like this. While our students are free from the tests and grades that are imposed on others in mainstream education, they do encounter a…
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The Role of Staff
Most people involved in self-directed education know that staff are the adult members of the school community, but what is the actual role staff members play in the day-to-day running of the school? What sorts of tasks do staff members do? And beyond that, why are staff members important to…
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School Wounds
What are school wounds? How do they develop, and who do they affect? This is a topic we explore on episode 55 of the Alpine Valley School podcast, along with Akilah S. Richards, a podcaster, author, and self-directed parent. Want more? Learn more about the Fare of the Free Child podcast (and...
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Good Students & Bad Students
In mainstream education, parents and teachers are continually breaking down children into two separate groups: good students and bad students. In this episode, we hear from Tay Arrow and Marc Gallivan, two Sudbury School graduates who self-identified as bad and good students, respectively. Tay…
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Back to School
It's been a while, but Alpine Valley School is still here! In this episode Marc provides an update about what life at our school is going to look like moving forward, as well as the future of this podcast. He'll also share some of the most popular episodes so you can catch up with all of our...
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Introducing: Lockdown Learning
Introducing a new podcast from Alpine Valley School - Lockdown Learning As COVID-19 swept the globe from east to west this year, so has home education. Millions of children woke up one morning to find their schools closed and their new teachers are their parents. Learning at home can be a...
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Staying Home, Together
Like many schools around the world, Alpine Valley School is currently closed. Without a physical space where we can congregate, our self-directed learning community is figuring out how to come together virtually. In this episode we talk about how our school is handling the current situation and...
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Parent Interview: The Shannon's
In this episode, we sit down with the parents of three currently enrolled students. The Shannon family shares what brought them to Alpine Valley School, and what they've noticed after being involved for a few years. You might be surprised by what the parents themselves have learned along the way!...
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Favorite Stories From Around the USA
Episode 50: Favorite Stories From Around the USA To celebrate the milestone of our 50th episode, the Alpine Valley School podcast collected favorite stories from Sudbury Schools all over the USA. These stories - funny, insightful, and thought-provoking - provide an inside look at self-directed...
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Unschooling
Episode 49: Unschooling Sudbury schools and Unschoolers have always had quite a bit of overlap in their philosophies, but how do unschooled students manage the transition to a self-directed school environment with a lot more structure, particularly in the Judicial System? In this episode of the...
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Elections
Episode 48: Elections Important decisions at our school are made, not by a central authority figure, but by the democratic process of voting. All students and staff at the school cast their vote on critical issues including the election of key School Meeting officials, and the hiring of the staff...
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Chores
Episode 47: Chores Everyone at Alpine Valley School (students and staff alike) participate in doing cleaning chores twice a week. On this episode, we follow a Chore-Checker (the student responsible for making sure chores are done, and to the appropriate standard) on their rounds and share our...
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Founding Stories: Arts & Ideas
Episode 46: Founding Stories - Arts & Ideas Sudbury School This is the third part of our special series called Founding Stories, in which we interview founders of other self-directed democratic schools around the world. On this episode, we are transported to downtown Baltimore, Maryland, to the...
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Founding Stories: The Open School
Episode 45: Founding Stories - The Open School This is the second part of our special series called Founding Stories, in which we interview founders of other self-directed democratic schools around the world. This episode takes us to sunny California to the two (yes, two) campuses of The Open...
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Founding Stories: EKSS
Episode 44: Founding Stories - East Kent Sudbury School This is the first in our series of special episodes called Founding Stories, in which we interview founders of other self-directed democratic schools around the world. On this episode, we chat with Kezia Cantwell-Wright from East Kent…
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Hard Lessons
Episode 43: Hard Lessons The notion that self-directed schools, like Alpine Valley School, involve students only pursuing the subjects they find interesting is partially true, but it's not the whole story. There are other lessons, too - harder ones. That's the subject of episode 43 of our show....
