PDS Vision - Issue 1

THE

VISION

Building the future of presbyterian day school

spring 2010

The Building Boys, Making Men Campaign Cabinet Kemmons Wilson, Jr. Campaign Chairman

Bruce Campbell

Honorary Campaign Chairman

John Colcolough PDS Board Chairman

Rodney Baber ‘61 Don Batchelor ‘66 Earl Blankenship Kim Blankenship Bo Braswell Met Crump ‘55 Ben Daniel ‘80 Michael Faber ‘90 Stephanie Linkous Lon Magness ‘79 Stilly McFadden ‘69 Gregg Meeks

Phase 2: The Campaign to Raise $10 Million Begins! by

Lee Burns, Headmaster

We are excited to announce the second phase of our Building Boys, Making Men Campaign. Having completed the first phase, this new phase focuses on developing in our boys vital 21st century skills that they will need to be scholars and leaders in a dynamic global community.

Beyond the traditional basics in education, PDS boys need training in the new basics of the 21st century: critical and creative thinking, collaboration and teaming, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, cross-curricular problem solving, and leadership. They need a Biblical vision of manhood and to be as strong in their faith and character as they are in their scholastic abilities.

To deliver this sort of education requires not only a new mindset and boldness from schools, but it necessitates new and different facilities.

When we have secured the investments for Phase 2 of the campaign, PDS will build a music center, art wing, media center, science lab, learning center and cafeteria. These new world-class facilities will greatly enhance our boys’ creativity and imagination through music and art, inspire them to become

scientists and engineers, connect them to new friends, countries and ideas around the world, support the unique learning styles different boys have, and promote greater health, nutrition and fitness.

This new phase focuses on developing in our boys vital 21st century skills that they will need to be scholars and leaders in a dynamic global community.

I encourage you to learn more about this phase of our campaign and to partner with us as we seek to build boys and make men.

Bryan Nearn ‘55 Chris Sanders Fred Schaeffer ‘82 Chuck Smith ‘60 Barbara Williamson

Increased Space for Music Phase 2 will provide PDS boys with over 6,376 square feet for increased music opportunities, including eight rooms for private lessons as well as performance/practice areas for a student orchestra and band, choral ensembles, and choirs. A strong music program gives PDS another powerful teaching and learning tool. Music nourishes the soul and the creative impulse. With its structure and spatial relationships, music introduces mathematical reasoning, and it aids in important cognitive development. Furthermore, it enhances important listening and concentration skills, all of which can translate into greater academic achievement.

The Campaign for PDS focuses on facilities, programs and endowment and is an investment in our boys and teachers. It will give our teachers the tools, ongoing training, and facilities they need to offer their boys a world-class education.

Help Us

Build Boys and Make Men by

Kemmons Wilson, Jr., PDS Capital Campaign Chairman

As Chairman of the Capital Campaign, it is my distinct privilege to serve this remarkable institution. My reason for serving is simple: I firmly believe that the intellectual and moral development of a child takes place in the elementary years. You have only one opportunity in a child’s lifetime to get it right, and I believe it is during the critical ages of 3-12. Formative skills such as the ability and motivation to learn, value systems, spiritual development, and pivotal character traits like integrity and resilience are developed in childhood. The span of years a boy spends at PDS will set the stage for the remainder of his life.

Significant progress has been made in the capital campaign to date. Phase 1, which included the Early Childhood Center, new gym and Lifetime Fitness

Center, the multipurpose fields, and early childhood playground, is complete.

Phase 2 addresses these critical need areas: science lab, art center, music center, media center, cafeteria and kitchen, and reading and learning center. To accomplish our overall goal of putting the physical plant in a state that will position PDS to be the finest and most advanced elementary school for boys in the world, Phase 2 addresses critical “musts� that prepare boys for the 21st century.

