Each student is free to explore his or her own interests. Each have a vote in the School Meeting, which runs the school and writes the rules. The school is more than an environment of freedom. It is also a community in which individuals work together to empower and support one another. In contrast, students in conventional schools rarely work cooperatively, either with one another or with adults.
Students there are also largely powerless to affect their school communities.
Compare their student governments with the Cedarwood School Meeting, which regularly makes decisions having a real and immediate impact upon the school. This place is like a town. We have businesses and written laws. But it's also like a family, because we know each other so well. As a result, students are free to relate to adults as social equals and to talk about a wide range of important matters.