ActionResearch April 24, 2009
Institute for Engaging Leadership in Friends Schools 2007-2009 Ken Aldridge
Jennifer Gorzelany
Michael Saxenian
David Brightbill
Sharon Livingston
Sarah Sweeney-Denham
Brenda Boggess Janet Chance Frank Fisher
Michelle Yvette Holland Dorothy Y. Lopez Laurie Novo
Marcy Baker Seitel Ida P. Trisolini
Nancy van Arkel
www.friendscouncil.org
ActionResearch What is the Institute for Engaging Leadership in Friends Schools? The Institute for Engaging Leadership in Friends Schools was created by the Friends Council on Education as a strategic network of Friends school leaders working together in a learning community. Throughout the two-year program, members strengthen their capacity and skills for the unique role of Friends school leadership and the peculiar art of sustaining the Quaker value-based ethos of a Friends school. Institute members collaborate as learning partners with heads of Friends schools and conduct action research projects that benefit the network of Friends schools. This booklet contains summaries of action research conducted by members of the 2007-09 cohort of the Institute. What is Action Research? Action research is a dynamic process for conducting research over time using action and reflective learning to pursue understanding and, ultimately, change. The action research process is cyclic and spiral, alternating between action, critical reflection, and new action. It is an emergent process, continually evolving as understanding increases. It generally involves participation with those who actually inhabit the system in which the action research is conducted. The true measure of success in action research is learning and change at the individual level and the systems level. An “unfinished� project may, in fact, stimulate ideas for others and be useful in different contexts. The core of action research is the reflective inquiry approach, in which every turn of the spiral influences a potential transformation of practice. Through every cycle, a deeper understanding of the issue, the nature of change, and potential creative responses evolve from critically reflective learning.
Ken Aldridge
Middle School Principal Germantown Friends School, Philadelphia, PA Profile I have worked in Quaker schools for 18 years. During this time, I have enjoyed sharing the classroom with a diverse group of students during the regular school year and the summer. As a science educator, I have used the theme of exploration in my interactions with students, teachers, and parents. In my current role as middle school principal, I bear witness to this theme everyday. I believe that a Friends education encourages students to face their lives with courage, integrity, responsibility, compassion, and humor. Action Research
Communication and Outreach to Parents During a Time of Transition Background I am interested in how schools, particularly K-12 schools, handle transitions between divisions for teachers, parents, and students. What are the threads of continuity and marks of distinction between divisions? This initial question was a broad one, to be sure. However, my action research was eventually distilled down to workshops aimed at parents. The middle school years represent a period of time that is challenging to both students and parents. I am interested in satisfying parental requests for more input from the school while maintaining an appropriate school-home relationship with families. Exploration/Learning I decided to interview other middle school directors in K-12 institutions to learn what models were used for offering workshops to parents. I hoped to hear about connections between lower school and upper school offerings. I wanted to hear about successful topics and those that required extra planning. My mentor, David Felsen, head of Friends’ Central School, allowed me full access to him during my visits to Friends’ Central. These visits provided significant insight to a model of parent outreach and partnership that is different from the model we currently use at Germantown Friends (GFS). After examining notes from my school visits and my phone interview notes, I decided to narrow my focus to middle school parents. I also wanted to build upon our current model at GFS without creating drastic change. I used my meetings with our Parents Association representatives as opportunities for brainstorming. During these monthly meetings, several themes emerged: time, use of facilities, and input from faculty. The issue of time required us to think about when we hold workshops. We initially thought about two options: a roundtable coffee discussion in the morning and workshops that could be held during the day of parent/teacher conferences. However, there would be obstacles for parents who could not rearrange their work schedules to accommodate additional time at school during the day. Parents wanted opportunities for dialogue with one another while using the school as a resource. They wanted workshops that would address emerging trends with middle school children, and hoped to have the workshops led by an educator. We ultimately decided to plan the parent workshops for the same evening as a middle school dance. Since parents join faculty members as chaperones, we thought this would be a natural fit. We also hoped to increase the number of parent volunteers if we included the workshop. The first attempts at these parent sessions consisted of round-table discussions. Parents were able to share their experiences with one another.
I also learned that I could use our current system of weekly correspondence, KidEx, to share information with parents. This system is used primarily to explain the “nuts and bolts” of future events for students and parents. In the past, homeroom teachers would collect their “stacks of paper” for the weekly KidEx, and then give each student his/her own copy of KidEx, which could also contain flyers for an assortment of school events. However, the decision to switch to an email version of KidEx provided another opportunity to communicate with parents in a direct and meaningful way.
Next Steps Throughout this action research I was reminded about the very special relationship between home and school. The best practices for nurturing this relationship require active listening skills and a balanced approach. Additionally, careful thought should be given to the continuity of programming offered to parents in a K-12 institution. No one division can be out of sync with the others, yet each division has its own unique issues with student and parent development. We will continue working with our middle school Parents Association to fine tune our current model.
Ken Aldridge
Brenda Boggess
Head of School Greenwood Friends School Profile Growing up in Richmond, Indiana, I gained a strong Quaker identity from a young age that was further developed as a student at Guilford College. Soon thereafter I started teaching at a small Friends school. And, then another. I love small Friends schools and have landed at a fourth, this time as head of school. One of my goals as a school leader is to help to establish the kind of trusting and lively environment in which it is possible for people of all ages to embrace genuine learning every day.
Action Research
How can school leaders effectively gather and decode honest, timely, and necessary feedback from their constituencies beyond the formal evaluation? Background When I considered moving from teaching into administration, I wondered how I would gain the kind of valuable, on-going feedback and assessment one needs in order to know whether/how the needs of the community are being addressed. Administrators have frequent contact with their constituents but, inevitably, a few individuals demand most of the attention while others stay silent or detached. Although I hoped that the formal evaluation was a valuable tool, I wanted to investigate ways that administrators could gain informal, ongoing, and necessary feedback from everyday interactions and intentionally use this feedback to assess and address leadership needs and priorities. Exploration/Learning 1. Formal evaluation can be a community builder After reading Eric Johnson’s Evaluating the Performance of Trustees and School Heads, I developed a head of school evaluation process that began with setting goals and establishing methods of assessment that included observations of my work at school by the board of trustees, input from faculty, self-assessment, and a final report from an evaluation committee. The board added a parent input piece that solicited feedback from every school family. I knew this was an unusual development, and I accepted it with some hesitation. Although confidentiality needed to be maintained, I requested an emphasis on accountability as well. While a January evaluation was unusually early, it not only became extraordinarily useful to me, but it was also a positive experience for the community. In the spirit of learning, I received guidance and affirmation that helped me make immediate improvements in my performance, the board received information as they observed me at school, and faculty and parent opinions were actively sought and valued. Ultimately, modeling willingness and enthusiasm to learn from all constituencies seemed appropriate and helpful to the community and it was effective. I learned a great deal.
2. Useful feedback is everywhere As a new head of school, I started journaling the informal feedback I received from individuals. When I reflected on these interactions, I used the SAVI grid (a tool given to us in the Leadership Institute) to analyze them, gain distance from the emotional effects of criticism, and glean valuable information. Jotting down initial observations and noting the nature of the feedback (red light/green light communication behaviors ) helped me to quantify the feedback, determine its meaning to me, keep it in perspective, and respond constructively. I talked with several current school administrators who agreed that informal and useful feedback is constantly available in the school environment apart from solicited or unsolicited conversations, and that school leaders benefit from spending the time to take note. Disciplined reflection on informal evidence that surrounds us daily—energy in the school, parent involvement, collegiality, student interactions —can provide vital indicators of where leadership is needed.
