BY MICHELLE RENN
WEST YORK AREA HIGH SCHOOL
FOR THE YORK DAILY RECORD

Imagine waking up five days a week and going to a school where there are no grade levels, no teachers and no curriculum. There are no benchmarks to be met, no reports sent home to parents and no grades to be earned. There are no mass graduations, no formal transcripts and no schedules to be followed.

Imagine a school with no classes and no detentions; a place where every punishment perfectly fits the crime. Imagine a school where the students are free to explore the outdoors and mingle with other students. Imagine a school where, in place of a principal, a democratic government rules. Imagine a place where every day every student is practicing life.

Sound like a school only found in heaven? Well, such a school is closer than you think.

This is the reality for nearly 50 students who attend the Harrisburg Circle School.

Hidden from Pennsylvania's capital city behind a quiet and humble suburban development in a patch of trees up a narrow, winding road is the Harrisburg Circle School.

For more than 20 years, it has been one of Pennsylvania's only alternative schools.

For 10 years, it has remained Pennsylvania's one and only official Sudbury School, run according to the basic principles of the Sudbury schooling philosophy, which encourages personal freedom and due process while upholding the belief that learning comes in more shapes and sizes than textbooks and tests.

On any given weekday morning, students arrive anytime after 8, sign in and sign up for a housekeeping chore, which must be done before they leave for the day. The students may then read books, play video games, cook, hang out with friends, work on puzzles, sculpt, play guitar, go outside. . .the possibilities are endless.

Basically, students of Sudbury schools are free to spend their days as they wish and staff members may not chastise them for doing so. Kids can climb trees, play in the snow or talk to anyone they want, anytime they want. Every day, Sudbury students are practicing life and are free to pursue what interests them. Each student is responsible for his or her actions, as well as for being conscientious of others and their surroundings.

Lisa Lightner, 16, transferred out of the West Perry School District in Perry County two years ago to attend the Circle School. She said she likes the self-initiated learning and lack of rigid schedule.

"At the Circle School, there's more freedom," she said. "I don't feel like I'm ever wasting time and there's a lot less stress. . . . In the short time I've been here, I've been able to do a lot of defining of myself. I've learned what it means to be happy, to be fulfilled."

There is no cafeteria, so students are free to pack their lunch, make it at the school, order out, or, if a corporation is selling food as part of a fund-raiser, buy from it. Every day, various students and staff members are required to serve on the judicial committee, which is held at a specific time.

Consequences for misbehavior at the Circle School aren't the same as those at other schools. There is no detention, calls home to parents, point deductions or extra projects assigned. Each punishment fits its crime. If students do not complete their chores, they may be assigned three more to do. If they are screaming in a "quiet zone," they might be banished from that room until they demonstrate that they have learned to be quiet.

The Circle School is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and students may start and end their school day when they wish. However, they cannot come and go from school property during the day, and they must sign out when they leave so that their attendance can be recorded for state law purposes.

Like most other schools, students there are required by law to attend school 32.5 hours a week, or six-and-a-half hours per day, 180 days per year. If students miss any school hours on any given day of the week, they may make those hours up on another day as long as all 32.5 hours are met within the week that the hours were missed.

Circle School students do not receive formal transcripts. They do not even receive state-recognized credits.

So how do these students get into colleges?

Simple. If they want it, they work for it. Many students work hard and study for their SATs and therefore get into the college of their choice. Some opt to take colleges off campus, enroll in college classes or complete internships, all of which can earn them college credit. When they apply to college, they go through an interview to show what they have learned in the past four years.

The school does offer an optional degree program where students can graduate with a formal transcript and state-recognized credits.

Since there are no grade levels in the Circle School, students transferring out during high school who have not obtained any state-recognized high school or college credits begin in ninth grade. This happens regardless of the student's age, because Pennsylvania law is strict with obtaining credits.

The Sudbury philosophy holds that it is not necessarily about how much information you know, but how fast you can find it. Sudbury students do not cram for tests or memorize information without comprehension. Their goal is not the highest grade; it is complete understanding.

American mass education worked for a time, but now may only do a disservice to students, hindering their ability to function capably and responsibly in a democracy.

"If we want our kids to grow up to be effective adults in American society, we have to structure our schools to mirror society and produce confident, capable students," said Jim Rietmulder, a staff member at and one of three founders of the Circle School. "I believe that a good school has its students practicing life."