# Democratic school
Self-directed learning, part 1: Steering one's own education
It’s summer break and most students are out of school, hopefully enjoying their time at home, on vacation, at camps, or playing with their friends. Maybe some kids are finding themselves bored and unsure how to fill their time. Three Rivers Village School’s calendar resembles, very closely, Pittsburgh Public School’s calendar so our students are also out. Though that may be one of the only resemblances our school has to PPS.
School update: Open house was an enormous success!
The weather was perfect for Three Rivers Village School and Arts Excursions Unlimited’s open house celebration in April. There was fun for all ages at the Arts Excursions Unlimited and Three Rivers Village School open house.Photo by Lauren McNulty.
Expanding into our new home on Chatsworth Avenue
Almost seven years ago, members of Three Rivers Village School started planning a move to the Hazelwood area. We were leaving our original location in Stanton Heights and looking for a more permanent place for our community—one where students could continue to thrive and grow—and we hoped we would find the perfect building somewhere in this neighborhood.
Remembering Daniel Greenberg, champion of democratic education
At Three Rivers Village School and the other 50 or so similar schools across the US and the world, we paused this month to honor the passing of Daniel Greenberg (1934-2021). In 1968, Greenberg left his job as a professor at Columbia University to found Sudbury Valley School in Framingham MA, alongside his wife, other parents and educators. That school centered the humanity of children by committing to protect their freedoms and their right to be heard as full members of a community. Greenberg worked at the school and promoted the model until his death, along the way writing more than twenty books about education and democracy. That school provided the inspiration and structure that shaped the foundation of Three Rivers Village School.
December-January: Happy memories of the Spartan Community Center
As we say goodbye to 2021 and prepare to move into the former YMCA building on Chatsworth, Three Rivers Village School would like to reflect on our time at the Spartan Center. TRVS moved here in 2015 before the Spartan Community Center of Hazelwood formed, back when Deacon Tom Berna was the de facto manager of the mostly empty former St. Stephens Catholic School building. We had planned to move to Millvale, but zoning exemptions and renovation challenges prevented that late in the summer. We were scrambling to find a suitable spot.