We all go through life wanting to make the best investments we possibly can and to leave a meaningful legacy. PDS boys will be future leaders in business, medicine, law, education, and in civic and spiritual affairs. But more importantly, they will be dedicated and devoted husbands, loving fathers, good neighbors and

caring citizens. In my opinion, there can be no better investment than in the lives of these young boys and no better legacy than the educational experience at PDS. Norma and I ask you to prayerfully consider a gift to the campaign. PDS is blessed with the leadership of Lee Burns with his staff, faculty, and the board.

They have created a great strategic vision for the school and have a well-defined implementation plan for making that vision become real. Your commitment to the campaign will be a gift to support PDS boys of today and tomorrow.

Help us Build Boys and Make Men.

Increased Space for Art Phase 2 will provide PDS boys with an Art Center with over 300% more space for art instruction, which will include areas for painting, drawing, sculpting, woodworking, and other hands-on activities which boys need. Art gives boys a strong foundation in the critical 21st century skills of creativity, imagination, communication, and problem solving.

The reasoning that goes into art production is the same reasoning that an engineer uses to create new software, to design a building, or to solve the problems of tomorrow.

The ability to design and create in a world of automation and outsourcing will give PDS boys a competitive edge.

2 | THE

VISION

A Media Center as an Information Hub Phase 2 will include the creation of a Media Center which will become the information hub for the PDS learning experience. The Media Center will provide an abundance of space large enough for video conferencing with experts or other schools, high tech enough to provide our teachers and boys with the most advanced audio visual equipment, comprehensive enough to house PDS’s existing collection of almost 20,000 library books, and boy friendly enough to include plenty of light, color, and seating.

Why Give to PDS? A boy’s academic foundation is established during his elementary school years, and it is upon this foundation that all other subsequent education is placed. Therefore, the foundation must be solid, broad and well designed. By the age of 13, 90% of a child’s spiritual hardwiring will occur.

PDS provides a remarkably strong Christian foundation for its students during this critical stage of development.

A Teacher’s Perspective by

Terri Jarratt, PDS First Grade Teacher

My job as a first grade teacher is to deliver learning to every boy in my class in a way that meets his needs. Since I became a PDS teacher in 2003, I have come to understand Jarratt Family (L-R): Terri, Jeff ‘73, deeply that boys Brad ‘09, Alex ‘05 are motivated and learn in a very specific and unique way. They want to move; they want to use their hands and their bodies. They want to build and construct -- things and knowledge.

The great opportunity this capital campaign offers us, from a teacher’s perspective, is the opportunity to have learning spaces that truly support, enhance, and enrich in a modern and exciting way the learning experience for boys. I think of a new science lab, a new art studio, dedicated music space, and the new media hub all as incredible tools that will be available to me to help boys learn in a 21st century environment that reflects how they will communicate and interact when they are grown and working.

I think of what is possible if we had the space that allowed the boys to use the process of building and experimenting handson to learn on a more regular basis. Now when I am teaching properties of matter, for example, and we are talking about solids, liquids, and gases, we can only do short, controlled experiments in the classrooms. Time and space constrain and limit what is possible because we have to stop and clean up so we can use that space for the next lesson in the next subject.

A more boy-friendly way to learn science is to have time and space that allows exploration of ideas with our minds through our hands, like real scientists in real, actual science labs.

The same is true for art and music. Our boys will benefit

tremendously by having art studio space that is conducive to drawing, painting, larger sculpting, construction, and woodworking. For some boys, the priority is to have dedicated music space to explore and develop their skills through private instruction, or vocal coaching, or recording their own garage band production.

While a first grader is very focused and busy developing the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and numbers, he is also learning a foreign language and discovering that there is a whole world beyond what he knows in Memphis. In our new media center, we will be able to easily video conference with a class of first graders in China who speak Mandarin. Our boys can speak to boys their own age and see how they are different and how they are the same. It is one thing to have a teacher in our classroom to speak phrases and teach words, but we can facilitate more understanding and cultural competency when the boys are having full conversations with and seeing children their own age that speak another language and live in another culture. Imagine what doors in our boys’ minds might open when we can Skype a researcher in India who would talk to us about his science lab and research, and we see his environment as very much like ours down the hall.

PDS is committed to making sure I have the tools I need to teach and do what is best for the boys.

