Education Leaders Today Fall 2009

THE MAGAZINE FOR

C A P TA I N S O F I N D U S T RY

EDUCATION LEADERS TODAY

www.educationleaderstoday.com

Knoxville Christian School p. 34 a personal education with an emphasis on Christian ethics is accessible to everyone

Sustainable Schools p. 9

why the NAIS advocates the investment of time and money in five areas of school sustainability

Obama’s Speech to the Children of America p. 11 what the President had to say to students across the country

Our Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy Academy p. 56

Fall 2009

equipping young women to face the challenges and responsibilities of a progressively modern world

in this issue 06 Editor’s Note 11 Obama

Spotlights: 09 Sustainable Schools 15 Parental Involvement 17 Character Education 21 Multicultural Education 23 Experiential Education

Case Studies: 34 Knoxville Christian School This small, private school in eastern Tennessee remains committed to a valuesoriented education, leading students to grow academically, socially, and spiritually within an intimate learning environment.

38 The Laureate School The Laureate School’s mother corporation is a new educational entity that seeks to integrate the most successful learning strategies from around the world.

48 Community Preparatory School Since 1984, Dan Corley has been dedicated to serving low-income families by providing their children with a quality, innovative, and diverse education.

54 Our Lady Of Mercy Academy At Our Daughters of Our Lady Of Mercy Academy, young women are equipped to face the challenges and responsibilities of a progressively modern world 3 Education Leaders Today Fall 2009

Education Leaders Editor-in-Chief Todd Weaver Editor Diana Doyle Executive Editor Jonathan Mack Assistant Editor Joseph Orange Creative Director Art Director Photography Director Video Director

Ferdinand Modena Stephanie Hess Ian Palmer Susan Maybach

Editorial Director Haley Silverman Editorial Production Tiffany Calerdone Billy Jean Walker Alexis Walker Larry Issacs Correspondents Cynthia Dusseault Rebecca Rodrigues Lilly Macabe Sharon Dasent Vendor Relations Director Steve Peters Vendor Relations Todd Rogers Diana Stephens Patrick Storm Advertising Sales Director Peter Jostens Advertising Sales Jill Carp Steve Stone David Levi Publisher Steve Reed

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Education Leaders Today Fall 2009 5

EDITOR’S LETTER

Summer may be over, but there’s no reason to let your creativity wane.

While students are out for the summer, many schools have instituted summer programs to further learning. Other schools do no offer such programs and students attend private or public summer camps. Still, many students take traditional family vacations. A new study suggests that utilizing summer to expose your students to international learning experiences may be the best use of the summer vacation time.

We found this report from the American Psychological Association on smartstudyabroad.blogspot.com con-

firming that students who spend time in other countries are more creative than those who study in the states. The report is called “Multicultural experience enhances creativity: The when and how” and is a compilation of five studies of student groups who spent time at Paris’ Sorbonne, at business school INSEAD with campuses in France and Singapore, and at the Kellog School of Management at Northwestern University.

Researchers say their studies don’t prove that the study-abroad experience builds creativity per se, but that living abroad and cultural adaptation do result in more creativity among individuals.

I’ve included the abstract below: Many practices aimed at cultivating multicultural competence in educational and organizational settings (e.g., exchange programs, diversity education in college, diversity management at work) assume that multicultural experience fosters creativity. In line with this assumption, the research reported

in this article is the first to empirically demonstrate that exposure to multiple cultures in and of itself can enhance creativity. Overall, the authors found that extensiveness of multicultural experiences was positively related to both creative performance (insight learning, remote association, and idea generation) and creativity-supporting cognitive processes (retrieval of unconventional knowledge, recruitment of ideas from unfamiliar cultures for creative idea expansion). Furthermore, their studies showed that the serendipitous creative benefits resulting from multicultural experiences may depend on the extent to which individuals open themselves to foreign cultures, and that creativity is facilitated in contexts that deemphasize the need for firm answers or existential concerns. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for promoting creativity in increasingly global learning and work environments.

Diana Doyle

ddoyle@educationleaderstoday.com

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SPOTLIGHTS

SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS

NAIS asks schools to address the five areas of sustainability: global, environmental, financial, programming, and demographic.

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SPOTLIGHTS

O

By Cynthia Dusseault

ver the past decade and a half, independent schools—also referred to as private schools— have ridden high on the wave of an economic boom. Annual tuitions hit unprecedented highs, charitable donations rolled in, and endowment funds thrived, enabling these schools to offer a plethora of new programs and services, and to pay top salaries to employ top-notch teachers to implement them. But, the current economic downturn is threatening to bring this ride to an end.

Independent school enrollment is dropping. Endowment funds are dwindling. Parents are unable to reach as deeply into their pockets to make the donations that schools rely upon to supplement their budgets.

In fact, many parents—who in the past had no difficulty paying annual tuitions ranging from $3000 to $30,000 per child—are requesting financial aid from the schools themselves, or are moving their children into the public school system. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) advocates that independent schools earnestly address the following five areas of sustainability in order to achieve financial stability and rekindle the public loyalty necessary for their survival.

Financial Sustainability

Unlike public schools, which are funded by the government, independent schools generate their own funding.

During lean financial times, they have no choice but to cut costs, often by placing freezes on salaries, on hiring, and on program expenditures. This translates into a mandate to improve efficiency—to do more with less—and fortunately there are creative ways of doing this. Schools can, for example, offer special courses on a rotating basis, on alternate semesters or every second year. Innovative team-teaching methods can alleviate the burden of increasing class size. So, financial sustainability involves not simply 9 Education Leaders Today

Fall 2009

SUSTAINA Cynthia Dusseault talks about why the NAIS advocates the investment of time in money in five areas of school sustainability

cutting costs, but also implementing effective ways of compensating for them.

Environmental Sustainability

As Patrick Bassett, President of NAIS, points out in his article, “Independent Perspective: Developing Sustainable Schools,” a school is environmentally sustainable “when part of what is studied is the school itself: the school’s impact on the environment and its institutional example of environmental awareness and conservation.” Greening a school therefore should become part of the curriculum, involving

both students and staff in evaluating the school’s ecological footprint, and implementing changes and improvements in areas such as energy conservation, building and grounds maintenance, food services and lunch programs, and waste management.

Global Sustainability

This requires schools to form partnerships with service organizations and other schools, both locally and overseas, in order to provide students and staff with global experiences and perspectives, and to foster awareness and understanding of other cultures.

ABILITY Involvement in exchange programs, volunteer programs, and programs that address issues such as poverty, health, climate change, and the environment better equip teachers to teach about global issues, and prepare students for living and working in the global landscape.

