The Honorable Peter Beattie

Premier of Queensland

PO Box 185
Albert Street

Brisbane, Qld 4002

Dear Premier Beattie:

I am deeply concerned that the accreditation of the Booroobin Sudbury School in Maleny is being threatened.  The Booroobin Sudbury School is an excellent example of a democratic school that offers families a valid, credible choice for the education of their children.  The Sudbury model is respected in many countries--including the United States.

I recently had the opportunity to meet and welcome Ben Sheppard, a Booroobin student, to my home.  He was here in the U.S. to attend the International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC).  The IDEC was attended by over five hundred adults and children from twenty-six countries and twenty-five US states.  Many of these individuals were from Sudbury schools; others were from similar democratic models.  I was charmed and enchanted by this young man and the stories of his obviously exemplary democratic school in Queensland.  He was mature, self-assured, and obviously well-educated. 

I was appalled to learn that the Queensland Non-State School's Accreditation Board is attempting to withdraw Booroobin's accreditation.  As an instructor in the Teacher Preparation Department at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York, U.S.A., I attempt to help my students--future teachers--to be responsive and empathetic to children, supportive of democratic processes in children, supportive of children’s self-determination, and supportive of children’s emergent learning experiences.  These are the same values and skills that Booroobin implements in Maleny.

Please use your influence to stop this unjustifiable attack on the Booroobin Sudbury School.  

Sincerely,

Tim Graves, M.S.Ed.

Instructor, Academic Advisor

Hudson Valley Community College

80 Vandenburgh Ave.

Troy, NY 12180

U.S.A.

gravetim@hvcc.edu
www.hvcc.edu/~gravetim