As a PDS teacher, I have never asked for something that I needed to teach that I didn’t get. PDS is committed to making sure I have the tools I need to teach and do what is best for the boys. I love discovering that my classroom does not have to stop with the four walls. More dedicated learning spaces are critical learning tools with which we have the opportunity to create more learning opportunities for PDS boys. We do a great job now with what we have, but there is so much more we can do. With my family’s donation to the capital campaign, I am investing in the expanded and exciting learning we will be able to create every day.

THE

VISION | 3

The Campaign for PDS is a $26 million comprehensive campaig

COMPLETE

Almost $16 million raised.

* PEarly Childhood Center * PPhysical Education Center * PLifetime Fitness Center * PCommons * PMultipurpose Fields * PPlaygrounds * PCrain Center for Global Learning

* PMartin Institute for Teaching Excellence * PTuition Assistance for Students * PProfessional Development for Teachers * PThe Building Boys, Making Men Program * POutdoor Pavilion * PCampus Parking

AR POPL

UE AVEN

Campus Parking

Playgrounds

Early Childhood Center Outdoor Pavilion

Commons

Multipurpose Fields

Lifetime Fitness Center

L RA T N CE

4 | THE

VISION

E NU E AV

Physical Education Center

gn, with an emphasis on facilities, programs, and endowment.

Seeking Investments

PDS’s goal is to raise $10 million.

* Music Center * Art Center * Media Center * Reading and Learning Center

* Science Lab * Dining Hall and Kitchen * Tuition for Students * Professional Development for Teachers

AR POPL

UE AVEN

SCIENCE LAB

music center

Reading & Learning Center

L RA T N CE

E NU E AV

ART Center

media center

Dining hall & KiTCHEN

THE

VISION | 5

A New Science Lab Phase 2 will double the amount of space at PDS dedicated to science labs. A deep grasp of science and the critical thinking protocol of the scientific method is an essential 21st century skill. Having two hands-on labs will make the science experience deeper and more meaningful. The additional space will allow PDS boys to become scientists instead of just reading about them, and it can help spark a passion for one day pursuing a career as a scientist or engineer.

For Memphis, for the community by

Fred Schaeffer, PDS Class of 1982

I have stayed closed to PDS since I graduated in 1982. My son Fred, III, is in senior kindergarten. My father served on the board at PDS for many years, and now I am serving on the board. PDS is a great school. I love the school, and I love where it is at this point in time. Besides my church, I can’t think of a better mission or a better cause to support than PDS. My family and I have given to the capital campaign to name the new PDS locker room in memory of my dad, Frederick C. Schaeffer. You can’t find a school that gives a young boy a better model: the educational base, the heart, and the courage to become a good and Godly man.

PDS has always been a great school. With the leadership of Headmaster Lee Burns, PDS continually works to find ways to teach boys better. There is an unprecedented emphasis on professional learning. PDS teachers have opportunities to study at Harvard or to participate in research teams with educators from around the world. This emphasis on professional development has transformed the whole school from the days when I attended. Lee has taken the school to another level scholastically, and I mean this in regard to the boys as well as the faculty and staff. PDS is a place where everyone is learning and growing all the time.

While the mission of PDS has pretty much stayed the same over all these years, there is a commitment to fulfilling the mission even better every year. PDS is simply not a place that rests on its laurels, and the mission of building boys making men is not just words. PDS actively looks through the lens of the school’s mission and the school’s values, and asks, “How we can enhance what we do now to be better tomorrow than we are today?”

My dad passed away before he met my son and before he was able to experience PDS as a grandparent. My dad loved PDS and he was an avid sports fan, so we thought the locker room would be a great way to honor him. I know my dad would be so proud of my son at PDS and all the things PDS is doing. He would think PDS is hitting on all cylinders. He would be glad to see PDS advance its mission without ever losing its focus.

I know that it is now my generation’s time to carry the torch of leadership by investing in the preparation and development of the next generation...