Programming Sustainability

Independent schools must keep pace with the emerging trends—technological, scientific, environmental, social, etc.—of the century, and offer a curriculum that prepares students for playing productive roles in the workplace.

Incorporating new educational models, character education programs, and experiential and skills-based learning opportunities into the

curriculum are ways in which schools can ensure their programming is relevant.

Demographic Sustainability

A common criticism of independent schools as that they are homogeneous in aspects such as ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, and therefore fail to provide students with a true representation of the world’s diversity.

Independent schools must therefore focus on attracting a diversity in both students and staff.

For many parents, keeping their children in independent schools today means making sacrifices. A school that strives for sustainability is a model of responsibility, accountability, adaptability, and creativity, and many parents are likely to perceive that

sending their children to a school such as this—one that models what they would like to see in their children—is worth making sacrifices for. ELT

SPOTLIGHTS

President Barack Obama’s Back to School Speech to the Children of America Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today?

I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you.

I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

If you would like to submit a guest editorial or viewpoint, please send your submission to ddoyle@educationleaderstoday.com. Submissions must be 700 words or less and include a headshot.

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SPOTLIGHTS

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military?

You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into

President Obama September 8, 2009 Arlington, Virginia a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

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SPOTLIGHTS

13 Education Leaders Today

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams.

My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any

Fall 2009

different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves.

And I expect all of you to do the same.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

SPOTLIGHTS But the truth is, being successful is hard.

You won’t love every subject you study.

You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you.

You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave.

If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first

time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song.

You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It’s the story of students who sat where

you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down.

Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

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SPOTLIGHTS

F

by Cynthia Dusseault

or decades, educators have promoted the parent-school relationship as being a partnership, with parental involvement as the crux. The National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS), established at John Hopkins University in 1996, maintains that parental involvement is a key contributor to student success. “No topic in education generates greater agreement than the need for positive parental involvement,” the network’s website states. And because it does not simply happen by chance—as educators have also come to realize— the network offers support to schools, school districts, universities, and state departments of education in developing and implementing policies and practices that foster it.

It is critical for principals, teachers, and parents themselves to move away from the traditional notion that parental involvement is solely about parents volunteering in the classroom or the school—although that is certainly one aspect. Dr. Joyce Epstein, Founder and Director of the NNPS, advocates that schools adopt a multi-dimensional approach that targets the following six types of parental involvement:

Parenting

Through workshops, seminars, guest speakers, video presentations, and other information distribution programs, schools need to help parents become better parents. Nutrition, discipline, sleep, the transition to adolescence . . . topics depend on needs identified by the school’s administrators and teachers as being the most relevant to the families that comprise the school community.

Fostering a Positive ParentSchool Relationship with input from parents regarding what information they want to receive, when or how often they want to receive it, and what methods of communication are the most effective.

Volunteering

The most effective way for schools to encourage parents to volunteer their time is by creating volunteer programs that have well-defined structures, and that clearly outline volunteer duties and responsibilities, as well as the value of the services in terms of benefitting students and the school. An effective program may have a volunteer coordinator and several committees. It may include homeroom coordinators and grade level coordinators. And, it must support parents who prefer more subtle ways of volunteering, such as sewing costumes for the school play, or making playdough for the kindergarten class.

policies, or school finances. The PTA is one obvious avenue, but parents also need information about other opportunities for participation, for example at the district level, through advocacy groups, and through national organizations.

Collaborating with the Community

Fostering this collaboration has two aspects. It requires schools to provide parents with information about the community services and supports that are available to them. It also requires schools to involve students and their families in service learning projects, in which they partner with local organizations and businesses to perform worthwhile community services. When the school involve parents in activities that benefit the local community while providing valuable learning experiences to children, this can only serve to strengthen the parent-school relationship. ELT

Learning at Home

Communicating

For many parents, poor communication between the school and the home is one of the most frustrating aspects of their children’s education. School newsletters, e-bulletins, and the school website may suffice in communicating general information to parents, but today’s parents generally expect more specific information about their children and the progress they are—or are not— making, and parents expect communication to go both ways, so they are not just on the receiving end. A school’s communication policy should therefore be determined 15 Education Leaders Today

Getting Involved

Fall 2009

Addressing an often-overlooked area of parent involvement, schools need to provide parents with ways to help their children learn at home. Examples include interactive homework assignments, the provision of tips for helping children study, and the provision of summer learning packages.

Decision Making

Schools need to offer parents opportunities to participate in the decision making process, whether it relates to school operation, school

Schools need to help parents become better parents.

Nutrition, discipline, sleep, the transition into adolescense... topics depend on needs identified by school administrators and teachers as being most relevant to the families in the school community.

SPOTLIGHTS

social consciousness

I

Understanding the Movement to Cultivate Social Consciences in Our Children

by Cynthia Dusseault

n the words of Albert Einstein, “The most important human endeavor is striving for morality.”

Character education therefore merits our utmost attention. It has always been a part of our educational system. Dr. Thomas Lickona, developmental psychologist, acclaimed character education guru, and author of the highly touted Educating for Character : How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility (1991), and Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues (2004), wrote in the former, “Down through history, in countries all over the world, education has had two great goals: to help young people become smart, and to help them become good.”

Why then, are the ills of society—violence, corruption, greed, drug abuse, sexual immorality, the absence of a work ethic—so rampant?

Why has the educational system failed to foster a society in which individuals— all individuals—have social consciences? Lickona blames an overemphasis on academic achievement. The character education movement is a proactive effort on the part of educational institutions to change that, by shifting the emphasis to values, morals, and ethics—the shaping of character.

This shift in emphasis does not ignore or negate the value of academic achievement.

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Schools that focus on character education in fact report greater academic successes in their students. Through the development of virtues such as respect, responsibility, perseverance, integrity, selfdiscipline, and honesty, students acquire a work ethic that inherently promotes the gaining of knowledge and the pursuit of excellence.

Schools engaged in character education also report healthier overall learning environments, with fewer discipline problems, fewer incidences of bullying, and reduced absenteeism. Yes, this naturally translates into safer, more productive schools, but even more importantly, the students who come out of these schools have the values, morals, and virtues that enable them to be productive members of society.

Currently mandated in 18 states, and supported by legislation in 18 others, character education has no set form. Schools develop their own programs, based on the demographics and needs of their student populations.

Ethical discussions, critical thinking activities, mentoring programs, community service programs, environmental stewardship programs, leadership programs . . . these are just a few examples of how schools across the country are engaging in character education.