Next Steps As I seek to model an enthusiasm for learning, to maintain transparency, and to build community through feedback, I will further consider the role and responsibility of all constituencies in the formal assessment of school leaders. And, to facilitate the practice of reflection, I will develop tools and templates that encourage taking note of informal feedback and indicators that can provide ongoing, vital assessments of the health and well-being of the school community.
Brenda Boggess
David Brightbill
Upper School Spanish Teacher, Director of the After School Study Program, Ninth Grade Class Advisor William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, PA Profile During nine years as a teacher at Penn Charter, I have been able to hone my skills as an educator, and I have been given various opportunities to develop my skills as a leader. As a ninth grade class advisor for seven years, I have worked closely with another colleague and the division director to monitor students’ academic performance, address social issues that arise during the school year, and plan social events for the group. For three years I have also served as the director of the after school study program, where my responsibilities include working with the upper school learning specialist to support and develop study plans for those students who are struggling to find success in Penn Charter’s vigorous academic program. As a result of that work, I have become interested in learning how other Quaker schools support students who struggle academically. This curiosity led to my action research project.
Action Research
How do Friends schools support students who are struggling academically? Background Penn Charter’s After School Study Program (ASSP) aids freshman and sophomores who demonstrate difficulty finding success in the classroom. The objective of the ASSP is to help these students become aware of their learning needs and to assist them in developing skills for academic success. Students in the ASSP exhibit similar characteristics in how they approach their school work. In general, they lack important executive functioning skills such as the ability to study effectively for assessments, to complete and hand in assignments on time, and to stay organized. Since the area of learning support is complex, my action research project was multifaceted. First, I reflected on the work that was already being done to support students, to determine what changes could be made to strengthen the ASSP. Second, I used this opportunity to learn more about the work that learning specialists do and the ways they support students. Finally, in an effort to determine if there are any “best practices” for learning support teams, I researched the learning support systems that other Friends schools have in place. I wanted more understanding of my students’ learning differences and wanted to discover ways to more effectively support them. Exploration/Learning I began my action research by interviewing the people at Penn Charter with whom I work most closely when supporting the students in the ASSP. I spoke with the director of our Summer Academic Enrichment Program and with the upper school learning specialist. Both professionals provided me with useful information related to the students’ family structure and support and their academic strengths and weaknesses. After these conversations, I realized how important regular communication between students, teachers, advisors, administrators, learning support staff, and parents is in order for the students to find success. Consequently, this year I have been meeting with the learning specialist a few times each week to
develop strategies to support the students who are currently in the ASSP. I have also spent more time communicating with the other people mentioned above. Last year, I surveyed the students in the ASSP to solicit feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the program. Their responses were candid and provided me with many ideas on which to reflect. I learned that the expectations of the ASSP needed to be more explicit and that more structure was needed so that the time spent in the ASSP was more effective. Therefore, over the summer I developed a small handbook, which provides an overview of the ASSP, a list of expectations, and ideas for how parents can support their children at home. The students in the ASSP as well as their parents and advisors each receive a copy of this handbook when they are enrolled in the program. In general, I have found this to be helpful since it provides a starting point for discussions with parents and also reminds the students of the expectations for which they are accountable. This past summer, I read sections of the book titled Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention. I also read articles from the summer 2008 edition of Independent School Magazine. These resources strengthened my understanding of the challenges that students face each day. In addition, I learned strategies that teachers and learning specialists employ to support students with learning differences. With this new knowledge, I have been more empathetic and patient with my own students and those in the ASSP. I also use a more varied array of activities and strategies when providing them with extra assistance. More recently, I surveyed learning specialists at eight K-12 Friends schools. The survey was comprised of fourteen questions related to how the schools support students with learning needs. These schools employ an average of four learning support staff, but some employ as many as seven. The positions include learning specialists, reading and math specialists, counselors, and psychologists. Most schools employ a number of full time support staff and part time support staff, as well. The learning specialists support a variety of student needs, all of which were considered to be mild in nature. Every survey reported the need for supporting students with ADHD, difficulty with executive functioning skills, and processing speed issues. The majority of the specialists also reported that many more students are receiving testing, and are therefore being identified as needing learning support services. Finally, every survey reported that teachers play a significant role in providing extra help to their students. This includes both students with documented learning differences and those who are just struggling in a particular class. While there were many commonalities in the survey responses, I was unable to determine if there were any “best practices� that were utilized by every school. I believe that this is because each school has devised a learning support plan that addresses the needs of its particular student body. There does not seem to be a one-style-fixes-all solution. However, considering the current economic environment and the fact that monetary resources are becoming scarce, I do wonder if schools should start to provide more professional development to teachers so that they can support students with learning differences in a more effective manner. Next Steps There are many ways for me to learn more about this topic. Since every learning specialist mentioned the important role that teachers play in supporting students, it would be interesting to survey teachers to find out what they do. I am interested in learning how often they meet with students, and what type of professional development they receive. I would also like to read more about learning differences and learning support and attend conferences or take classes related to this subject.
David Brightbill
Janet Chance
Director of Lower School William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, PA Profile Ever since my undergraduate years at Swarthmore College, I’ve been interested in exploring how communities support ethical and spiritual growth. Having taught at three different Friends schools, my interest in this work has taken different forms, including leading service learning trips, educating colleagues and students about Quaker decision-making process, and using the arts as an entry point for discussions of social justice and compassion. Recently, I’ve become interested in considering the ways that Friends schools’ use of silent reflection can be counter-cultural. For example, rather than augmenting the hurried pace of daily life, how do, or might, Friends schools create a steady, spacious pace for students and adults, thus making it possible to appreciate the present joys of the everyday while establishing the groundwork for long-term well-being and love of learning? In my new role as an administrator, I’ve incorporated mindfulness activities at faculty gatherings as a way to engage thinking about pace, awareness, reflection, and inner peace.
Action Research
What would it look like if clearness process were given a central place in Quaker education, similar to the place of Meeting for Worship? What are the possibilities for weaving reflective discernment, or its building blocks, into Friends education in an intentional way? Background For many years, I’ve been interested in the ways that Friends schools support the emergence of voice through the use of reflection and silence. When I first encountered clearness process, as a participant in Friends Council on Education’s SPARC (Spirited Practice and Renewed Courage) program, I became intrigued by the enormous possibilities residing in this simple, elegant practice, and my interest in this practice continued to unfold over time. Exploration/Learning In order to deepen my understanding of how reflective discernment has been used in various Quaker settings, my exploration began with interactive research. I read articles about clearness process in the Society of Friends, and I learned more about how clearness has been used as part of Quaker leadership programs for college students at Guilford College and high school students at Westtown. I also interviewed Sheila Garrett at The Meeting School, since I knew from previous conversations with her that The Meeting School incorporates reflective discernment into the very fabric of their community interactions. In reflecting on my own experiences with clearness, I recognized that a mindful presence creates a much richer clearness process, and so I became aware of the interplay between these forms: that mindfulness can deepen a group’s comfort with the open-ended nature of clearness process, and that clearness process can even be regarded as a kind of mindfulness practice. I was invited to give a brief explanation of the clearness process to "teacher trainers" at the Mindfulness in Education Conference. This inspired me to write about clearness process for an essay collection that the Friends Council was compiling, entitled Tuning In. Later, at the spring SPARC retreat, I included a mindfulness practice prior to clearness process,
so that participants might feel more fully centered when engaging in reflective discernment with their peers. Eventually, I decided to develop a collaborative group to look at how some of the constituent elements of clearness (listening, asking open-ended questions, recognizing and articulating feelings, practicing mindful awareness) can be taught to children at Friends schools. I began with overarching questions and with specific activities for 1st grade children, and build from there in future years. To deepen my understanding of the developmental needs of this age group, I spent a day shadowing Marcy Morgan’s first grade class at Friends School Haverford. I also met with two individuals, Jen Cort and Susan Hopkins, who are involved in supporting the emotional growth of children in Quaker schools, to discuss possible approaches that I might use. The collaborative group that I gathered included four teachers (Jessica Hurwitz, Marcy Morgan, Karen Riedlmeier, and Catalina Rios) who enjoy teaching first grade, have experienced clearness process several times, and share an interest in reflective practice. During our day-long exploration, we used a poem as a touchstone for our work. We then reflected on our own experiences with clearness process as adults, using the following guiding questions: What is difficult about clearness process? Specifically, what are some hurdles that we remember encountering when using clearness process? What helped us to overcome these hurdles? In what ways did we find clearness process to be freeing? to be enriching? We then decided on a variety of essential questions to guide our work developing a clearness curriculum for children. Finally, using the 1st grade classroom as a lens, we discussed and explored what we believe to be some of the constituent elements of clearness process.
