The Questions
| Question | Answer
| |
| What is the name of the school? | The Highland School | |
| What is the address of the school? | 98 Sycamore Springs Lane, Ellenboro, WV 26346 United States | |
| School’s phone number and website? | 304-869-3250 www.TheHighlandSchool.org
| |
| School’s EUDEC contact person and e-mail? | Karen Whitescarver | |
| What is the legal status of the school? | Exemption K West Virginia Law. Non-profit charitable IRS status | |
| When was the school founded? | 1981 | |
| How many students are there? | 10 | |
| Which student age groups are there? | 4 to graduation | |
| How many (full-time equivalent) staff members? | 4 | |
| How many school hours per day and week? | Day minimum 5 hours. Boarding 24 hours a day | |
| Interested in hosting interns? | Yes. See website for application. | |
| Interested in the EUDEC Diploma? | N/A | |
| Interested in the EUDEC exchange program? | Yes | |
| Question | Three-Word Answer | Further Elaboration, Clarification or Qualification of the Answer
|
| Does applicable law allow your school to follow the EUDEC definition of democratic education? | Yes | |
| Do students have free choice of whether or not to participate in scholastic and other activities? | Yes | |
| Can students easily initiate and suggest scholastic and other activities? | Yes | |
| Can students offer, lead and run scholastic and other activities? | Yes | |
| Can students ‘vote’ on the school’s rules? | Yes | |
| Can students ‘vote’ on the consequences of breaking rules? | Yes | |
| Can students ‘vote’ on the use of spaces? | Yes | |
| Are there any compulsory activities for students? | Yes | Clean-up. The General School Meeting voted to make clean-up apply to all school members. Participation in the School's judicial process is also required. |
| Who decides on the compulsory activities and who must participate? | General School Meeting | The General School Meeting is made up of all staff and students. |
| Can students ‘vote’ on accepting and expelling other students? | Yes | |
| Can students ‘vote’ on hiring and firing staff, including educational staff? | Yes | |
| Can students and staff equally participate in the decision making process? | Yes | |
| Does your school need to meet any curriculum imposed from outside of the school? | No | |
| How is student performance and progress monitored and graded? | It is not. | There is no external evaluation of students. |
| Can students ‘vote’ on managing and deciding the budget? | Yes | |
| Can students ‘vote’ on the infrastructure of the school? | Yes | |
| Can students ‘vote’ on the management structure of the school? | Yes | |
School Description
| Questions | Answers
| |
| How often do school meetings take place? | Weekly | |
| Which decision making bodies are there? | General School Meeting | |
| Who decides who is in which decision making body? | General School Meeting (consisting of staff and students) | |
| What is the parents’ role in school life? | Involved in activities at the request of the General School Meeting | |
| What is the parents’ role in decision making? | None | |
| Who is financially and legally responsible for your school? | The Board of Directors who are elected by the General School Meeting | |
| Who makes financial and legal decisions? | The General School Meeting upon recommendation from the Board of Directors | |
| What is the school building like? | We have a multi building campus which includes bedrooms, multi purpose rooms, and large outdoor space. | |
| Is your school (partially or fully) a boarding school? | Boarding and day school open from September to May | |
| From how far do most students come from? | Both local and international | |
| In what kind of area is the school located? | Rolling hills of West virginia | |
| How is the school funded? | Tuition and donations | |
| Can students get a degree/diploma? | Yes, diploma awarded by General School meeting after 3 year residency, thesis defense, and Graduation Committee recommendation | |
| Is there any curriculum planning? | The only academic curriculum planning is created by individuals based on their interests | |
Further Description and Comments:
Please visit our website for more information. www.TheHighlandSchool.org