At Bright School, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for example, students in grades four and five teach computer skills

SPOTLIGHTS

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SPOTLIGHTS to senior citizens in a program called “Technology Coaches.” At Bayless Elementary School, in Kirkwood, Missouri, students have adopted a school for children with disabilities, in a program called “South African School Service Project.” In Derby Middle School, in Birmingham, Michigan, grade six boys are mentored by male staff members, in a program called “Invictus: Hanging Out With the Guys.”

Engaging students in work that is meaningful and relevant, that has a positive impact on others, and that focuses on effort and individual

growth as opposed to the attainment of finite measures of achievement are important hallmarks of character education programs. But character education is not limited to specially designed programs. As the mission statement of North Carolina’s State Board of Education avers, “At its best, character education integrates positive values into every aspect of the school day.” From teaching students how to be attentive listeners, to creating classroom behavior codes with student input, to injecting anecdotes about heroism

into classroom discussions, teachers have limitless opportunities to model and highlight the universal values and virtues that form the backbone of a moral society—and that build individual character.

Character matters because it gives our lives meaning and purpose. It helps us to act in ways that benefit ourselves, others, and society as a whole. As Lickona points out in Character Matters, “children are 100 percent of our future.” Character education therefore holds the promise of a brighter one.

Engaging students in work that is meaningful and relevant, that has a positive impact on others, and that focuses on effort and individual growth as opposed to the attainment of finite measures of achievement are important hallmarks of character education programs.

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SPOTLIGHTS

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SPOTLIGHTS

Multicultural Education:

the foundation of social change

C

by Cynthia Dusseault

all it anything you want: anti-bias curriculum, diversity curriculum, humanities curriculum, social justice and equity studies, ethnic studies . . . It has no simple definition; for example, the National Association for Multicultural Education, based in Bethesda, Maryland, puts forward one that is five paragraphs long.

And multicultural education manifests in a range of educational programs as diverse as the teachers who administer them and 21 Education Leaders Today Spring 2009

the students who engage in them.

When the civil rights and women’s rights movements of the 60s and 70s brought racism and gender bias to the forefront of social consciousness, multicultural education was brought to the forefront of educational reform, and it has remained there during the past several decades. Educators remain fervent about the need for an educational curriculum that promotes social justice, so multicultural education continues to be a significant and powerful educational movement, and that is unlikely to

change.

Among the many definitions of multicultural education, Dr. Sonia Nieto, in her book Affirming Diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (1996) captures the essence of the movement in relatively simple terms when she writes, “Multicultural education is a process of comprehensive school reform and basic education for all students. It challenges and rejects racism and other forms of discrimination in schools and society and accepts and

SPOTLIGHTS content * content * content affirms the pluralism (ethnic, racial, lin- music, traditions—of the different culguistic, religious, economic, and gender, tures represented by the students themamong others) that students, their com- selves. Not only did the program foster munities, and teachers represent.” She awareness and understanding of other goes on to say that multicultural educa- cultures, but it also helped students detion permeates all aspects of the curricu- velop self-esteem and a sense of pride in lum, and that it uses critical pedagogy, a their own cultures. teaching approach that encourages stuThe Orchard School in Indianapolis, dents to question and challenge domi- Indiana adopted a broader approach to nant ideas and theories. multicultural education, reforming the What then does multicultural educa- curriculum at all grade levels, from kintion look like—in practice? The reality dergarten through grade eight, and in all is that no two multicultural curriculums subject areas. For example, one of the theor programs look alike. At Cherry Hill matic units in kindergarten is fairytales, School in River Edge, New Jersey, for and students study fairytales from differexample, former teacher Carolyn Brush ent countries and cultures. A grade four developed her own multicultural So- Science unit involves students in learning cial Studies curriculum, called “Around about inventors from different cultures, the World,” for her grade two students. while a grade six Science unit examines Unique in that it drew from the diversity different theories about the formation of the students in the class, and was there- of the universe. Grade eight students defore different every year, the curriculum bate controversial issues such as abortion, explored aspects—clothing, holidays, cloning, and stem cell research.

Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C. takes multicultural education beyond the classroom to the larger school community, with programs such as the “Students of Color Mentoring Program,” the “Parent Diversity Discussion Series,” and the “Parent GayStraight Alliance.”

No topic is taboo or too sensitive to be approached through critical pedagogy.

And as society changes and evolves, so must multicultural education, by exploring, examining, and questioning emerging trends and issues, always approaching topics from the diverse perspectives that exist in the global community. This type of education, which fosters a respect for diversity, and a commitment to the principles of equality, is the basis of social change in society, and is therefore one of the most critical mandates of our schools. ELT

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SPOTLIGHTS

EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING BY DOING

by Cynthia Dusseault

F

or decades, educational experts have recognized the value of engaging students in hands-on activities. John Dewey, for example, advocated that experience is the basis of learning.

Jean Piaget maintained that a person’s interaction with the environment leads to intelligence. More recently, David Kolb, Ohio-based professor of organizational behavior, and author of Experiential Education: Experience as the source of learning and development, emphasized that experience coupled with emotion fosters learning. Experiential education addresses all of these by providing students with a curriculum that actively involves them, and that matters to them because of its relevance to real-world situations and issues.

23 Education Leaders Today

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Experiential education may well be the antithesis of the “back to the basics” movement, which relies on the delivery of abstract concepts in passive learning environments, and utilizes achievement test results as the principal measure of student success. What characterizes traditional models of education such as “back to the basics,” is the lack of a connection between students and the curriculum. In contrast, experiential education, with its focus on active engagement, cultivates that connection.

Students apply knowledge to real-world situations, test their knowledge, modify it, and build upon it. The Greeks called this process “praxis,” and its beauty lies in its simplicity: it leads individuals to seek greater knowledge and understanding, and to apply that knowledge and

understanding at increasingly higher levels.

The range of experiential education programs in schools today is diverse, and unique programs are constantly being developed and implemented as more educators recognize the value of engaging students in meaningful, hands-on learning experiences. In the primary grades, activities often center around exploring the environment and understanding aspects of nature. For example, primary school students at Oak Lane Day School in Pennsylvania spend a great deal of time studying the creatures that inhabit the school’s on-site marsh, pond, and creek. Students in middle and junior high schools often engage in outdoor education activities such as hiking and camping, which foster an appreciation of,

SPOTLIGHTS and respect for the environment.

High school students often study deeper societal issues, and carry out community or overseas service projects, sometimes even having the opportunity to work overseas on volunteer missions.

Experiential education programs are often oriented towards altruistic, humanistic, and environmental stewardship pursuits such as these, and because the hands-on nature of involvement tends to generate passion in students, about the topics they study, many students go on to pursue careers in related areas. This is a unique benefit of experiential education—this dual role of fostering career exploration in students, and promoting the growth of the labor force in areas that promise immense social and environmental benefit for society.