Next Steps There are several steps that the group decided upon: setting up a site to share ideas on-line; choosing a practice that represents one of the constituent elements of clearness and designing a lesson to assist children in developing this practice; experimenting with and sharing these lessons across schools; inviting parents to join us to discuss how these approaches might be echoed at home. My long-term hope is to continue collaborating and eventually design a Spiraling Clearness Curriculum for Friends schools that moves through the seasons and the years, introducing skills and concepts using hands-on approaches, theater games, music, images, and stories that are meaningful to children and that allow each child’s inner spirit to be honored.
Janet Chance
Frank Fisher
Teacher Friends’ Central School, Wynnewood, PA Profile I was introduced to Friends education at Abington Friends School and Earlham College. I had many great teachers who still guide my thinking about teaching as a difficult mixture of nurture and challenge. The best teachers in Friends schools pay deep attention to their students and are prepared to ask a great deal of them for the simple reason that it matters. I have spent 21 years in the classroom and served as a lower, middle and upper school teacher, dorm head, department chair and dean of faculty in five Friends schools. I have coached varsity soccer for 15 years. My wife teaches at Abington Friends; we are parents of two children.
Action Research
Learning Friends Schools: Explorations in Culture, Community and Idiosyncracy Background My action research addressed the theme of school culture and focused on the unique characteristics and culture of individual Friends schools. This topic was the product of two converging circumstances: first my experience as a faculty member and administrator at five different Friends schools over my 21 year career; and, second, my current position as a new faculty member at Friends’ Central School. The situation of being both new and “broken in” as a Friends school teacher, gave me the opportunity to ask a wide range of questions about the “whys” and “hows” of the school and examine the idiosyncrasies in some depth. Exploration/Learning When I began working at Friends’ Central School I encountered a new school community draped with familiar trappings. The routines were familiar in pattern and tone; however, the nature of the dialog among the faculty and administration was distinct. Over the last two years I have explored the dynamics of the school’s culture through conversations with colleagues and administrators about their experiences and perceptions of the school community, and I have pursued regular conversations with administrators and colleagues at other Friends schools: Abington, Moorestown, Westtown and Wilmington. When I began my action research, my broad framing notion was to examine dimensions of school culture, referring to Marshall McLuhan’s definition of culture that I have often used in class: “The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.” I quickly realized that Friends schools tend to refer to a very similar “story” of school culture. We value comparable anecdotes of students and their experiences: a story based in part on achievement and partially on a student’s evolving sense of self. This kind of cultural storytelling conveys how a school perceives itself, and is also embedded in the net of marketing and perception to prospective families and benefactors. The common themes in Friends schools are no surprise: We seek to know our students well, to nurture them, to challenge them and to appreciate their unique gifts. We share a common dialog about process and basic vocabulary of unique Friends ideas and terminology: there is that of God in every
person, sense of the meeting, consensus, weighty Friend. Institutionally, there is a consistent commitment to a mission based on Friends’ testimonies and to wrestling with issues of social justice. Learning In my conversations with colleagues, I began to see themes that are key dimensions of internal school culture. Most of these derive from an inherent challenge: Friends schools use Friends practices and values while they are also hierarchical institutions where fiduciary responsibility does not weigh equally on members of the community. Assumptions about Friends process, differential levels of responsibility and the Friends legacy of speaking truth to power create an uneasy landscape for school communities. The voices that shape the narrative and tone of Friends schools typically come from multiple sources: administrators, faculty, students and parents; however, faculty and staff have a key role in creating and nurturing the story. Colleagues tell idiosyncratic stories about the great teachers of the past, which impart the values and traditions of the school while framing an ideal guide for what it means to be a good teacher. History is another important theme of a school’s identity, shaped by collective rather than individual experiences, and may involve economic crises, legal challenges, explosive parent issues or crises sparked by student disciplinary events. These frequently involve a sense of loss and failure: the student expelled, the legal case brought by a hostile family, the faculty member dismissed for misconduct. On a very different note, stories of the sudden loss of faculty members or students are often heartening and remarkably similar: these were times when the community felt most responsive, times when everyone was nurturing to one another. The most poignant historical dialogue within schools involves institutional change and innovation. Nearly every faculty member I talked to remembered frustrations over stagnant discussions and anxiety about rushing into new things. The real challenge was about anxiety, communication and process. I have heard Dick Wade identify the core challenge of Friends school decision-making as defining “the meeting” for a given decision. In Friends parlance we know that this is a statement about decisionmaking process, stake holders and constituencies that may have a direct or indirect role in the process and outcome of decision. Clear communication is equally important to clarity about process. One of the great strengths of Friends schools is how often and how well faculty members represent their respective schools. The simplest, and most telling example of this is where and how faculty and staff members use the pronoun “we” to talk about community and process. This says a good deal about the ideologically weighted dialog that we so often take for granted in Friends schools.
Next Steps Continue the conversation.
Frank Fisher
Jennifer Gorzelany
Grade Dean, English Teacher, Director of the Summer Academic Program Friends Select School, Philadelphia, PA Profile After nine years as an educator in independent schools, I’ve found myself most at home in a Quaker school because of Friends schools’ belief in honoring each child for who he/she is. My work as an English teacher allows me to know my students better than many other teachers, as students often negotiate their identities through their writing. As a grade dean, I work closely with one group of students and follow them through their four years in upper school as an advocate and a liaison between students in the grade and the upper school office. As the director of Friends Select’s Summer Academic Program, I’m responsible for overseeing the marketing, budgeting, personnel and policy.
Action Research
The Role of Quaker Practices in Counseling in Friends Schools Background Three years after I joined the Friends Select community, the school made the crucial decision to hire a full time school psychologist. Until his appointment, students often used grade deans and the dean of students for academic and personal issues that they didn’t feel equipped to handle on their own. As a member of the selection committee to hire our counselor and with a desire to potentially earn an additional degree in counseling, I wanted to know how the unique culture of a Friends school based in Quaker practices (including clearness committees, eldering, etc.) would shape the work done by counselors and psychologists within these communities—communities that encourage students and families to constantly ask questions and pursue their “truth.” Exploration/Learning My first steps were to speak with school psychologists at a range of Friends schools, including my own school’s counselor. I also took time to review my selection committee notes from our hiring process to see if we, as a committee, had made explicit any expectation that our psychologist would use the language and practices of Quakerism in his/her work. While we’d emphasized the school’s identity as a Quaker school, we had never outlined any expectations for the nature of counseling that would take place. While I found psychologists at several schools willing to help me with these first steps, none of them could offer any examples of ways in which they were incorporating the philosophy or practices of Quakerism into their work with students and families. Somewhat surprised with my initial findings, I returned to Leadership Institute members and learned that Friends Center kept a list of psychologists and counselors who are practicing Quakers for the purpose of referrals when Friends might be in need of counseling. This group of counselors, The Friends Counseling Service, proved helpful in providing perspective about the distinct worlds of academia and personal religious practice. This group of Quaker counselors meets annually to consider queries which encourage active engagement with local Meetings and personal reflection about the connections between one’s professional work and personal practice of Quakerism.