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I Can Do What I Want
Episode 42: I Can Do What I Want Students at self-directed democratic schools like Alpine Valley School and others, have significant freedom. In many ways they can "do what they want" all day long. However, that freedom must be balanced with responsibility - a concept that founder and staff…
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Starting a School
Episode 41: Starting a School "How do I start a self-directed democratic school in my area?" On this episode, staff and founder Larry Welshon lends his twenty-plus years of experience to tackling this question and provides concrete guidance for individuals who are looking to begin the founding...
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Favorite Stories
Episode 40: Favorite Stories Funny, insightful, and unexpected, this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast features our graduate's favorite stories. Hear about surprising adventures to the mall, the Asteroid Game, becoming School Meeting Chair, and much more as our alumni take a trip down...
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Give Kids Real Jobs
Just like the grown ups who love them, children are hungry for meaningful work. They want to take on jobs that have real meaning and make a significant contribution. Learn how self-directed democratic education, like we practice at Alpine Valley School in Colorado, allows all students to try on...
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Learning Math
Episode 38: Learning Math In this final episode of our Core Learning podcast series, our guest Bruce Smith talks about how students at self-directed democratic schools learn math. Bruce has decades of experience as a staff member in self-directed education, and has worked at several different...
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Going To Work
What sorts of careers do the students of self-directed democratic education have? How do they stand out in a competitive job market without grades or transcripts? These are the questions we tackle on episode 37 of the Alpine Valley School podcast. With the help of a panel of Alpine Valley School...
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Learning to Write
We're continuing our "core skills" series (which we started with Learning to Read) by discussing how students at a self-directed democratic school learn the essential skill of writing. We're joined on this episode by AVS graduates Jesse and Vanessa who talk about how the extensive communication...
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Learning to Read
Episode 35: Learning to Read Many find it hard to believe, but children at self-directed democratic schools do learn how to read, largely without any adult intervention. On this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast we hear from two graduates who learned this essential skill - from video...
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If Our Daughter Died Tomorrow, Would We Be Happy With How She Had Lived?
At a recent event at our sister school (Hudson Valley Sudbury School in New York), Wendi Piper told her story about how self-directed democratic education has changed her family's life. She started by asking the bold question, "If our daughter died tomorrow, would we be happy with how she had...
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Parent Panel - The Dads
What is it like to parent a child while they are enrolled at an alternative school as free as Alpine Valley School? What struggles do dads experience as their child grows up in this environment, taking responsibility for their own lives? On this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast we find...
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The Invitation of Boredom
When students at self-directed democratic schools like Alpine Valley School find themselves free from classrooms and curricula, they are sometimes left to grapple with a new adversary: boredom. However, boredom can also be an opportunity for growth,. On this episode of the podcast, AVS graduates...
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Amplify Your Passion
The people who know Kelsey Kiernan, dancer and AVS graduate, know that she is a force of nature. Kelsey will stop at nothing to reach her goals and live her dreams. On this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast we share her story and hear how she turned her passion for dance into an…
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Make Your Mark
Episode 30: Make Your Mark The current education system in the United States is failing some of our kids, mainly the ones who cannot fit into the preconceived mold. Many creative individuals are being shunted aside, left out, and forgotten. Keith Kiernan, graduate of Alpine Valley School, was one...
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JC in the Real World
Episode 29: JC in the Real World How does self-directed democratic education prepare students to move on to the real world after graduation? It's a question we are asked a lot, and we are proud to share yet another example today on the Alpine Valley School podcast. On this episode, an AVS…
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Making Your Own Choices
Alpine Valley School students have the ability to choose many things - how they spend their time, when and what they eat during the day, who they hang out with, and where they congregate. All of which begs the question - do they always make choices that are beneficial? Are there lessons to be...
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Let Children Decide
What should we do with children? How do we best guide them on their life's course and provide them with the skills they will need along the journey? We believe in a radical concept: Let the children decide. On this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast we share a blog post from the Open...
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Going to College
One of the main questions we are asked during tours is whether or not Alpine Valley School students go on to college, and if so, how do they do it? After all, we're a school without grades and therefore without transcripts. How do our students get into college if they don't have the standard...