Another valuable experiential learning experience, which is easily incorporated into almost any subject area at any grade level, is the operation of a business. An egg hatchery, a bank, a greeting card or publishing company . . . school-based businesses such as these involve students in activities such as applying for jobs, managing finances, marketing, and conducting staff meetings. While these activities address several curricular areas— mathematics, language arts, science (as in the case of the egg hatchery)—at the same time, they prepare students for the real world of work.

Preparation for the future is the ultimate goal of education, and experiential education achieves this by helping students gain knowledge through communication, collaboration, evaluation . . . processes that they will utilize throughout their lives, that will help them make wise choices, and that will set them up for success in their future endeavours. It is somewhat ironic that a focus on abstract concepts and factual recall is considered “back to the basics,” when experiential education represents a more natural and practical way of learning. ELT

Education Leaders Today

Fall 2009 24

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SPOTLIGHTS

In

a time when the demand for entrepreneurial global citizens is on the rise educational institutions must adopt a new definition of rigor to ensure that students are prepared for an ever-changing and highly-competitive 21st-century world. Current high school and college graduates must be ready to compete in the world, and in a sophisticated and hightech marketplace. Many traditional modes of learning no longer produce desired results and there’s an epidemic of disengagement in secondary schools. Today’s students need a rigorous grounding in the new basics of collaborative problem solving, ethics and creative thinking. But with the current economic downturn and shrinking discretionary income, families need to be reassured—more than ever—that an independent school education is an investment worth making.

One independent school, Poughkeepsie Day School, in the mid-Hudson Valley two hours due north of New York City, is navigating tough economic times by staying the course of its original mission and, concurrently, launching bold new initiatives. PDS is expanding its reach through comprehensive branding and marketing officially launched in the fall of 2008. It has recently completed major construction and renovation projects that have added to its campus value and enhanced its already rich learning environment. And it has expanded the high school curriculum in ways that add choice and flexibility.

Progressive Commitment Innovation

Education: A to Ongoing

PDS faculty, students, and alumni share a common commitment to authentic, interactive and life-long learning. It harkens back to the school’s founding in 1934 by families from the Vassar College faculty and the local community – an era of great educational ferment in America. In the midst of the Great Depression, progressive schools – inspired by visionary educators - were making a real impact. A famous research project - The 8-year study (link) – began longitudinal research into the educational outcomes of contrasting approaches to learning and curriculum design.

Using thirty schools both public and private, it set out to study the outcome in terms of college success of students from traditional 27 Education Leaders Today

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and progressive high school settings. The findings were published in 1942 and confirmed what progressive educators had believed to be true – creative interdisciplinary teaching had profound and positive effects on college outcomes. Poughkeepsie Day School was founded with just such beliefs about learning inspired by the thinkers such as John Dewey, who espoused the importance of an education rooted in experience, intellectual activity and democratic values. From the very beginning, the school’s focus on critical and creative thinking, collaboration and community service have distinguished it and contributed to its ongoing success as a unique institution. PDS is still recognized for its learning-centered, interactive and interdisciplinary definition of academic rigor.

“Our teachers have that all-important combination of empathy and expertise.

They love working with students and they also care deeply about their subject area,” said Sandra Moore, the school’s director of communications and a 30-year career veteran as a senior administrator in colleges and independent schools. It was a desire for her own two sons to benefit from a PDS education that drew her to the school. “There’s so much one-on-one interaction and an understanding and appreciation of each child’s individual qualities—and how their talents can be developed. That’s what the parents are paying for.”

PDS is one of a handful of independent schools that assess students—from pre-k all the way through high school—using narrative reports rather than traditional letter or number grades. The school believes it’s important to set ambitious but individual educational horizons for every student. Grading systems, however complex, are always one-size-fits-all and diminish the actual educational progress by leading everyone to focus on grades, not on learning. PDS knows all its students want to succeed and rather than sorting them, helps each one of them set and meet ambitious personal goals. PDS students are assessed by what they can accomplish in the world, not by assigning a subjective letter or number. We have a test-obsessed education system that’s not looking at the tests that actually matter.

Moore says that while the academic standards across the three academic divisions are very high—and many at PDS liken the challenges of the high school to those encountered in a small liberal arts college—students are known and valued for who they are and for their individual contributions and achievements. Every senior speaks at commencement. And the school

SPOTLIGHTS

BOLD NEW INITIATIVES

Sandra Moore discusses the opportunities and challenges of one of the top day schools in the U.S.

by Diana Doyle

Education Leaders Today

Fall 2009 28

SPOTLIGHTS

emphasizes the importance of the right college match, rather than pushing students toward particular colleges based on the prestige factor alone. PDS students have a competitive edge in the college admissions process, and not just because of their rigorous preparation: they stand out.

She adds, “Our college placement record is very impressive and colleges tell us time and time again how much they value our detailed reports and how those reports give our students added dimension and depth as they evaluate candidates within their applicant pools.” PDS students benefit from comprehensive college counseling, courtesy of a five-member counseling team including administrators with prior college admissions and financial aid experience.

PDS is always looking for how to do things better. This past fall PDS introduced an eight-day rotating schedule that expands the range of course offerings for high school students while also allowing time for a strong extracurricular program and student-led initiatives. The schedule looks at time in flexible ways, knowing that not all subjects need to be taught in the same time configurations on all occasions. An Intensive Studies block allows students to complete certain academic credits in an extended time period that also allows for courses with sustained off-campus time.

A required, month-long off-campus senior internship provides students with authentic experience of the world of work invaluable as a stepping stone to the greater independence of college.

Internships often lead to clearer college options, career choices and to summer and post-college jobs. “One senior, who was admitted to a very prestigious engineering college, so impressed the Manhattan engineering firm she interned with—she actually designed a beam on a building—that the company made a significant contribution to our Annual Fund in her name, “ recounts Moore.

Past and Future Generations

While Poughkeepsie Day School may not be big on grading students and, indeed, de-emphasizes competition as a means of motivating students, the test 29 Education Leaders Today

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of time is one that PDS has definitely aced. In 2009-20010 the school will celebrate its 75th anniversary. Since 1934, enrollment has increased from 35 students to 320, the annual budget has increased from just over $5 thousand to $5 million. Over time, the school also added a pre-kindergarten and in 1999 added the high school.

For all the forward thinking and innovation PDS is still rooted in the educational traditions of its founders who dreamt of a better way to educate children and made that dream a living reality. Head of school Josie Holford says that the school’s upcoming anniversary year will offer numerous opportunities to honor the school’s founders, former heads of school and faculty members and the philosophy that still nurtures

and guides the school’s growth and progress.