Most of the Friends schools surveyed do have mentoring programs, although the degree to which the programs are formalized varies. The vast majority enculturate new faculty and provide general support of new faculty as primary purposes, with both leading to the ultimate goal of faculty retention. A few schools’ programs also required mentors to provide instructional support by observing and evaluating their partners. Looking at common features of what were considered successful programs, along with perceptions about how the other current programs could be improved, I identified some key characteristics of effective programs in Friends schools. For instance, securing a good match is crucial. In most schools, an administrator identifies a mentor well suited to a new faculty member (ideally, partners would be in the same division and department). I can surmise that most mentors are asked to serve because of their professional experience in (and out of) the classroom, their supportive nature, and their ability to articulate the mission of the school. Effective programs seem to also include regular meetings between the two partners. This does require additional time, which always presents a difficulty. Some schools do create structured time for mentoring (for instance, giving mentoring partners one less study hall), to ensure that proper mentoring can occur. And a few schools provide a stipend to mentors, which helps to provide concrete recognition of the valuable work that mentors can accomplish. In my research work, I began to create a list of topics for mentors to discuss during a teacher's first year. Topics are organized by the time of year, with a separate list of topics that can be discussed at any time. Some examples of topics included in the curriculum are: what to do at back-to-school night, how to write effective and meaningful comments, explain upcoming annual events, discuss what it means to be a Quaker school (for instance, explain Quaker process), and offer assistance with school procedures.
Next Steps It became apparent that in many cases, school psychologists weren’t familiar with the practices of Quakerism. In my experience sharing the protocol of clearness committees with psychologists, they agreed that there are many ways in which these practices could directly be used to inform/shape their work. And many of them were eager for an opportunity to learn more. To this end, school psychologists should likely be encouraged to attend Educators New to Quakerism (a conference offered by Friends Council), and they could potentially work to organize annual meetings, at least locally, to see where and when connections to Quaker practice can be highlighted more frequently. My own hope is to begin some coursework in counseling to continue exploring the ways in which the academic components of counseling work can be deliberately connected with the wonderful and helpful work already taking place in Friends schools.
Jennifer Gorzelany
Michelle Holland
Lower School Principal Friends School of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD Profile During my six years as a lower school administrator, I have aimed to utilize Quaker principles in all aspects of my work. Two years ago, I designed a professional development instrument that’s centered on the Quaker testimonies called the Teacher’s Professional Pilgrimage Plan (TP3). It is currently being used as our yearly evaluation tool by all LS teachers at Friends School of Baltimore. I strive to frame our professional development days, faculty meeting discussions, and student/teacher discussions on the Quaker principles. It has been a joy getting to research how others utilize these principles in their leadership practices. I recently joined the Friends Council on Education’s Board of Directors, and am looking forward to using my gifts and growing from this leadership experience. I am married to Mark Holland and have two daughters, Amanda and Kimberly. They are happily attending 1st grade and kindergarten at Friends School of Baltimore, where I have taught and led for the past 13 years. Action Research
In what ways is Quakerism embraced in the leadership practices of Friends Schools? Background The purpose of my action research project was to explore the various ways that Friends schools incorporate Quaker principles into their general administrative practices. I am particularly interested in how these principles are incorporated in the decision-making process at Quaker schools. In what ways do we incorporate Quaker principles in our daily communications, morale-building, and relationship building at Friends schools?” My goal was to gather information through first-hand experiences with constituents at my own school, through survey and interviews with leaders at various Friends schools and through Quaker readings. Exploration/Learning I began my research by employing Quaker principles in my own work at Friends School of Baltimore. I used the poem “Fire” by Quaker author Judy Brown to frame a discussion with my faculty asking them to simplify their workload. I gave teachers two weeks to reflect and then choose something meaningful that would add time or decrease their stress. I learned that it’s important for administrators to give teachers permission to slow down and edit their curriculum in order to have time to do things that are meaningful to themselves and to their students. One way that I incorporated Quaker principles in my work was changing professional day to a day of reflective/collegial work instead of handling our normal business agenda. The faculty voiced that they appreciated being given the time to reflect about their teaching journey. I also led a discussion with faculty asking them to define the elements of our decision-making process. Many key thoughts were shared during this discussion including: knowing up front how the decision is going to be made; defining how the input is going to be utilized by the decision-maker; and giving proper time for those involved in the process to hear and think. I highly encourage other leaders to have this
discussion with the people on their teams. It clarified how the faculty felt about the process and gave me information that will help us move forward more successfully in our work together. In addition to talking with the lower school faculty, I led a discussion with the senior administrative team, and we invited Harry Hammond to lead a workshop. As a result, we established meeting norms and practices, have two clerks to facilitate our meetings, and established an agenda with clearly defined categories so we can better prepare for our meetings. I learned that it can be fruitful to get “outside of school” help from wise Quaker leaders to enhance the leadership workings of one’s school team. I interviewed Michael Zimmerman, the lower school director at Friends Select School, and my leadership partner, Penny Colgan-Davis, head of Frankford Friends School. Both of these leaders stressed being transparent and being ready to hear faculty input during the decision-making process. Penny invited me to attend a Heads of Small Quaker Schools gathering. From this experience I learned that no matter what the leadership challenge before you is, support and creative solutions can be found when asking for help, advice, or reflective input from one’s colleagues. Using the Quaker testimonies to frame the work in various areas was a constant theme. Whether it was focusing on the peace testimony to deal with conflict resolution, or discussing candidates during the hiring process, or writing a newsletter with stewardship as the topic, the Quaker testimonies or S.P.I.C.E.S. are prevalent in this work. I conducted a survey and received valuable responses from 31 people who are teachers, administrators, parents, or staff at various Quaker schools. This feedback will be very helpful to me as I move forward in my leadership career in Friends schools. One of the words of wisdom that a participant shared that helps him/her function in his/her Quaker school was, “I try to focus on the concept that there is that of God in everyone. I also try to remind myself to let my life speak to keep me on track as someone who may lead as a quiet example.” Another participant, simply said, “Stay true.” I’m inspired by this quote from Arthur Larrabee’s book, Leadership and Authority in the Religious Society of Friends: “A Quaker leader thinks globally, shares ideas proactively, takes risks, maintains and nurtures a spiritual awareness, honors the role of the community and derives personal satisfaction from the success of the community.”
Next Steps I plan to continue using the principles that I gleaned from my research. As I meet leaders from Quaker schools, I will continue to ask questions and gain information about how they incorporate Quaker principles into their work. I also envision using my research to create a leadership book for division directors.
Michelle Holland
Sharon Andrews Livingston
Assistant Head for Curriculum, Science Teacher Friends School Haverford, Haverford, PA Profile By 12th grade I had attended ten schools in four countries. My last two years were spent at Friends’ Central and I enjoyed the opportunities and values of the Quaker school. My undergraduate degree is in Biology. After a short stint in industry, I have enjoyed teaching PS–12th graders science, math and technology, first at Tower Hill School and since then at Friends School Haverford. I feel very fortunate to teach in a Quaker school and have become a member of Old Haverford Meeting. My interests in technology led to my Masters in Technology in Education from Rosemont College in 2000, where I was the graduation speaker. For the last three years, I have been Assistant Head for Curriculum at Friends School Haverford. I have participated on many PAIS re-accreditation visiting teams and led the recent re-accreditation for FSH. I have a strong interest in learning differences, multiple intelligences and being a life-long learner. In my work as assistant head, I have introduced Curriculum Mapping and Understanding by Design to my colleagues and raised the level of professional development and mentoring in my school. My husband and I have two college age children, and I enjoy quilting, knitting and making jewelry.
