Introduction

                        I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast.

—Bob Dylan, “If You See Her, Say Hello”

One evening in September 1973, outside a small school building on Quadra Street in Victoria, a group of determined parents were waiting in line. They wanted to ensure that when the doors opened the next morning, they could register their children in Sundance School, the bold alternative experiment supported by the Greater Victoria School Board. Some parents brought chairs, and some brought bedrolls. Sharing their hopes and dreams for their children, along with snacks and coffee, it was the beginning of some beautiful, long-time friendships.

What was going on? Change was in the air. The NDP had won the provincial election in 1972. Young families, drawn to the vision of living in a more liberal province, had moved to BC. These families wanted a very different kind of school, one that guaranteed their children more freedom and a less authoritarian organization. But not everyone wanted more freedom for their children. Some families wanted even more structure. So a more structured experimental school, called Sentinel, also opened that fall.