PDS makes a strong effort to stay in touch with alumni and hopes to get them back on campus for a series of events during the upcoming anniversary year. Three alums, including a lawyer and children’s advocate, a high-tech business owner and a nationally-known political polling expert, currently serve on the school’s board of trustees. Notes Holford, “Two of these alumni actually relocated their families so that their children could attend PDS. That is the kind of commitment our alumni have to the school and all that we stand for.”

And when old friends return to PDS next year, they will find a brand-new, 4,000 square-foot addition to the school’s Elizabeth C. Gilkeson Center,

including two custom-built science laboratories and a renovated and upgraded gymnasium. The historic Kenyon House, built by industrialist Clarence Kenyon as his retirement home in 1913, has undergone an historic renovation, revealing long-hidden leaded glass windows, gleaming oak parquet floors and intricate molding and other architectural details.

And what do current students think of the newly spruced-up campus?

Moore says, “Our students just love the improvements, especially the new student-teacher learning center and the solarium, which is perfect for quiet study. The kids are so positive and upbeat. It’s really a joyful place to be a part of.”

Technology

Over the past decade technology has become a make-or-break concept for most organizations and it serves as a test of how well an organization manages change and integrates new concepts.

This is a test that PDS has successfully faced. Every student in seventh through twelfth grade owns a laptop allowing opportunities to work on interactive projects with other students in the classroom as well as around the nation and world. The classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards and the school uses social networking tools for communication and outreach and to be part of a wider professional learning community. It has a Facebook page with a growing list of over 100 fans and uses wikis for collective knowledge building.

Students have an iTunes Podcast channel and YouTube channel and head of school Josie Holford, the librarian and math specialist all maintain blogs. The school’s commitment to environmental sustainability and a greener school is aided by a school-wide SustainablePDS wiki that serves as a repository of ideas and progress.

The school’s technology integrators work side by side with teachers on a daily basis to ensure that technology is working in the service of the school community and its educational mission.

Holford says that schools must recognize and embrace the fact that electronic media have been and will continue to be omnipresent in students’ home and academic lives. She believes that PDS has the ability to educate

SPOTLIGHTS

students against the disruptive nature of technology by listening to, learning from and enabling them to navigate the digital universe intelligently, safely and appropriately.

“Our vision for students is that they use these tools in ethical ways and become active seekers, users and creators of knowledge,” said Holford in PDS’s Summer 2008 issue of Currents, the school magazine. “We have the opportunity and the obligation to help use those tools constructively, to enter the conversation with kids about the uses and abuses of technology.”

Much of PDS’s technology systems were made possible through a partnership with IBM that began in 1995 when PDS purchased two IBM buildings that became available towards the end of the school’s 50-year land lease at Vassar College. The generous IBM K-12 Matching Grants program allows current, former and retired IBM employees to make contributions to the program that are matched 4 to 1, in the form of IBM equipment.

“Hundreds of thousands of dollars came through because of this program,” said Moore. “Our relationship with IBM has continued through our decision to become a laptop school and has been beneficial to us and to them and we are grateful to the company for all of the support it has given us.”

Brand Equity

Initiated two years ago, the school’s re-branding process began with the selection of a highly regarded marketing and communications company—Free Range Studios, founded and directed

by PDS alumnus Jonah Sachs ’93. Free Range conducted market research with the school’s various constituent groups that resulted in the development of a creative brief, used to inform the content and tone of resulting communications vehicles, both print and electronic. As part of that process, a revised logo and new tag line—many minds, one world— were established. The school produced a new viewbook, based on the six pillars identified as the core values and principles of a PDS education. Free Range Studios has designed a cutting-edge Web site, powered

by Magic Hour’s MagicWand Web content management system, to be launched before the end of the school year. The only pre-k through grade 12 school of its type in the area, PDS is also positioning itself in the Education Leaders Today

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SPOTLIGHTS larger market that includes families from New York City and its northern suburbs..

One dilemma PDS faces is explaining the power of its approach to learning, teaching and success. In the absence of the GPAs and class rankings that many parents see as achievement markers, the school needs to speak with clarity about what matters most.

Schools like PDS take strong academics for granted – as the baseline on which the program builds. Strong skills in the traditional subject areas are essential but the 21st century also requires people who are comfortable with ideas and abstraction, who can analyze and synthesize and be creative, self-disciplined self-sustaining learners for life. It needs people who can work well as a team and communicate skillfully and effectively across borders and disciplines. And it needs problem solvers who are ethically driven to find solutions and care deeply about issues of equity and justice. These are the valued added returns on investment that come with a PDS education.

PDS is not right for everyone.

Independent thinkers and children who are curious and creative thinkers thrive at the school where they find community with like- minded students.

Like many independent schools, PDS battles the stereotypical view that the socioeconomic and ethnic/racial make-up is less than diverse. The fact is that many independent schools are far more diverse than the increasingly segregated public schools. More than 23% of PDS students are identified as students of color (the average at independent schools, according to the National Association of Independent Schools is …) and 18% receive needbased financial aid this year. The school is grateful to an anonymous donor who over the past several years has committed $25,000 to a Diversity 33 Education Leaders Today

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Challenge grant program at the school to benefit the financial aid program.

An Education for the New World “The challenge is to prepare students for their future and not our past,” says Holford, who believes we must keep asking the questions about the curriculum that will best prepare young people for their futures and give them the skills, values, aptitudes and attitudes that will enable them to thrive. Poughkeepsie Day School is confident that it is not just on the right path, but that its philosophy

and approach to learning distinguish it as an educational leader. Says Holford, “It was in those times of great economic uncertainty that the school was founded with a determination to offer its students a first-rate education. In its 75 years PDS has provided an exceptional education while persevering through turbulent social and economic times. The work we have done in shaping our mission and creating our strategic plan and implementing its priorities means that we are poised for even greater success in the future and will emerge from this troubled period stronger.” ELT

SPOTLIGHTS

Knoxville: a ValuesOriented Community

by Jane Caffrey

At this nondenominational private school, a personal education with an emphasis on Christian ethics is accessible to everyone

“E

ducating for life… and eternity” is the philosophy closely adhered to at Knoxville Christian School. This small, private school in eastern Tennessee remains committed to a values-oriented education, leading students ages 3 through 12 th grade to grow academically, socially, and spiritually within an intimate learning environment. A non-denominational Christian school, KCS draws students from an array of Christian backgrounds.

With the central goal of developing students into thoughtful, well-rounded contributors to the overall community, Knoxville Christian School offers a values-oriented education, based in Christian ethics, to everyone.