Action Research
As a faculty leader, what is my role in helping to create empowering, engaging morale-building among faculty? Background The goal of my action research was to develop a better understanding of the dynamics of faculty meetings, and a better understanding of the relationships among leadership, morale-strengthening projects, and professional development. The following guidance from the National Association of Elementary School Principals for those who encourage professional development has been thought provoking: Provide time for reflection as an important part of improving practice. Invest in teacher learning. Connect professional development to school learning goals. Provide opportunities for teachers to work, plan, and think together. Recognize the need to continually improve one’s own professional practice.
Exploration/Learning Two leadership responsibilities of my current role are to help new faculty learn about and fit into our school culture, and to support those in the school who are new to teaching. Initial reflection on how this project might best serve Friends School Haverford led me to focus on developing our mentoring of new teachers. We used an idea from one of the members of the Friends Council’s Leadership Institute, to have mentors and mentees meet together and then also go out to lunch together at the beginning of the year, to create a sense of being a team. This also created a bond for the mentors as they planned together what they would do. That bond has been evident, in the mentoring and in other work, throughout the year.
Other action steps I took helped me and new and veteran teachers learn about best practices, benefit from having time to reflect, and productively work together to meet school goals. We created cross-grade mini courses, which were taught by groups of faculty members. Teachers used faculty-meeting time to plan the courses. Students and faculty really enjoyed these mini courses and continue to develop their relationships with each other. We formed reading groups on in-service day for study and discussion of professional articles submitted by faculty members. Teachers met around particular professional interests with others. We requested that faculty members do two classroom visits, either inside or outside the school. These visits enabled teachers to learn from each other and to expand professional connections. We trained in the application of Understanding by Design to clarify social studies goals. During full faculty meetings, we endeavored to create and make good use of open space in the agenda, for us to talk about important issues as a faculty. As a faculty leader in the area of curriculum I now more clearly understand my role as a catalyst, facilitator, and leader in helping to create authentic situations in which faculty can learn new skills, reflect on practice, carry out school goals, and interact with each other in meaningful ways. I believe that when people are growing and learning they can become engaged and empowered. Working together can help people break down the isolation that can be present in teaching and build morale.
Next Steps The mentoring process needs continued attention, so as to become better defined, with more automatic steps put in place. We intend to create a protocol that can be used each school year. Engaging in an ongoing monthly conversation with another member of the leadership cohort was invaluable in helping me reflect on and refine my own practice. I need to ensure that this sort of professional support continues to be present in my life. We need to develop more understanding of the process of consensus, for use in full faculty meetings.
Sharon Andrews Livingston
Dorothy Lopez
Mathematics Teacher Moorestown Friends School, Moorestown, NJ Profile I came into Quaker education after working as a sales executive for IBM for over five years. Being at Quaker schools for the past five years, I have reflected more about myself, education, and learning than I had with any other career experience. I have finally found a job where I can be myself and grow both professionally and personally. I have come to depend on building relationships and learning something new every day. I really enjoy having a smile on my face as I teach and mentor students.
Action Research
Determining the Future of Friends Schools Background As I transitioned from a mathematics position at George School to Moorestown Friends School (MFS), my action research inevitably shifted focus. At MFS, I became involved with exploring strategic planning and undergoing an Accreditation for Growth (AFG) process that started in 2003. The goals of the AFG Committee examined three areas of the school: the mathematics department, the world language department and ethical and critical thinking. It was challenging to get other departments involved in the process. Because there is currently no accreditation machine tailored to a Friends school, the goals MFS set seemed too ambitious to accomplish, from the AFG’s team perspective. Nevertheless, MFS forged ahead to not only meet but exceed the original goals of the plan. Initially interested in the strategic planning process in Friends schools for my action research project, I soon learned that I wanted to explore something broader that would not only have to do with strategic planning in Friends schools but also the overall future of Friends schools. Exploration/Learning As I sat in one all school meeting where Larry Van Meter, head of school, addressed faculty, staff, and administrators, I found myself reflecting on all the change around me. Larry discussed the financial market’s recent decline and how that would directly impact MFS. His main goal was to keep the size of the MFS student body as close as possible to its operating capacity and support families in any way that the school could. Larry made it clear that he wanted to preserve the authenticity of MFS and would not allow this decline in the market to jeopardize that. That’s when I realized that I wanted to explore the future of Quaker schools, given the changing conditions of our economy. The facts were challenging. Smaller Friends schools are having a hard time keeping their doors open. Families are feeling stretched in this economy and may not commit to Friends education for their children. The numbers of Quakers in institutions may be declining. School endowments are in danger and not experiencing as much return on investment due to the crash of the market. The faces of leadership are changing in Friends schools; there are more schools being led by non-Quaker heads. I wondered if this is making a difference. Would this directly impact the future of Friends schools? I wondered what policies or traditions Friends schools have in place that are helping them maintain their authenticity. For example, the requirement of having 50% of the governing board be Quakers.
How do we maintain the vision of a Quaker school when people don’t necessarily understand, believe, or live the testimonies we value? I wondered how Friends schools are going to maintain being authentic Friends schools while working through the constant tensions presented by the world outside. For instance, during the Age of Obama, Friends schools are being thrust into the spotlight only to encounter a misinterpretation of our schools and vision. This is not the only example of tension between our schools and the outside world. It trickles right down to our students’ lives as well. With the boom of social websites and technology, the definition of community life is changing, and that, too, may threaten our schools. While attending the Friends Council’s recent Governance Matters workshop to gather the perspectives of trustees about the future of Friends schools, I became optimistic. Smaller Friends schools are realizing the importance of coming together and working through issues that are specific to the health and longevity of the schools. For example, mending strained relationships between board members and administrators and between monthly meetings and Friends schools is crucial to the future of our schools. Listening to Sam Caldwell’s presentation on the philanthropic efforts of Friends schools, I realized that there may be some misunderstood tension between Quaker culture and raising money for Friends schools. I wondered if schools are currently struggling to communicate the necessity of giving money to our schools, especially in this recent economy. Overall, I now realize that to understand the future of Friends schools, I must do some more research into how historical shifts in society have affected Friends schools. Friends’ institutions have been around for a long time and have endured tough times before, and I can learn from those experiences.
Next Steps I plan to research historical times where there was a shift in the society to learn how Friends schools coped with the shift. I also plan to survey heads of schools about the future of Friends schools and ask, “What one thing do you believe is crucial in order for Friends schools to maintain their authenticity?”