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School Meeting
How do important decisions get made in a self-directed democratic school? Do students really get to vote on the budget, the hiring and firing of staff, and other essential elements of school life? Find out on this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast, where we delve into the School…
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Judicial Committee
Judicial Committee, the justice system at school, is a cornerstone of life at Alpine Valley School. How do we know that Judicial Committee is working, even when an individual's behavior doesn't change very quickly? What do Judicial Committee Clerks do when they feel frustrated by the slow wheels…
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Parent Panel - The Moms
What is it like to parent a child while they are enrolled at an alternative school as free as Alpine Valley School? What struggles do moms experience as their child grows up in this environment, taking responsibility for their own lives? On this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast we find...
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Graduate Panel on Open Campus
One of the most unique aspects of life at Alpine Valley School is our open campus for students 9 years and older. In this episode we outline the Open Campus policy, talk about how it actually works, and hear stories from a panel of graduates about their experiences leaving school in the middle of...
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Feeling Safe at School
When students are free to pursue their interests and choose how they spend their day, there is often a feeling of empowerment. However, beyond that there can also be a feeling of comfort and control that is out of reach for many students in traditional school settings. In this episode we explore...
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The Circle School
On the 20th episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast, we depart from life on our own campus and explore how things are done at the Circle School, a fellow democratic school in Harrisburg, PA. Guest Jim Rietmulder is both a founder and a staff member at the Circle School and he talks…
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Jack of All Trades
How do students at an alternative school with no classes get exposed to new information? How do they find out what they're truly interested in with no adults in the role of teacher? Find out on this episode of the Alpine Valley School podcast! Guest Andreas Suter talks about his experience trying...
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The Power of Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerful tool we use often in our adult lives. Students at Alpine Valley School tell stories through games, role-playing, and creative works on a daily basis and it has a strong impact on their lives. AVS Graduate, Bronwen Abbatista, shares how her love for art and passion for...
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Ask For What You Want
Determined, passionate, self-directed - these are all terms that have been used to describe Alpine Valley School students and graduates. But how are these traits realized during a student's time at school? And how do they benefit the student even after they've moved on to other pursuits? Guest...
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Trustful Parenting
What does it mean to place radical trust in your children, supporting their independent decisions even if they don't always seem ideal? How do parents best support their children who enrolled in an alternative school like Alpine Valley School? We tackle these questions and more on episode 16 of…
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Happy Kids
Five current AVS students of varying ages share their perspectives on life at school - the good, the bad, and the Taco Bell. Hear directly from kids that attend Alpine Valley School about their lives before enrolling and what activities they get up to every day in this alternative environment....
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Raising Entrepreneurs
Individuals who are driven to follow their passions do extremely well in our model of education; they can spend all of their time involved in their interests with a supportive crew of adults waiting in the wings. Aubrey Suter, alumni and software developer, was one of the original AVS...
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Proving Yourself
Often, students and parents at places like Alpine Valley School are concerned that kids will not know how to function in the "real world" without participating in classroom learning. AVS graduate and salesman Brandon Murphy was one of those students, and so he took a year off from AVS and...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Alpine Valley School is a K-12 school in Wheat Ridge CO founded in 1997. We are a non-profit, independent school that follows the Sudbury Model of education. This podcast features interviews with graduates of our school, plus discussions of our unique philosophy, and ways to get involved.
HOSTED BY
Alpine Valley School, a K-12
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Alpine Valley School Podcast have?
Alpine Valley School Podcast currently has 62 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Alpine Valley School Podcast about?
Alpine Valley School is a K-12 school in Wheat Ridge CO founded in 1997. We are a non-profit, independent school that follows the Sudbury Model of education. This podcast features interviews with graduates of our school, plus discussions of our unique philosophy, and ways to get involved.
How often does Alpine Valley School Podcast release new episodes?
Alpine Valley School Podcast has 62 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Alpine Valley School Podcast?
You can listen to Alpine Valley School Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Alpine Valley School Podcast?
Alpine Valley School Podcast is created and hosted by Alpine Valley School, a K-12.
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