Knoxville Christian School, located

just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, originally started as a pre-school and kindergarten in 1969, in the West End Church of Christ. Yet in 1978, when 67 acres of land were donated by the Knoxville family for the construction of a school building, Knoxville Christian School was officially founded, offering excellent education and a strong curriculum to students from the pre-school to high school levels. An additional wing was added in 1983, and development has continued up to the present with the opening of a new high school building this fall.

Today, Knoxville Christian School is dually accredited by the National Christian School Association and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Home to 90 students and 19 faculty members, small class

sizes allow each student to receive the individual attention needed to advance academically—in knowledge, faith, and confidence.

Cooperative learning is the educational method most widely utilized at Knoxville Christian School, in an effort to prepare students for future professional endeavors and engagement in the larger community.

Throughout the education process, teachers expect and lead students to think critically and collaborate in the learning procedure. “I prefer the hands on visual learning,” William Childers, former Principal, said. “I feel like any cooperative learning methods that you can use in association with any hands-on projects or learning styles is the best way. I feel that those skills are very important to them beyond the 12 th Education Leaders Today

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FEATURE

grade.”

An elaborate support system within the small community also encourages student success. With a student to teacher ratio of 7 to 1, small class sizes allow teachers to focus on specific student needs. “We keep our ratios down the best that we can, so teachers are not as overwhelmed as some public teachers are, “ Childers said.

In an intimate learning environment, student accomplishments are regularly published and applauded.

Parental involvement plays a vital role in student education as well, exemplifying the importance of a 35 Education Leaders Today

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community support network. Parents are regularly encouraged to volunteer at the school, assisting with events such as field trips or parties. “It’s helped tremendously that the kids know that at any time, the parents are welcome. We really have an open door policy, if the parents wish to come to address some concerns or give praise. The kids know that the parents are welcome here at any given time,” Childers said.

Community support and participation is not only evident within the classroom, but also outside of class through a variety of extracurricular activities. Students may chose to

participate in competitive team sports, chorus, drama, art, and a variety of summer programs. The school offers current events and business courses, brings in world-class guest lecturers, and organizes area discovery fieldtrips.

All are efforts to increase awareness of larger global happenings, and allow students to develop personal interests and prepare for future professional endeavors.

While recent national economic recession has hit the education sector hard, Knoxville Christian School, with a $500,000 annual budget, has not faced many cut backs, apart from

FEATURE limiting luxury products on teachers’ wish lists. “We haven’t needed to scale back too much. We’ve had people donate, which really helped us keep up. We’ve had some really good success with the capital campaign that we are currently under, and the two major fund raisers have done well this year,” Childers said.

The school is currently partaking in the “Saving Today, Securing Tomorrow Capital Campaign,” designed in March of 2009 by the Board of Directors. The innovative capital campaign aims secure the vitality and quality of the values-oriented education offered at Knoxville Christian School. To launch the program, the Knoxville family offered a $400,000 matching gift, dollar for dollar and to be completed within a time limit.

So far, the family has matched a $50,000 donation given by one family, and $59,000 provided by multiple donors.

The school has received a total of $218,000 from the

campaign to date, and the venture has the potential to raise up to $800,000.

Childers remains confident about the school’s economic and academic future, believing that enrollment will greatly increase within the next five years. “We are in an area in Tennessee just outside of Knoxville that is really growing in the surrounding areas,” he said. “We also receive some students that are dissatisfied with some public schools due to overcrowding, and they come here. I think that enrollment will be up.” With projections for an increasing number of students and a successful capital campaign in motion, Knoxville Christian School remains on track for a prosperous future.

The promise of a valuesoriented, community-aware education for students of all backgrounds will continue to be within reach in the upcoming years.

Education Leaders Today

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37 Education Leaders Today

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FEATURE

THE LAUREATE SCHOOL

Recent frustration with No Child Left Behind and a stale public school curriculum in surrounding communities has led Laureate School to even greater success despite an economic recession. The Laureate School’s mother corporation is a new educational entity that seeks to integrate the most successful learning strategies from around the world.

Education Leaders Today

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FEATURE

The World of Education…

by Rebecca Rodriguez

At the Laureate School in San Luis Obispo, Calif., building character and preparing students for the 21st century is as important as teaching the times table.

The pre-kindergarten through 8thgrade private school’s international slant on academics goes hand-in-hand with stressing character virtues like responsibility and respect. Students not only take courses in Mandarin

39 Education Leaders Today

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and Spanish, they earn Character Awards for the current monthly character trait from “the three pillars” of the school’s Character Education program: stewardship, leadership, and citizenship. On the first Friday of each month the school conducts a Character Assembly lead by middle schoolers who give the awards and then introduce the latest character trait to be focused on, such as responsibility.

Teaching critical thinking in a projectbased format is part of the 21st century vision the school prescribes.

“We need to prepare students to be problem solvers,” said head of school Roz Reymers. “Today’s world demands abstract thinkers. Our goal is to equip students with the key competencies needed for the 21st century: knowledge, collaboration and critical thinking, and methodological expertise.”

The Laureate is run by Eucasia Schools Worldwide, Inc. which took over the school in 2007 from The Laureate Private School. Uwe Gemba, visionary and CEO of Eucasia and former headmaster of The Laureate, now focuses on developing the international student component of the school. Eucasia is a newly-formed corporation that seeks to integrate the most successful educational models from around the world. The curriculum of the school focuses on critical thinking, group problem solving, and the development of positive character traits. All of this is based on the concept of citizenship from a human and global perspective. Eucasia’s motto is “The World of Education Under One Roof.”

Parents are seeking a more enriched curriculum and school community, Reymers said. With public schools focusing on more traditional learning and teaching-to-the-test, local parents are turning to The Laureate.

“Parents want to see their children excited about education,” Reymers said. “We want to de-emphasize text book learning and bring the curriculum alive. Research shows that motivating, engaging learning increases academic achievement.”

FEATURE

...Under One Roof She also sees parents in the community concerned about public school budget cuts that translate into larger class sizes. While public and local parochial schools carry studentto-teacher ratios of about 1 to 30, The Laureate’s cap is a 1 to 20 ratio. First grade has a reading support teacher in the mornings, second and third as needed; and kindergarten has two full-time teachers. Because there is such a wide range of abilities in the younger grades, the ratios are lower, adds Reymers. Typically, kindergarten and first grade classes have six reading groups to accommodate the wide spread. “The closer learning can be geared to a student’s learning level and pace, the more engaging and effective it can be.”

Parental frustration with No Child Left Behind legislation has also meant increased enrollment for The Laureate.