Giving a gift is a very personal consideration. I invest in what I believe in, and PDS has always meant a lot to my family and me because it is the right balance -academics, faith, social and emotional growth, and physical challenges. I know that it is now my generation’s time to carry the torch of leadership by investing in the preparation and development of the next generation, just like my dad and his generation did for us. It is our time to step up and invest in the future. My investment in PDS is as much for the city of Memphis as it is for the school. The future leaders of our city are being built right now at PDS, and that excites me.

Schaeffer Family (L-R): Courtney, Fred ‘82, Fred, Courtney

6 | THE

VISION

A Reading and Learning Center for All Boys Each PDS boy is a unique learner with a distinctive set of strengths, weaknesses, temperaments, and interests. PDS develops specific learning profiles on all fourth through sixth graders. Our goal is to assure that every learner thrives. Particularly important is for every boy to be a strong reader, and small group work is an essential component of that. Phase 2 will provide PDS boys with an entirely new learning center staffed with reading specialists who will work with our boys to refine their reading skills, comprehension, and fluency. Additionally, specialists will be available to assist boys in fine-tuning their specific learning styles, strengthening their study skills, and understanding strategies associated with time management and test taking.

Why Give to PDS? PDS seeks to position itself as a leader by preparing students for a much different and more competitive world.

PDS boys will grow into the future leaders of Memphis, the Mid-South and the United States. An investment in PDS is a wise investment in our city, region and country. The world is changing rapidly; as a result, the world’s educational paradigm is changing rapidly too.

A New Dining Hall and Kitchen Phase 2 will provide ALL students and faculty with a new, larger cafeteria and a kitchen. No longer will some PDS boys be forced to eat lunch as early as 10:55 a.m. or as late as 1:15 p.m. simply because our current cafeteria is much too small.

No longer will PDS boys eat fast food or food prepared by another food source simply because we have no kitchen in which to prepare our own meals. Finally, PDS boys will have an opportunity to eat smart and healthy food selections because the school can prepare balanced and nutritious meals in its own kitchen.

The keys to a healthy lifestyle are fitness and nutrition. Our new lifetime fitness

center and physical education program represent the fitness half of the equation.

The remaining element is the nutritional element. With the construction of a new dining hall and kitchen, PDS will complete the total nutritional equation.

To make way for the new dining hall, kitchen, and reading and learning center, PDS’s administrative offices will be relocated to the E Building and into the former offices occupied by the youth program of Second Presbyterian Church. In addition, the former athletic center lobby will be remodeled and used as PDS’s main entrance.

How Can I Give?

There are many ways you can support PDS through gifts you make today that can bring you tax savings, increased income, and other benefits.

WAYS TO GIVE NOW • Cash • Appreciated Property • Real Estate

OTHER WAYS TO GIVE • Will or Living Trust • Retirement Plans • Trusts • Life insurance FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about the Building Boys, Making Men Campaign for PDS, contact Cynthia Graham at 901-842-4694 or visit www.pdsmemphis.org

THE

VISION | 7

THE

VISION

NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE

PAID

Building the future of presbyterian day school

MEMPHIS, TN PERMIT NO. 554

4025 Poplar Avenue • Memphis, Tennessee 38111-6022

The Campaign for PDS is a $26 million comprehensive campaign, with an emphasis on facilities, programs, and endowment. The campaign will give our teachers the tools, ongoing training, and facilities they need to offer their boys a world-class education.

Almost $16 million has been raised in gifts and pledges during Phase 1.

Phase 2 seeks to raise the final $10 million.

Complete Almost $16 million raised.

* PEarly Childhood Center * PPhysical Education Center * PLifetime Fitness Center * PCommons * PMultipurpose Fields * PPlaygrounds * PCrain Center for Global Learning * PMartin Institute for Teaching Excellence * PTuition Assistance for Students * PProfessional Development for Teachers * PThe Building Boys, Making Men Program * POutdoor Pavilion * PCampus Parking

Seeking Investments PDS’s goal is to raise $10 million.

* Music Center * Art Center * Media Center * Reading and Learning Center * Science Lab * Dining Hall and Kitchen * Tuition Assistance for Students * Professional Development for Teachers