Zena Democratic School

10/16/2026

Monday we celebrated Indigenous People’s Day, and in honor of it, we wish to begin this week in review by acknowledging that the land of our beautiful campus was originally stewarded by the Esopus peoples of Lenapehoking, and that these lands were taken from them by violent means. It can be difficult to know what to do when holding this history in our hearts, but making such an acknowledgement is perhaps a way to begin. For us, deepening our relationship with the land and learning how to steward it and belong to it is a way to proceed. KR, our Woods Director, has been working hard for years now to do just that, and to get us all out into our forest. This past week was Woods Week 🌲🌳🪾, which is a seasonal event here (pictured, six times). She had groups out there all day everyday, and highlights included daily fire circles 🔥, ranging from the southwest corner of the property all the way to the northeast corner in pursuit of geocaches, building fairy houses 🧚‍♂️ at Fire Circle, with sustainably harvested mosses and lichens, as well as crabapples and wintergreen, baby trees, birchbark, and tree cookies. Each house became an entire world unto itself and was built with so much industry and focus - the only pause was for c***r 😋 One of the youngest participants was struck with sudden inspiration to jot down a poem on a slab of bluestone. It read: Deep Dark / Shining / Bright ✨ Elsewhere on campus and in the week, there was a large burial procession for a deceased mouse 🙏(pictured), The school record for largest paper airplane (that actually flies) was set - and then broken! ✈️(pictured, four times), lunch and stories with Cheryl, a good friend of the school who has quickly become a bit of a school grandma 👵🏻 (pictured), Chet, joyfully taking care of things, as he has for 14 years ❤️ (pictured), new welding equipment! (pictured), our first chess tournament ♟️ (pictured), and so many friends being friends in various and beautiful ways (pictured, four times). What a joy and a privilege and an honor to be a part of a school like this, where people of all ages are free to be, to enjoy, to belong, to grapple and grow, and to offer their gifts to each other 🎁

10/10/2026

Week in Review!
Leading up to the school week there was a beautiful herbalism workshop on campus with friend-of-the-school Hannah Pearl 🪴🍵 (pictured); the group made a cherry bark syrup to use during the upcoming cold and flu season! Some favorite moments from the week include some serious beekeeping activity, including carrying a corner of honey comb on a slab of bluestone, stopping to take off bee hats 🐝🐝🐝 to have a first taste of honey, which offered a world of sweetness: goldenrod and aster and maybe a hint of late-blooming watch hazel 🌸 (pictured), finding some elusive American Chestnut trees in our woods(!), a beautiful doe ethically harvested from a nearby forest was respectfully (and privately) butchered by staff and students in the woods 🦌 (not pictured!), a School Store Clerk doubling as Twister Spinner 🤓🤪 (pictured), a new kitten introduced to a gleeful crowd in the parking lot, a geology walk with parent geologist 🪨 - we learned that our campus was once covered by a pre-historic river 🏞️🌊 (pictured twice)! A cozy nap (pictured), because it’s important to sleep when you’re sleepy! 😴💤some very cool art (pictured), because it turns out that when people are free they make a lot of very cool art, big group games (pictured) Wayfinder! (Pictured) ping pong on a perfect October day (pictured), because life should be like that, enthusiastically learning to read (pictured), because of course everyone wants to be able to do that, a rebel fort being built (pictured), the welding crew fixing a parent’s car (pictured, but without the car) 🚗✨, another great tennis session with Coach Bryan at Woodstock Tennis Club 🎾🎾🎾, new School Meeting Members proudly being elected to the Resolution Committee, lots of talk about what it means to be brave, and to learn and grow together, a visit from an alumni researching how to support young people in her community ❤️
See what grows in the human garden of freedom grounded in community! Such riches! Such richness! Thanks to all who make it possible, and to all who make the bold choice to trust people to live their own beautiful lives ✨🌈☔️🦄❤️

10/03/2026

Month in Review!!!
The transition is complete - the school year is well underway! There is so much to say about Zena Democratic School, because this is a place focused on people: on relationships, belonging, and community dynamics - on the vulnerability of being seen and the courage to own mistakes - on the endless quest for the best ways to do and to be, and to be together, and on the endless enjoyment of it all. The stories of this place are the stories of being human, and they are told and retold here.
The past month held so much: stories to fill a library, life to fill a heart. We watched so many new students make a big brave transition and find their footing, and so many we have known for so long, making their own transitions to meet their own moments.. Everywhere I look, I see young people thriving in the experience of freedom grounded in community that is the raison d’etre of ZDS.
But don’t take it from me: look at these photos! Pictured: our school photo 👯‍♂️ (minus the camera-adverse among us), scenes from our beautifully revitalized Art Room 🎨🖌️🖼️🤖👩‍🎨👨‍🎨, which now features a secret listening nook, a community-created Cardboard Village (since dismantled),, an enormous loom 🧶 and so much more magic ✨🎇 (the word everyone has used), our new Chess Club, calculating away ♟️🧮, infinite possibilities 👦🏻👦🏻👦🏻👦🏻👦🏻👦🏻, images of Wolfe Village, an expansive civilization created spontaneously over weeks, which has experienced economic surges and declines, political innovation and upheaval, and so much of the delight of creation 🪾🌳🏡😊, the Grant Team hard at work cooking up a Big One 🧐🤔📝, our budding BeeKeepers getting ready to harvest honey(!) 🐝🍯, Our School Meeting Chairman and Secretary hard at work serving the Membership, a young novelist typing away📝, an older student assisting a younger student to write a Request for Support 👯‍♂️,, signing up for the Variety Show (tonight!), a mysterious scene of our welding class, taught by a parent 🔥🧰👨‍, and some intensive and very far in advance birthday planning 🎂🥳
What a wonderful place! Thank you everybody who makes it possible. It takes a village to make a village :) ❤️❤️❤️

09/24/2026

Curious about self-directed education? Join us for an Open House at Zena Democratic School on Saturday, September 26!