Reymers said the law has forced public schools to focus on the lowest performing students and has left behind the advanced and gifted students. This

sentiment has led to a recent increase in mid-year transfers to the school. The affluent community that surrounds The Laureate has enjoyed successful public schools in the past. But approximately two years ago, said Reymers, parents realized that something wasn’t working within public education. The stale curriculum – based on rote learning and

teaching to the common denominator – was deficient in so many aspects, she adds, that many parents decided to invest in a private education. The Laureate charges $6,000 to $7,000 per year depending on the grade level.

Parent involvement enriches the classroom curricula and is encouraged.

“There is a correlation between parent

Education Leaders Today

Fall 2009 40

FEATURE

Educational Records Bureau (ERB)

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41 Education Leaders Today

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FEATURE

involvement and student achievement,�

Reymers said, adding that one architect parent and one city planner parent helped out in a first-grade class during a unit about communities by making a blueprint with students. Additionally, parents help out regularly in the class gardens.

The school’s state-of-the-art technology lab with Macintosh computers is used to teach digital literacy. Recently, kindergartners put together Power Point presentations with a cover slide for title and author, and a beginning, middle, and end slide of a book they read as a class.

Computers are also provided in classrooms and are integrated into the curriculum, even in the early grades.

Reymers, whose background is private school curriculum and program development, said it’s this type of hands-on approach to learning that

Education Leaders Today

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FEATURE

43 Education Leaders Today

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FEATURE

engages students the most. School administrators are striving to make their educational philosophy a model for other schools. Incorporating a global vision with a solid curriculum and character education is what makes their school so unique and successful, she said.

The school began in 1981 as a preschool with 14 students in a private house. In 1986 the school grew to include kindergarten through 8thgrade classes, operating from the west wing of the former San Luis Junior High School. Finally, in 1994, the school moved to the current 10 acre site at 880 Laureate Lane.

Last year the school began conducting Education Records Bureau (ERB) testing as a gauge of higher academic achievement and placed in the 90th percentile in all areas of language arts at the exiting eighth grade level. Results just in for this year bring mathematics within that 90th percentile as well. ERB provides assessment tools based on higher content standards for independent and private schools. Although public schools may adopt the “ERB’s,” few in California do – in fact, no private schools within The Laureate’s local area do.

Score reports substantiate, The Laureate nurtures self-confident, engaged learners who are well prepared to enter ninth grade bound for personal and academic success.

ELT Education Leaders Today

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45 Education Leaders Today Spring 2009

FEATURE

COMMUNITY PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Since 1984, Dan Corley has been dedicated to serving low-income families by providing their children with a quality, innovative, and diverse education.

Donations and endowments make it possible for 90% of students to receive financial aid and their reputation has allowed them to continue to attract quality teachers, despite a comparably low compensation.

Education Leaders Today

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FEATURE

RESPONSIBILITY & DEDICATION

E

ach morning the students, teachers, and administrators from Community Preparatory School join together to recite a daily affirmation that includes the lines, “This day has been given to me fresh and clear. I can either use it or throw it away.”

It reflects the spirit of responsibility and dedication that emanates throughout this 3rd- through 8th-grade private school based in Providence, Rhode Island.

Dan Corley, head of Community Preparatory School, founded the school in 1984. He started with 25 students and 49 Education Leaders Today

Fall 2009

a dedication to providing a private school that would foster excellence in education for low-income students of mixed ethnicity. That philosophy continues today with 152 students, 34 percent Latino, 24 percent African-American, 17 percent Bi-racial, 15 percent Caucasian, 7 percent Asian, and 3 percent NativeAmerican. Diversity is one of the keys to the school’s uniqueness. As is the high expectations for students.

The school puts a good deal of responsibility on students, encouraging them to be self-directed learners. In 1996 the faculty adopted a Responsive

Classroom ™ approach that balances teacher-directed instruction with child-initiated learning. Students have “Portgolios,” in which they set goals for themselves during conferences with teachers and parents at the beginning of each trimester.

Ninety percent of the students receive substantial financial assistance for the $11,800 yearly tuition. The school depends on an 80 percent endowment to meet its $2.3 million operating budget.

Tuition covers only 20 percent of that budget. Most traditional private schools reverse those numbers with about 80

SPOTLIGHTS

Headmaster Dan Corley discusses how Community Preparatory School succeeds by teaching the value of responsibility and dedication to its students

to 90 percent coming from tuition.

Community Preparatory School’s life-line is donations. However, that endowment is being threatened by the current turbulent economy. Within the past year, donations have dropped 30 percent.

“There’s just no sense of what the future will bring in terms of the stock market.

My guess is that it (endowments) will be a challenge for the next few years,” he said.

But Corley is optimistic about the security of the school in the future, saying that strong, responsible fiscal management is the key. There are

business people on the school’s board and every year the school brings in more than they spent. One of those people is Dr. Robert W. Hahn, who helped found the school and was Corley’s roommate at Brown University. Hahn, who lives in Washington, D.C., has served as a senior staff member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors and has worked as a consultant to government and industry on a variety of issues involving regulation and privatization. Community Preparatory does receive Title I funding and under the government’s new stimulus package. That could go up 51 percent in

the next two years if the stimulus funds will make it into non-public schools, Corley said.

Corley hopes continued local and national press attention for the school’s innovative teaching and dedication to serving low-income students will help invigorate the flow of money. Local television stations have highlighted the school’s calculator club and investment club. Links on the schools website (www. communityprep.org) enable visitors to view the press clips. Students in the calculator club are shown rejoicing, arms raised in the air as they calculate Education Leaders Today

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math problems in their heads, beating the calculator ten times in a row. The investment club clip shows students joined around a table deciding which stocks would bring them the best returns. A donor gift of a $5,000 yearly endowment is used to fund their purchases. Other clubs include a poetry club and a book club, part of the schools Prep Plus program that provides before- and after-school enrichment programs.

The school curriculum is taught using an interdisciplinary, co-operative learning model that enhances both academic and social skills development. Subjects are taught under a common theme and students are often working in small groups.

The school has a 16-to-1 student to teacher ratio and 24 educators. The third, fourth and fifth grades have one class per grade level and the 6th, 7th and 8th grades have two classes per grade level.

Competition from magnet and charter schools has not affected enrollment numbers, and Corley said he has supported the push for such schools.

“I’m totally in favor of school choice.

The more choices a student has for their education, the more choices that students will have of succeeding,” he said.

Acceptance into the school is no easy task. Students must undergo an interview and pass an admissions test on reading, math and non-verbal problem solving.

They must read on grade level and speak fluent English. The school turns away two out of every three applicants due to space

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and fiscal constraints. But once a student is accepted and works hard to graduate, the chips are stacked in their favor. About 92 percent of the school’s graduates are accepted into exam-based, classical high schools. More than 50 Community Prep graduates have received scholarships and diplomas from high schools ranked among the country’s top-performing schools in mathematics, science, and technology.

