There are many insightful resources available about the Sudbury school model, Self-Directed Education, autonomy and children, school avoidance, Non-Violent Communication, Unschooling, and more. Here are some of our favorites!

BOOKS

Free to Learn, Peter Gray (2015)
Free at Last: The Sudbury Valley School, Daniel Greenberg (1995)
When Kids Rule the School: The Power and Promise of Democratic Education, Jim Reitmulder (2019)
A Different Way to Learn: Neurodiversity and Self-Directed Education, Naomi Fisher (2023)
Between Parent and Child, Dr. Haim G. Ginott (2003)
The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better, Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop (2025)
The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives, William Stixrud, PhD and Ned Johnson (2019)
The Seven Principles for Raising a Self-Driven Child: A Workbook, William Stixrud, PhD and Ned Johnson (2025)
Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Education Children Outside the Conventional Classroom, Kerry McDonald (2019)
Unschooling: Exploring Learning Beyond the Classroom, Gina Riley (2020)
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Marshall Rosenberg (2015)
The Compassionate Classroom: Relationship Based Teaching and Learning, Sura Hart and Victoria Kindle Hodson (2004)
Heart to Heart: Three Systems for Staying Connected, Gina Simm (2019)
Life-Enriching Education, Marshall B. Rosenberg (2003)
What Can We Do When School’s Not Working?, Abigail Fisher, Naomi Fisher, Illustrated by Eliza Fricker (2025)
A Clearer View: New Insights into the Sudbury Model, Daniel Greenberg (2000)
Reflections on the Sudbury School Concept, Mimsy Sadofsky (Editor), Daniel Greenberg (Editor) (1999)

AND MORE
Dr. Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn
”Former Students’ Evaluations of Experiences at a Democratic School”
Alpine Valley School Blog
Sudbury Valley School Blog
The Circle School Blog
Transforming Schools into Democratic Communities: Ramin Farhangi, TEDxIHEParis
Alpine Valley School Podcast
Arts & Ideas Sudbury School
Bruce Smith of Alpine Valley School: 15 Years in a New Paradigm
Sudbury Valley School’s Online Resources
The Alliance for Self-Directed Education
Progressive Education
New to Self-Directed Education?
LiberatED Podcast with Kerry McDonald
The Center for Nonviolent Communication