Dorothy Lopez
Laura Novo
Upper School English Teacher Friends’ Central School, Wynnewood, PA Profile I am in my 16th year as an English teacher at Friends’ Central School, where I have held a variety of positions including grade dean, English Department head, founder and director of the Writing Lab, and acting dean of faculty/co-principal. I find the relationship between the Quaker testimonies and my role as a teacher widely rewarding and useful in nurturing a classroom community that challenges and supports its members as they seek truth in guiding the wider school community. As a graduate of an international school (Lincoln School in Buenos Aires, Argentina), I feel at home in Quaker schools, which also value community, engagement with a wider world, diversity, and curiosity about others. As the parent of three children educated in Friends schools, I am deeply grateful for the education that has done so much to prepare them for useful, satisfying lives. Action Research
How can the structures and practices of a Quaker school nurture leadership and enhance collegiality within its faculty as a body? How can enhanced collegiality and the development of a culture that values leadership from within the faculty as a whole help fulfill a Friends school mission? Background Friends schools are distinguished from other progressive, community-oriented schools in two ways: the belief that the divine spark is to be found in everyone and the conviction that truth is continually revealed. The power of the gathered community in a Friends school is derived from each member’s acceptance of the responsibility to speak the truth he or she perceives and to be open to the truth in others. In my action research I explored how faculty meetings, as one expression of the gathered community, might benefit from the truth-seeking aspect of Quaker identity. As acting dean of faculty in spring 2008, I was able to re-shape some structures and evaluate the outcomes of these changes. I sought ‘best practices’ for negotiating conflicts, designing effective structures for collegial work; and nurturing the sense of gathered community that provides the trust and energy needed for realizing a Friends school mission. Presently, I am exploring how informal, organically-developed relationships and practices can also influence faculty meetings, focusing on the relationship between collegiality and the structure and practice of faculty meetings: What structures and practices allow faculty meetings to nurture and support collegiality, and what kinds of experiences of collegiality have the most productive impact on faculty meetings? Exploration/Learning In spring 2008, I changed some aspects of our faculty meetings to implement what I had learned from workshops about clerking meetings for business, to draw on the expertise of faculty in the area of Quaker process, and to encourage active involvement from all faculty in the decision-making process. Meetings were clerked by two teachers, members of the Agenda Committee but not administrators. Two issues before the faculty were referred to committees for study and recommendation. In both cases, the faculty as a whole affirmed the work of the committees. The e-mailed agendas included information, advice, decisions to be made, and role of the faculty for each item. At the end of the year, we reviewed the status of
issues we had considered throughout the year: what had we successfully moved forward with? What was left to be done? What items could we lay down? Charging committees to do some of our work was a big change for us. I evaluated the impact of these practices in various ways: feedback from the Agenda Committee, an end-of-year agenda item at our closing faculty meetings, and on-going informal conversation with faculty members. I tracked the work of the “greening of the cafeteria” committee in detail. We were charged to find a way to make “green” changes in the FCS cafeteria that would encourage widespread support and enthusiasm from the community. Following this process from start to finish (how it was added to the faculty agenda, how the faculty as a whole moved to authorize a committee, how that committee itself functioned, and how the faculty responded to the work of the committee) was instructive in many ways. Overall it revealed how Quaker process can elicit the best from a faculty: its problem-solving abilities, its energy, its commitment to and identification with a school-wide community, and its vision. Some of the most interesting experiences in my action research have come since I ended my administrative role. I’ve convened a group of fellow faculty interested in positively influencing the culture and atmosphere of faculty meetings. Conversations with colleagues and administrators at other Friends schools suggest that negotiating the tension between our identity as individuals and as part of a faculty community is crucial to our success in living a Friends school mission. The process by which a group of individuals becomes a community is an organic one and must be nurtured by the active, attentive, reflective practice of its members.
Next Steps The work of understanding how best to influence the “culture” of a Friends school faculty in the direction of Quaker practice is on going. An informally-constituted group has undertaken several “communal” action steps: using email to share news about members of the faculty community, thus modeling our collegial identity; combining social events with school functions to encourage faculty attendance and help us get to know one another better; reflecting on faculty meetings to identify what helps increase our sense of communal identity; speaking explicitly about our Quaker identity as members of Friends school faculties; supporting practices we find to be positive, energizing and productive and influencing the faculty agenda, whenever possible, to encourage this work.
Laura Novo
Michael Saxenian
Assistant Head of School and Chief Financial Officer Sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC Profile In addition to overseeing the school’s operations and finance, I have enjoyed leading design, zoning, financing and construction of the school’s campus-wide renovation, which models advanced green design, and the “greening” of the school’s operations. I look forward next year to teaching a new senior elective entitled Global Perspectives on Economics. I came to Sidwell Friends from Discovery Communications, where I served as Vice President and General Manager of Discovery Travel Online. Prior to that I was Vice President of Conservation Enterprise for Conservation International, and helped start and operate businesses in the fields of education and appropriate technology. I am a member of the Society of Friends. My wife and I have three wonderful daughters.
Action Research
The Role of Meeting for Worship at Sidwell Friends School Background As an administrator and a parent at a Friends’ school, I have often reflected on the question of what it is that makes Friends’ education so special. I believe that at least part of the answer lies in the special approach to worship, rather than a significantly different set of underlying values, that makes Friends education so powerful and different from that of non-Friends schools. It seems that in meeting for worship, students find a safe setting to develop and share their own truths with peers and adults. This sharing gives value to students’ inner thoughts and feelings, helping to develop a moral center and the self-esteem that they need to integrate learning and, ultimately, to navigate life. Students learn how to support others, and receive support themselves, in the context of community. Exploration/Learning To test this view, I have begun reviewing available research and conducting interviews within the Sidwell Friends community. My research has benefited from a 2003 study conducted by the school’s Quaker Life Committee of the Board of Trustees. Among many relevant observations, that study reports that a survey of students in grades 7-12, parents, faculty, administrative staff and trustees, found meeting for worship to be “the most highly prized Quaker practice to all the groups” surveyed. My own interviews and conversations with students at the lower, middle and upper school levels, as well as with graduates, tend to reinforce this finding, though there are notable differences by age. Interviews and less formal conversations and anecdotes suggest that the perceived value of meeting for worship increases as students progress through school, and that meeting for worship at school is most valued after graduation. Many lower and middle school students are slow to identify benefits of meeting for worship, and tend to see it as boring, though adults often note that these students demonstrate a remarkable ability for their ages to settle and sit in silence. Some upper school students note that meeting for worship provides a time to leave stress and work outside, to focus away from the academic program, and to learn from their peers in ways that would not otherwise be possible.
Meeting for worship also provides exposure to students in other grades, and, it was noted, helps build respect and community among students. One upper school student noted that the same respect is afforded to the thoughts of a freshman as to the head of school. She went on to say that “It is terrifying, but really cool. Cool to have that power and to make people care.” Upper school students and adults alike note that upper school meetings run the range from largely silent, to frivolous, to profound, depending upon what has been happening in the lives of the students—both in and out of school. Meeting seems to respond to the emotional needs of the students at the timesometimes allowing them to vent anxiety by being silly during stressful academic periods, or express grief during periods of personal or community loss. A senior said she feels a loss on weeks when she misses meeting for worship, and cannot imagine being without it next year at college.
Next Steps While I plan to continue to reach out to students and alumni of Sidwell Friends School, I would also like to see how the experience at Sidwell Friends compares with that of other schools. I plan to use both the dissertation of Mark Franek and a monogram written by Matt Glendinning to continue my research and reflection. Mark is a former dean of students at William Penn Charter School. His University of Pennsylvania dissertation research on meeting for worship draws upon data from students and graduates of Penn Charter that are not Quaker. Matt researched and wrote a monograph on meeting for worship while at Germantown Friends School.
Michael Saxenian
Marcy Seitel
Middle School Head Oakwood Friends School, Poughkeepsie, NY Profile I have had the chance to experience Friends education from a variety of angles in my roles as a parent, teacher, administrator, and as a member of a Friends meeting connected to a school. What I cherish most, and am still surprised by, is the caring in Friends schools. People not only care for one another, but also work to create daily routines and practices that encourage caring for one another in the community and in the world. This caring allows the inner light to shine brightly and bring out brilliance in all. With our brilliance, we can bring peace to the world.