The school’s effort to focus on science and technology includes an Apple-Macintosh server-based network with a computer lab, two mobile computer labs, and classroom computers - all of which have wired and wireless, high-speed Internet access.

Corley stresses the quality of his teaching staff when discussing the school’s success.

Despite being paid about $5,000 to $10,000 less than public school teachers, Corley said they’ve never had trouble attracting good teachers. His teachers have a tremendous impact on their students.

“The teachers are highly respected and see themselves as shepherds of the community,” he said, adding that teaching is a labor of love.

Corley has worked hard for 25 years building the Community Preparatory School with a fresh and clear vision of what it has become today. Like Corley says in his morning affirmation with faculty and students, he has made the best of his days and never thrown them away. Not a bad model for his teachers and students who work hard each day at a unique school tucked in the heart of South Providence.

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Educating For A Changing World At Our Daughters of Our Lady Of Mercy Academy, young women are equipped to face the challenges and responsibilities of a progressively modern world

by Jane Caffrey

In

today’s increasingly global society, change sweeps in rapidly in the fields of technology, language, science, sociology, and policy. Yet an excellent education, according to the philosophy at Our Lady of Mercy Academy, is the key to preparing the next generation with skills to address such change.

A Catholic, accredited college preparatory school for young women of the south New Jersey area, Our Lady of Mercy Academy strives to develop each student to her full potential— intellectually, socially, and morally.

Offering a well-rounded education, the academy prepares students for higher education and equips them with the

tools to address, with Christian insight and responsible citizenship, the various challenges of a constantly changing modern world. “We try to develop them spiritually and academically,” Bonnie Hamerstedt, Development Director, said. “They are here to learn, and they are here to be prepared for the next step.”

The history of Our Lady of Mercy Academy traces back to the coastal town of Savona, Italy, where Saint Mary Joseph Rossello gave birth to her vision of educating young women living in poverty situations. In her small town, St. Mary began to bring girls into her humble home, where she cared for their health and built character. After a larger house was donated to her cause

and a formal school established, St. Mary’s mission grew quickly, spreading to Africa, Haiti, and later, to the United States. The Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, a sisterhood devoted to St. Mary’s education mission, moved to New Jersey from Italy, where they established their motherhouse, Villa Rossello. After initially inducting themselves as teachers in local elementary schools, the sisters started an all-girls high school adjacent to their convent—in 1962, Our Lady of Mercy Academy was founded.

Today, Our Lady of Mercy Academy is the only Catholic, all-girls college preparatory high school in the southern Jersey area. Resting on a 57-acre site in Newfield, students travel from 27 Education Leaders Today

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districts around the southern part of the state the to attend the academy.

Enrollment typically rests around 240 students, and with 23 faculty members, a student to teacher ratio of 12:1 allows for small class sizes and a personalized learning environment. “Our strongest asset is that we look at each girl as an individual person,” Hamerstedt said.

“She’s not a number on our roster, she’s not just a name on our list. We try to make them feel as much a part of our family as we can.”

Academic excellence is the core value at Our Lady of Mercy Academy.

“Academics are the most important.

We really emphasize and structure everything around academics. We are a college preparatory school, which we are very proud of. We strictly adhere to the rules that the girls are going on to college, and we preach to them constantly that college is where they need to be after us,” Hamerstedt said.

Emphasis on academics has indeed led to impressive performance. The school is renowned for exceptionally high SAT scores, particularly on the writing and critical reading sections.

Our Lady of Mercy also participates in School Counts, a state program that allows students to attend the county college tuition free if they maintain a certain GPA and excellent attendance during all four years of high school.

Six OLMA graduates attended college tuition free with the program this year.

Yet students proceed to wide variety of universities upon graduation. Our Lady of Mercy sends its graduates to all of the Ivy League schools, to international universities, and has a number of former students on college scholarships.

Beyond preparing students for higher education, an education at Our Lady of Mercy Academy also trains young women to grow as strong and independent thinkers that are prepared for life. “We give them the strength to be self sufficient, to be proud of who they are, to be comfortable in their skin, and to know who they are as a woman,” Hamerstedt said. According to Hamerstedt, being in an all female environment offers particular benefits.

For example, since distraction of a coed classroom is eliminated, students focus more exclusively on academics. Our Lady of Mercy also offers a wide array of extracurricular activities to enhance 55 Education Leaders Today

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development outside of the classroom, including a particularly strong sports department. The school has offered sports since its foundation in 1962, when local mothers volunteered to coach basketball and softball immediately. Today, Our Lady of Mercy offers an assortment of competitive sports, and boasts a very strong track record in track, soccer, basketball, and softball.

Inspired by the mission of St. Mary Rossello, schooling at Our Lady of Mercy is intended to educate students on how to address the world with Christian consciousness and moral sensitivity, and to instill a respect for religious values. “Today in our society, religion is not the main focus in our society, so we try to give them what

they are missing at home,�

Hamerstedt said. Students are regularly exposed to religious activities and speakers, and taught to serve and contribute the wider community.

The school also offers non-Catholic education, exposing students to various religions such as Islam, Buddhism, and Christian faiths that differ from Catholicism.

Preparation for addressing global issues comes through technological and professional awareness as well. At Our Lady of Mercy Academy, the subjects of science, medicine, and technology are particularly seen as valuable for preparing students for the modern world, and the majority of funds from campaigns and fundraisers are dedicated to investing in new technology.

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FEATURE The school regularly invites speakers from various professions, which may include university professors, lay people working in the local community, or professional women, many of whom are alums, that speak about entrepreneurial opportunities. All offer glimpses into today’s a modern and technologically advanced society.

“When they graduate, they are wellrounded enough to fit into society and to step into the world,” Hamerstedt said. “Not just from a religious or an academic standpoint—there is a whole host of psychological and sociological opportunities for them to experience.

We try to give them the tools to handle what is coming next. If they accomplish all that we set out for them, they are quite strong when they move on.”

Although Our Lady of Mercy Academy has been negatively impacted by current economic turndown this year— seeing an enrollment decrease to 180 students—Hamerstedt remains hopeful that difficulties will turn around with economic stability in the future. “The economy is driving everything now, but I think that if we can hold status quo as we do right now, continuing to give the best that we can to the girls that come to our school, we can stay on board just as we have for the last 48 years,” she said. For students at Our Lady of Mercy Academy in upcoming years, this means that a personal and well-rounded education still awaits, equipping each young woman with independent thinking skills, moral sensitivity, and the confidence to be productive members of today’s technologically advanced society.

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T O A D V E R T I S E , C O N TA C T I N F O @ E D U C AT I O N L E A D E R S T O D AY. C O M