by Gene E. Gary-Williams, Ph.D.

I freely admit that my first encounter with Fairhaven came as a result of panic and prayer. My grandson, who was 8 years old at the time, had provided early and consistent indication that traditional schooling was not for him. Further, it appeared that if the adults in his [...]

After sixteen years at Evergreen Sudbury School in Maine and Fairhaven School in Maryland, I retired in June. It was time to go and I have exciting plans, but leaving was hard. (And I hope to be back now and then as a sub.) I was tempted to write a thesis about how school has [...]

I recently spent an hour explaining the Fairhaven/Sudbury model to a relative and friend, whose brilliant, unusual son is dealing with a public school system that expects normalcy, appropriateness, passivity, and neutrality from its students.
I was reminded of how important it is (and sent him links to Danny Mydlack’s so-cool documentary)* that we have some [...]

I can’t begin to express what Fairhaven has meant to our family and to Robbie’s success in finding out who he is and how he wants to interact with the world.  As you may know, he was a defiant, rebellious, unmotivated youth when he came to you.  He is now a more level-headed young man [...]

My son was coming home from school, grabbing me by the arms, and growling in 3rd grade. He was getting good grades and was well-behaved, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that something was wrong. When he got out of the car to walk into school, I could see him stiffen up, [...]

I’ve been a Fairhaven parent for many years. You’d think by now I’d be quite accomplished. Think again! Each year and each developmental stage brings its own triumphs and trials, joys and sorrows. Subsequently, I have the opportunity to discover new things about myself as I grow in this process with my children.

When my [...]

My son is funny and witty and full of life- and information. At not quite sixteen, he has started pondering what he wants to do with his life. But things weren’t always this good. Three years ago, Simon was almost immobilized by migraines, crushed by depression, harassed by the public school system for absenteeism and [...]