Action Research
In my new school, how can I work with parents effectively when I very rarely see them? Background Serving in a school leadership position gives me the chance to look at a program as one piece and to see how the parts of the program interact with one another. Supporting different aspects of a program and encouraging collaboration among the people in the program is an enjoyable part of my work. Soon after I became the middle school head at Oakwood Friends School in August 2008, I realized that getting to know the parents would not be easy. Many students live a distance from the school and ride area school buses, so parents come to campus only rarely. Parents say they are too busy to attend more than one or two parent events during the year. In a Friends school, we want to teach the “whole child,” so knowing parents is vital. The NAIS guidelines for middle schools stress the importance of having forums for sharing the school’s values and mission with parents. I follow the simple advice that parents need to be able to have an intelligent conversation with their child about school. How was I to encourage this? Exploration/Learning Building a relationship with parents would have to involve technology of some kind. I decided to focus on email rather than our website because I could implement email without worrying about the public aspect of a website. I was dissatisfied with the newsy letters I was writing, and I thought pictures were needed to let parents know that their children were doing well, even though middle schoolers often complain about their day. After talking with teachers, parents, and our head of school, I decided to try four kinds of intentional email communications. This took courage because I resist setting expectations for
communication that may be hard to keep. However, I felt it would help me reach an important goal. The four intentional email communications are: A formatted weekly bulletin listing the events of the week, reminders, and future events. It includes topics of school meetings, guest speakers in classes, and other school events. A letter of substance sent as needed, focusing on an aspect of school life that relates to students’ overall growth and the social dynamics of the student community. This promotes clarification of the values and mission of the school in specific situations. Regular and consistent sending of the school’s “academic feedback forms.” An established practice of the school, this communication lets parents know about missing assignments, behavior difficulties, and good accomplishments in the classroom. We worked as a staff to overcome doubts about these, and to use them consistently. Sending photographs of students at work during the school day to parents. After discussing this idea with our head of school, he gave iPhones to several of us so we can take pictures of students and instantly email them to parents. Parents see their middle schoolers looking engaged and competent, and sometimes very proud. All of these communications have been effective in strengthening my, and the middle school’s, relationship with parents. Each time I email parents as a group, several or more reply with some piece of information or an idea of their own. Unlike web information, emailed information invites dialogue – the reply button is part of each communication. Through this communication, I have learned more about the students and their families. Even though middle schoolers are becoming more independent, parents still need to know what is happening at school, academically and socially. Students do better academically when feedback is fast and specific. Feeling informed about the school day through a variety of ways gives parents a well rounded picture of their child’s school progress and experience; they feel confident that they know what is going on in their child’s school life. I underestimated the power of having parents simply feel informed. I learned that all information conveyed to parents about their child brings real affection and appreciation for the faculty and the school. The school’s mission and values become apparent through each communication, but even more so, through the four different kinds of communications.
Next Steps Develop with teachers an academic bulletin that would go out by email every few weeks, and would give a brief overview of the content and skills being taught in each class. Find ways to bring middle school parents together as a group - in person.
Marcy Seitel
Sarah Sweeney-Denham Associate Director Friends Council on Education Profile I am very grateful to have learned at an early age that I am truly at home in Friends education. The origin of my faith and my calling can be traced to my experience as one of two founding students of Greenwood Friends School. I still marvel at the power of simply being open to learning from one another, after having experienced it as a Friends school student at Greenwood Friends (then called Community Friends), development officer and teacher at Delaware Valley Friends, parent at Friends Select School and Plymouth Meeting Friends, and now, as associate director of the Friends Council where I witness that power expressed in the diverse Friends schools in our membership. I am interested in connecting people and celebrating community in many different ways.
Action Research
Quaker Life for Non-Teaching Staff in Friends Schools: Lived Experience Background My experience as a non-teaching staff person in a Friends school was profoundly spiritual. In many ways my school served as my meeting at that time in my life. Strong staff involvement in the Quaker life at that school was influenced by the head’s emphasis on full community involvement. The answering machine was on during meeting for worship—all staff members were expected to attend meeting for worship and school-wide in-service sessions. I was curious to learn if non-teaching staff members in Friends schools share a similar experience and what factors contribute to it. My own experience has been in small Friends schools, and I wanted to learn about staff experience within larger schools with more complex dynamics. I wanted to test my belief that Friends schools can be transformative for all within them. I explored ways Friends schools work with non-teaching staff to deepen understanding and engagement with Quaker faith and practice beyond orientation toward authentic practice in community. I planned focus group discussions with the goal of learning from people’s lived experiences, asking a few open questions, listening carefully to their responses, and looking for themes in their responses. Exploration/Learning I set up focus group discussions at three K-12 Friends schools in the Philadelphia area. The questions that guided our discussions were: What opportunities are there for you to participate in the Quaker life of the school? Describe the value of those opportunities for you. Is there anything particular to your faith or values that connects with Quakerism? How is your job, and how are you, different from working in a Friends school?
Eventually I incorporated additional questions, such as: How much engagement in Quaker life is wanted? What do you identify as needs in terms of staff members being part of the spiritual life of the school? What recommendations do you have for Friends schools to create rich and inclusive spiritual life for all members of the school community? Focus groups were made up of non-teaching staff members including administrative assistants and staff from food service, security, buildings and grounds, transportation, admissions, athletics, business, development, and communications departments. I worked to create groups with a diversity of role, time at the school, gender, religion, and race. Findings Major themes—Staff members: Feel part of and highly value the strong community in their school Experience a paradox of valuing community while also feeling excluded from it Struggle to make space for worship, but feel welcome in doing so if they choose. Those who attend worship regularly due to an expectation, requirement, or as part of their role, highly value the experience and appreciate being part of it. Some expressed a wish for it to be required. Identify trust as part of their working experience related to the Quaker life of school Recognize class structures within schools between faculty and staff that have in some cases become institutionalized and mirrored in benefits structures Value in-service experiences that are inclusive of their perspectives Identified needs include: Extend ongoing invitations to include staff in community events for exploration and deepening engagement with Quaker values and practice Share school literature on Quaker nature of the school with non-teaching staff Create opportunities and/or structures for non-teaching staff to engage in shared decision making and threshing of issues Open exploration of institutional commitment to equality Create professional development programs with staff members in mind I have created a list of queries to support schools in exploring these issues within their own communities.
Next Steps I plan to interview Friends elementary staff to continue gathering information. I plan to share both my reflections from the interviews and the queries that were inspired by the interviews with the participants and with others interested in this work. I’m grateful to the participants and the schools for openly sharing their experiences with me for this study.
