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Our school is governed through democratic meetings in which each student and staff member has one vote. All operating decisions, from the smallest to the most important, are made by the School Meeting. In the past, school members have regularly budgeted the tuition income of the school, interviewed and hired staff, and determined whether students met the School Meeting criteria for graduation. Traditionally, general School Meetings are held weekly to debate rules, expenditures of funds, and any other issues brought up by school members. Meeting Officers are elected to handle various activities for the School Meeting. For example, the Chairperson is responsible for running the meetings according to our modified Roberts Rules of Order. Clerks are elected to coordinate areas such as Visitors, Admissions, Attendance, Judicial Records, Maintenance, and Supplies. Much of the specific responsibility for a particular interest area is taken by guilds or clubs chartered by the School Meeting. Some examples of these have included: Music Guild, Computer Guild, Trip and Travel Guild, and Conservation Club. Committees are also set up by the School Meeting to solve problems or regulate areas designated by the Meeting. Past committees have included Space and Storage Committee, Clean-up Committee, and Judicial Committee. After rules are made by the School Meeting, they are enforced through the Meeting's judicial system. Although specific judicial procedures change, the basic principles of innocent until proven guilty, equality before the law, due process, and right to appeal are fundamental to our judicial practices. Students learn how democratic government operates as it functions in their daily lives. They become familiar with solving community problems, such as designing a system to handle rule breaking. They learn to evaluate the consequences of different solutions to problems and experiment with improvements. Through democratic interaction, they become better at expressing their own points of view and learn how to persuade others to support their opinions. Finally, they learn to listen to and reflect upon diverse ideas on a wide range of issues relevant to their lives.

The Highland School, Rt. 83 Box 56, Highland, WV 26346 - (304)869-3250