AURORA SCHMIDT

Staff
I have loved helping and exploring the world with children since I was in elementary school when my mom would take me into her preschool classroom to help out when I didn’t have school (it was the 90s!). Those days are my earliest memories of being trusted to do something very important as a kid. Over 25 years later, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that my mom’s trust and guidance in how to be a loving role model encouraged my growth in child-work, which has taken many forms including a rock climbing camp counselor at S-F Scout Ranch, a live-in nanny in the UK, an after school art and music teacher for Unleashing Potential, a case manager for houseless youth at both Covenant House STL and Youth in Need, a child care provider for my neighborhood’s Mutual Aid group, a substitute teacher for St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), a teacher for SLPS, and now as a staff member here at Sudbury. The more I study education and child psychology, the more I realize no single technique seems to work for every child. I have gotten to experience a huge range of learning from the huge range of people I’ve connected with over the past 25+ years, including many people who have wildly different experiences and perspectives from me. This is why I’m so drawn to Self-Directed Education (SDE); it leaves plenty of room for these different needs to be met. I began a graduate program last spring in Early Childhood Education while simultaneously teaching, and became extremely disillusioned when the disconnect between what I was learning about children and how the education system is set up became so glaringly clear. I never thought I could “change the system from within,” but I underestimated the weight of serving a system that I so strongly oppose. I had been studying unschooling and SDE since I started substitute teaching in SLPS, and came to the conclusion that for me and for many students I worked with, the compulsory nature of our studies stifled our genuine curiosity and drive to learn. I decided to take my own studies outside of a formal institution, and created a plan for how I will learn as much as I possibly can about SDE, doing my own self-directed studies. My ultimate goal is to engage students struggling in SLPS (queer students, and neurodiverse students) with SDE. I hope that my past experiences, my respect for the dignity and autonomy of children, and my openness to change will be beneficial to the Sudbury community. I’m so happy to be here! On most evenings, I can be found in my basement playing music or on my front porch reading a book about (no joke) child development.

jennifer lin

Staff & Board of Directors
Jennifer is a parent of a Saint Louis Sudbury School student and guides Sudbury’s admissions, human resources, operations, marketing, fundraising, and community outreach. Jennifer is also a freelance photographer, content creator, and digital engagement manager specializing in marketing and fundraising for nonprofits. Most recently she managed Metro Theater Company’s digital marketing and social media where she created, implemented, and assessed digital communication strategies to develop and achieve the organization’s earned and contributed revenue goals; strengthened public visibility; initiated new partnerships in the community; and protected the organization’s digital presence locally and nationally. Jennifer has 25+ years of marketing, public relations, graphic design, photography, and fundraising experience with nonprofit organizations including Metro Theater Company, the Missouri Chamber Music Festival, Saint Louis Sudbury School, the Carolina Chamber Music Festival, the Sacramento Opera, the Washington Performing Arts Society, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago. Jennifer’s freelance photography clients include Metro Theater Company, Missouri Chamber Music Festival, Treats Unleashed, Bread and Roses, Pure Barre, Gateway Center for Performing Arts, St. Louis independent schools, Chamber Project of Saint Louis, The 442s, families, and artists. She received her BA in English and Music: Piano Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MA in Arts Management from American University in Washington, DC. Jennifer is a parent resource for St. Louis region families who have children who are PDAers, an autistic profile also known as Pervasive Drive for Autonomy or Pathological Demand Avoidance. She lives in St. Louis with her family and continues to study ballet virtually with Maryland Youth Ballet.

JAMAL LIN-OSBORN

Office and Records Clerk
Bio coming soon!

BOBBY SKAGGS

Staff
Bio coming soon!

TOM OSBORN

Board of Directors
Bio coming soon!

BRITNI WIGE

Board of Directors & Tuition Clerk
Britni Wige is a mom to an almost 10 year old and is super passionate about Saint Louis Sudbury School, self-directed learning, and unschooling. Her other passions include Conscious Parenting, the environment, and human transformation. She's been with Saint Louis Sudbury School from the very beginning, first serving as a Founding Board Member, Tuition Clerk, and Founding Staff Member, then as Board Treasurer and Tuition Clerk. Last December she stepped down from her position to concentrate on her business. She's been an unwavering fan of the school and feels so honored and grateful to once again serve the Saint Louis Sudbury community.

KATHRYN BELCHER

Board of Directors & Volunteer
Whether at home, Saint Louis Sudbury School, or work, Kathryn can be found reading, experimenting, and asking questions. Her passion is to facilitate deeply respectful human environments. Enter the Sudbury model where life is education and education is life, where students and adults are all humans, and the pursuit of happiness isn't a "nice to have" but a given. Kathryn views volunteering as a gift she receives each week. She hopes to pay this gift forward by nudging industry towards democratic communities, who prioritize humans and our world. Childhood debates with her father, Student Government, music and the arts, industrial engineering, Lean manufacturing, foster care resourcing, and consciously parenting two Sudbury students - these and many other life experiences have shaped Kathryn. She's grateful to continue being shaped by the Sudbury community. 

VERONA CLIMER

Volunteer
Bio coming soon!

MAX OSBORN

Volunteer
Max spent much of his school years not feeling heard or seen, being labeled as learning disabled and a “troublemaker” without having the tools, trust, or resources to find his way. It wasn’t until he attended an alternative school in Northern California that integrated wilderness experiences with innovative classroom work that was more focused on building relationships among their small community rather than grades, that he began to see how learning really was a part of who he was. Once an avid skateboarder and snowboarder, Max now prefers more chill activities like drawing, painting, history, vegetable gardening, and walks. In addition to volunteering at Saint Louis Sudbury School, he is a dedicated volunteer at The Little Bit Foundation.

CHARITY STONE

Volunteer
Bio coming soon!