Northwood’s Pedagogical Evolution for the 21st Century Executive Summary
Naturally Northwood | True North The natural evolution of Northwood School brings a refined academic vision that fits our microculture – highly portable, individualized, unique learning opportunities designed for our athletes, artists, engineers, and outdoor adventurers. Northwood’s academics are evolving with the 21st century to offer students opportunities for self-paced and mastery-based courses that complement our signature programs and prepare students for high-level independent initiatives in research, professional apprenticeship, liberal studies, entrepreneurship, publishing, sports management, and more. Rooted in research on the pedagogical practices that inspire students – agency, relevance, choice - Northwood’s academic vision curates customized rigor by pairing students with visionary educators, coaches, mentors, and leaders who help them discover new ways of knowing, thinking, and understanding. Northwood supports each student on an individualized pathway to discover their true North.
A Natural Organizational Evolution
TOGETHER TODAY, FOR NORTHWOOD TOMORROW
National and Regional Demographic Changes • U.S. population shifting geographically towards south • Birthrates are lower in the Northeast • Nationwide drop in school age enrollment
Trends in Independent Schools • Reliance on annual tuition increases for parents (private tuition has risen 1200% over the last 30 years) • Unsustainable increases in staff insurance benefits (5-10% annually) • Declining enrollment across independent schools (44% of boarding schools failed to meet enrollment capacity in 2022 - 2023)
Business Case for Northwood Evolution Financial feasibility studies on small private schools and colleges all come to the same conclusion: the current model isn’t sustainable. Built in another century, the current model limits efficiency by fixing labor costs with teacher/student ratios, relies on unsustainable tuition increases for families, and remains ill-equipped to deal with market uncertainty. Institutions without titanic endowments, which are the vast majority of private schools and small colleges, need to evolve in order to continue serving students, families, faculty, and the communities they are embedded in. Northwood’s evolution was designed to better optimize tuition dollars to improve the quality of a Northwood education by streamlining the labor model, reimagining the roles and responsibilities of faculty, and leveraging current innovations in high quality learning and administrative tools worldwide. This will allow us to remain competitive in the secondary market, appeal to students whose co-curriculars demand flexibility, and operate a sustainable school.
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Elements of Our Evolution Instructional Practices for the 21st Century Coursework is mastery-based; students progress only once they have mastered the skills to move on to more complex material All learning is portable; assignments, assessments, homework, and projects can be completed anywhere in the world using our integrated online design Self-pacing is built into each course so that students can customize the rigor of their coursework and challenge for honors All coursework involves hands-on experience with real work in a variety of fields and professional contexts with a strong emphasis on original research Mentoring drives our instructional model as we surround students with teachers, coaches, and industry leaders who guide their ascent to the peak secondary experience
The Nature of Teaching: From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side Fundamental shift in the role of teaching – the adult serves as a facilitator, designer, or guide to the adolescent, helping them navigate the breadth of available content to learn what’s already out there in order to create new knowledge in a given subject From “prep” to “design” – the teacher no longer preps content-driven lessons to be delivered to students, but rather designs engaging modes of discovery for student exploration, while assessing the mastery of skills, rather than the retention of content
The Bifurcated Ascent Model: From Guided Ascent to Peak Experience Peak Experience – Grades 11, 12, and PG
Guided Ascent – Grades 9 and 10
Northwood’s students follow personalized programs of study that allow them to pursue independent studies, conduct original research, learn in the field with professional mentors, and customize their core academic experience with experiential, networked courses
Northwood offers a gradual guided ascent toward self-direction by enhancing a traditional curriculum that emphasizes literacy, numeracy, mathematical and scientific reasoning, and social studies with real-world, interdisciplinary, project-based coursework that helps Northwood’s younger students ascend to the peak experience
Students who transfer in from more traditional settings, will receive the benefit of a training period in Northwood’s approach before engaging in independent work. This will ensure these students have an opportunity to build their skills and understand expectations of this self-directed coursework