Tour our campus nestled in the Catskill foothills, meet students, parents, and staff, and ask ALL your questions about how a democratic school works. A panel discussion begins at 2:00pm.

There will be snacks and great playgrounds for your kids to explore.

ZDS is a self-directed school for students ages 5-18. We offer rolling admissions which means your child(ren) can enroll this year.

Come learn about the power and beauty of self-directed education!

Can't make this Open House? We're also hosting Open Houses on January 23, March 6, and May 1. Save the dates!

Please RSVP, visit the link in the comments.

Hope to see you Saturday!

09/14/2026

Come check out the most innovative schoolhouse in the Hudson Valley!

At ZDS, we believe that young people are entitled to be themselves, direct their lives, and enjoy their childhoods in the presence of supportive community - and that when they are, curiosity, responsibility, and development arise naturally and spontaneously :)

07/17/2026

Zena Democratic School (ZDS) is located on a parcel of 67 wooded acres in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in the Hudson Valley region of New York State. Our campus is adjacent to the Bluestone Wild Forest and Onteora Lake recreation areas, which feature thousands of acres of public lands.

Our Main Building was constructed by the school in 2004. It is 5,000 square feet and contains 16 rooms of various sizes and shapes. A second building affectionately referred to as “The Box” adds 1,000 additional square feet of space and offers a distinct space for groups to pursue formal activities without interruption.

Space may be allocated to organized groups (the “Art Room” to the Art Cooperative), to individuals and informal groups via a Room Reservation process, or to school officials, or it may be left as a “commons.” These arrangements, as well as the furniture, layout, equipment, and other resources of the school vary from year to year at the behest – and by the effort – of the current student body.

Students are always free to go outdoors at ZDS. Our outdoor area features a blacktop area, a small playing field, grassy hills, picnic tables and lawn furniture, and a wooded natural playscape approaching an acre in size.

Ultimately, our campus is limitless; students are free to explore activities, internships, apprenticeships, classes, or other opportunities throughout the Hudson Valley during the school day.

Want to learn more about Zena Democratic School?
– Visit our website
– Attend an Open House
– Schedule an interview

Link in bio or comments.

07/09/2026

The primary aim of democracy is to reflect the will of the people in governance and to protect individual rights and freedoms. Democratic structures do not sustain themselves; they require an active, informed, and community-minded citizenry. They require continuous upkeep and rigorous checks and balances. They require a commitment by elected and appointed officials to govern ethically, honestly, and transparently. The Founding Fathers of the United States warned of degradation if any of these elements were to decay.

At ZDS, our participatory democracy operates on a majority-rules system (some issues require a larger majority). However, our school culture values working towards consensus and finding solutions that work for everyone. In the absence of such solutions - but in the presence of a genuine effort to find them - voting in the minority tends to be a cathartic experience. School Meeting Members respect the decisions of the Meeting even if they themselves did not agree, because they were heard, and often decisions were adjusted based on their input. Our democracy succeeds because it is practiced sincerely.

One of the most important set of decisions we make is how we want to be together and in the space; most schools conceive of these decisions as authoritarian “rules,” but given the democratic nature of our school it makes more sense for us to consider them agreements. Our Agreements speak to how we approach our experience at school, how we treat each other, how we keep ourselves and others safe, and how we want to show up.

Every Staff and Student has a right to collaborate, deliberate, and vote on all our Agreements and Boundaries, and joining the community requires one to agree, by signature, to follow whatever Agreements and Boundaries are current. Over the summer, we will be posting our Agreements along with comments and examples to describe what they look like in day-to-day life at school, to explain their importance to us, and to offer them, and the system behind them, freely to anyone who may be inspired.

Art collaboration with Christopher Sears

07/02/2026

Summer, fall, winter, spring. Whatever the season, we love our amazing staff.

This is Iliana (through the years!).

Our generously approachable, warmly present, and keenly observant Art Coordinator. Students love and appreciate both her guidance in art creation and her ability to see, understand, support, and have fun with them.

Iliana grew up in the Hudson Valley and has been drawn to the path of art since she was a teeny-tiny; she studied Art Therapy and Multimedia Art during her university days and has experience working with children in therapeutic and educational contexts.

At Zena Democratic School, she has found a perfect match for her temperament and her beliefs about education, and she is excited to pursue Masters work in Art Therapy.

Also, she likes to read the last page of a book before beginning at the beginning.

If you like this staff profile, find more on our website.

Happy summer, all!

06/20/2026

06/04/2026

Join us in Supporting Special Programming at ZDS

We get many student requests for things outside the scope of our programming budget.
Can we add welding and woodworking equipment and instruction? Can we seed an adventure travel program? With your support, the programming committee can meet even more of these requests!

This year, we are aiming to raise $20,000 during our Community Fund Drive.

Thanks to a generous donation, every dollar we raise will be matched 1:1!

Link to donate in comments