Sarah Sweeney-Denham
Ida Trisolini
Teacher, Clerk of Staff Development Committee Carolina Friends School, Durham, NC Profile My passion for Friends education began when I was a student at Sandy Spring Friends School in the 1980’s. I had wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember and at SSFS, and in Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Camping Program, I first discovered the connection between my Quaker upbringing and desire to teach. As I have worked for over 20 years in two Friends schools and two Quaker summer camps, that connection has grown into a passion. I appreciate so much working and learning in a community that holds Quaker values at its center; that celebrates the multiplicity of cultures that surrounds us; that values silent worship; that actively develops young peoples’ commitment to serving others and taking ownership of the earth; that asks excellence of each of us. Now, as a long-term staff member at Carolina Friends School, I seek opportunities to continue to foster the vibrant community that grows out of the school’s strong commitment to Quaker philosophy. Action Research
What role can veteran staff play in growing, fostering, and nurturing the sense of spirit in our schools and how can we best utilize their wisdom and expertise? Exploration/Learning My interest in this topic began several years ago when I realized that the staff of Carolina Friends School (CFS) had a large number of teachers approaching retirement age. To my knowledge, thankfully, most of them have no plans to retire any time soon, however, I began to think about the institutional wisdom they would take with them when they do go. I became very cognizant of the number of times in my 12 years at the school I have counted on, looked to, leaned on, or otherwise relied on those very staff members whom I could imagine leaving en masse. When I began my project, I wanted to look at how the school could best utilize the institutional memory the veteran staff hold and the accompanying wisdom they have gained. As a member of the staff development committee, I had a concurrent interest in making sure new staff members at CFS felt well cared for, so I formulated the implementation of my research to include them in the process. To prepare, I read articles about mentoring programs in other schools. I found that while mentor programs differ considerably, most focused on the role of the veteran staff member as support for the new staff member via conversation, classroom visitation and peer-evaluation. Supporting new staff was one of my goals, but I was really interested in creating space for the veteran staff to share their expertise. So, I sent an appeal for volunteers to the entire staff and paired each new staff member with a veteran staff volunteer. I used our newest staff members to conduct the interviews, so that they could directly benefit from the answers the veteran staff offered. I arranged with our head of school to send the pairs out to lunch with a set of questions I had designed. After the lunch, both members of each pair completed a survey about their experience. It all worked out more beautifully than I had imagined. While it was challenging for the staff pairs to find time to get off campus together for lunch, all pairs reported very much enjoying the opportunity to spend time together and finding it valuable for a wide variety of reasons.
During the lunch interviews, pairs talked about all kinds of things in addition to the three questions I had posed. Their conversation topics included setting high standards for students and maintaining consistency and clarity in holding them to those standards; the importance of keeping the philosophy of the school “right in front of us”—especially when we get busy and overwhelmed; and the importance of flexibility and constant transformation personally and professionally. As a follow-up to my initial action research, this year I helped initiate an “Extended Support for New Staff” program at CFS. It began as a synchronistic blending of my research project and an idea from our head of school, Mike Hanas, for offering greater support for new faculty. This year, we put in place a slightly abbreviated version of what will be an ongoing mentor program that we call “Seasoned Friends.” We defined Seasoned Friends as faculty and staff who have been at the school for more than 10 years. They were invited to volunteer to serve in a mentoring role to new staff members. This year, we have also instituted a new staff retreat during which we offer opportunities for them to ask questions and give us feedback about what kinds of support they need, all over a great lunch together. This year we instituted a “Veteran Staff” retreat designed to honor staff members who have served the community for 20 years or more.
Next Steps In conversations with Mike Hanas and Charlie Layman, staff clerk, we’ve brainstormed next step options. First, some time needs to be set aside for a staff member to continue facilitating the Seasoned Friends interactions with new staff. We hope to grow this program into an on-going rich, mentor program. In addition to lunches out together twice a year, we have explored other roles for this paired relationship. My hope is that we will begin the fall of 2009 with a specific set of jobs outlined for the seasoned members of our staff to provide for their new staff partners. The grace and generosity with which these seasoned friends have risen to the call to offer their wisdom and expertise begs a few more questions: Do these veteran staff have a different role to serve just by virtue of their longevity? Are there specific functions we should be asking them to serve because only they can? Are there additional cost effective ways for us to show our appreciation to all of our faculty and staff? Are we, as institutions, remembering to notice and honor the service of our longest term members?
Ida Trisolini
Nancy van Arkel
Middle School Principal Westtown School, Westtown, PA Profile As the child of parents whose lives were profoundly influenced by their experiences in Friends boarding schools, I spent nearly 30 years teaching and directing the libraries of two schools, Oakwood Friends School and Westtown School. When the position of middle school principal at Westtown became available five years ago, I was as surprised as anyone about my leading to apply. Now in my fourth year as principal, I have discovered energy and joy in working with teachers, students and parents to create an atmosphere of intellectual curiosity and growth coupled with a caring, safe social environment for children during their middle years.
Action Research
Forming a Collegial Support Group for Middle School Principals Background Throughout my career, I have been acutely aware that while some people in our schools have a number of colleagues who understand and collaborate with them in their work, others labor in stand-alone positions. Division heads and library directors share the quality of working without counterparts within the school community. In my library work, I was fortunate to be surrounded by local, regional and national professional associations which provided me with groups of colleagues from other schools with whom I could collaborate, problem solve or test out new ways of thinking. As a principal, however, I have been surprised by the lack of deep, professional connection with other division heads, despite the nominal presence of local groups and annual gatherings. Exploration/Learning Initially, I wondered what factors contributed to this lack of professional connection among division heads in local schools. Perhaps the library world was unique, and the sense of collegiality there was merely an extension of the fundamental premise of libraries as institutions that share information and resources. Perhaps division heads are separated by a greater sense of competition because we are directly involved in helping families choose our school instead of another. Perhaps as an inexperienced division head, I simply did not know with whom to connect or how to find my way into the existing networks. As I reflected on what had made the library networks function so well, I realized there were four factors that led to success: A small, on-going, stable group Shared, meaningful work that tangibly benefited everyone in the group A predictable schedule of meetings, published annually Rotating meetings through one another’s schools as a means of knowing one another’s experience more deeply The goal for my action research project was to develop a small support group of middle school principals.
Fortunately, another MS principal in my cohort was interested in the idea. Together, we brainstormed a list of names, and narrowed the list of schools to an intimate group who shared a common mission and size. The five schools invited to participate are large, preK-12, Friends schools in the Philadelphia area, giving us as principals a common set of issues and perspectives. In my invitation, I set out the idea that we would be small in size, meet four times a year, and rotate hosting the meetings. I previewed the idea of a common purpose, welcoming suggestions and offering my own idea to create a parent education program that we would develop jointly but teach in one another’s schools as outside experts. While I had initially thought it would be shared work that would bring us together, we needed to tell our stories first. In the first two-hour meeting, we told the stories of our career paths, the structures of our schools, our struggles with managing time and priorities, and our collective interests in peace, social justice and reflective practices. As our meetings have continued, we have begun to structure them loosely around a central theme. Our winter meeting focused on our various institutional processes for supporting students academically and emotionally. In the spring, we plan to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of different middle school schedules. While it is helpful to have a focus for the meeting, we recognize that it is also important to have time to simply be relaxed with colleagues who know experientially the nature of our work, its joys and its tensions. Having visited one another’s schools and gotten to know one another better through our meetings, we now trust one another more with our vulnerabilities. We have begun to use email between meetings to seek information and advice about best practices from one another, and have considered starting a blog or Moodle to facilitate communication. Several of us have sought out others in the group as a professional resource or for personal support during a difficult situation in our school. The connection between two principals allowed a group of faculty from one school to visit the other as part of a re-envisioning process, attending grade level and faculty meetings which were extremely helpful but that might not otherwise have been open to them.
Next Steps In April, members of the Institute for Engaging Leadership in Friends Schools cohort will present our action research projects at the FCE annual gathering of division heads. I am curious to see if other division heads will be interested in forming small groups following our model. I am also interested in having my small group explore further two ideas from the beginning of our work together, now that we know one another better. One is whether we might develop a parent education program to teach in one another’s schools. The second is using our summer retreat day to experiment with clearness/critical friends protocols to use in our ongoing support of one another.
Nancy van Arkel
Mission Statement The Friends Council on Education provides leadership in drawing Friends schools together in unity of spirit and cooperative endeavors. The Council's work nurtures the Quaker life of schools, strengthens the network of support across schools, promotes Friends education through consultations, programs, and publications, and assists in the establishment of new Friends schools. The Council helps Friends schools maintain their Quaker identity and ethos, and their relationship with the Religious Society of Friends. The Council promotes professional growth for trustees, heads, administrators, and faculty to further the goals of Quaker education, and serves as a voice for Friends schools in the national dialogue on education.
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