The Strawberry Fields Alternative High School Our History
Strawberry Fields in Sherborn and Millis, Massachusetts, provides
extraordinary learning environments where special needs students
gain a balanced perspective on themselves and the world; where lessons
of life are learned and the skill of living acquired. Unique to
the program is its relationship with the peace movement and its
focus on engaging its students in specially designed projects to
make the world a better place for those in need.
The work of The Strawberry Fields Alternative High School and The
Peace Abbey has received increasing attention nationally and - more
recently - internationally. Participants
at the Abbey's award and peace ceremonies over the past few years
include: Mother Teresa, His Holiness The XIV Dalai Lama, Dhyani
Ywahoo, Thich Nhat Hanh, Richie Havens, Martin Luther King III,
Paul Winter, Peter, Paul and Mary, Sissela Bok, Camelia Sadat, Fr.
Daniel Berrigan, Raul Julia, Arun Gandhi, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Patch
Adams, Lorri and Gene Bauston, Rosa Parks and many others.
What has attracted the attention of these and hundreds of others
to the work carried on at the school is the creation of an environment
that makes it possible for its students to transcend their apparent
disabilities. At the School, disabilities and difficulties in life
are seen as personalized growth opportunities which nurture inner
development and uniquely equip
the student to contribute to works of peace, social justice and
the environment. The goal of the School and Abbey is to affirm each
student in their heritage and mission as contemporary instruments
of peace. Though nondenominational, the School aspires to the principles
in Friends (Quaker) Schools, seeking to cultivate an awareness of
each person's identity as a peacemaker, and of the Peace Movement
as a way of life.
Certified by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
Department of Education.
School as a Vehicle for Peace
Everyone of you will ultimately judge yourself on the effort you
have contributed to building a New World Society, and the extent
to which your ideals and goals have shaped that effort.
Robert Francis Kennedy
The spirit of commitment and concern which characterized the decade
of the sixties gave birth to The Strawberry Fields Alternative High
School. Its creation was an extension of the alternative service
for its founder, who was discharged from the military as a conscientious
objector during the Vietnam War in 1971. The school embodies the
ideals and vision of his graduate thesis at Goddard Graduate School
for Social Change and is dedicated to the memory of his mentors,
Robert Francis Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Student Body:
Turning Difficulties into Opportunities
God has given each person a capacity to achieve some end. True,
some are endowed with more talent than others, but God has left
none of use talentless. Potential powers of creativity are within
us, and we have the duty assiduously to discover these powers.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students come to Strawberry Fields with "life challenges"
that are the result of, or complicated by, neurological impairments,
epilepsy, developmental disabilities, as well as secondary emotional
difficulties. The school is open to young people who could benefit
from and contribute to the extended-family learning process. Ages
of the students, academic levels and degree of disability cover
a broad range which enables each student to put his or her own life
challenge in perspective, and learn to develop the precious art
of counting one's blessings. Everyone at the school is helped to
discover their particular talent, with special encouragement given
to peacemaking as a worthy and honorable vocation in life.
The Strawberry Fields 
ts
at the Abbey's award and peace ceremonies over the past few years
include: Mother Teresa, His Holiness The XIV Dalai Lama, Dhyani
Ywahoo, Thich Nhat Hanh, Richie Havens, Martin Luther King III,
Paul Winter, Peter, Paul and Mary, Sissela Bok, Camelia Sadat, Fr.
Daniel Berrigan, Raul Julia, Arun Gandhi, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Patch
Adams, Lorri and Gene Bauston, Rosa Parks and many others. 
the student to contribute to works of peace, social justice and
the environment. The goal of the School and Abbey is to affirm each
student in their heritage and mission as contemporary instruments
of peace. Though nondenominational, the School aspires to the principles
in Friends (Quaker) Schools, seeking to cultivate an awareness of
each person's identity as a peacemaker, and of the Peace Movement
as a way of life.
Everyone of you will ultimately judge yourself on the effort you
have contributed to building a New World Society, and the extent
to which your ideals and goals have shaped that effort. 
The spirit of commitment and concern which characterized the decade
of the sixties gave birth to The Strawberry Fields Alternative High
School. Its creation was an extension of the alternative service
for its founder, who was discharged from the military as a conscientious
objector during the Vietnam War in 1971. The school embodies the
ideals and vision of his graduate thesis at Goddard Graduate School
for Social Change and is dedicated to the memory of his mentors,
Robert Francis Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.