The PDS Vision, Fall 2010

THE

VISION

BUILDING THE FUTURE OF PRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL

FALL 2010

MALLORY READING AND LEARNING CENTER WILL BENEFIT ALL PDS BOYS

The Building Boys, Making Men Campaign Cabinet

“ am really excited about this, and I want it “I to hurry up and happen,” is how Suzanne Mallory characterizes her enthusiasm for the M nnew Reading and Learning Center that will bbe constructed as part of Phase 2. Suzanne aand Neely Mallory, Jr. are underwriting the new Reading and Learning Center with their generous campaign gift. The center will be named in their honor.

Kemmons Wil K Wilson, JJr. Campaign Chairman

Bruce Campbell Honorary Campaign Chairman

Mr. and Mrs. Mallory have a long history with PDS, as parents of two alums, Neely III (Class of 1970) and Bob (Class of 1976), and five PDS grandsons. Having been associated with PDS for a long time, Mr. and Mrs. Mallory are excited about PDS today and its vision for the future. Mrs. Mallory explains, “We believe it is essential for the school to adapt to the demands of the 21st century and that it is an equally important time to develop the solid values and good moral foundation that make a man. You see this happening at PDS in their use of technology and teaching Mandarin, but faith and values

Don Batchelor ‘66 PDS Board Chairman

Rodney Baber ‘61 Earl Blankenship Kim Blankenship Bo Braswell John Cocolough III Met Crump ‘55 Ben Daniel ‘80

are essential at PDS as well. Headmaster Burns is a visionary leader, and we are excited to be a part of all that is going on at PDS.” The Reading and Learning Center will be the hub of learning for the lower elementary grades at PDS. The vision is to create a learning space and a culture that celebrates boys, books, and reading. It is true that first you learn to read, then you read to learn.

By focusing on developing a strong reading foundation for each boy, we are supporting learning for a lifetime. The Reading and Learning Center will bring the reading and learning specialists who work with boys in grades 1–4 into one large area with group instruction space as well as individual work rooms. Boys will move in and out of the center for small group instruction.

PDS currently has four reading specialists.

The 2010-11 school year marks the 10th year for reading specialists and small group reading instruction at PDS as reading specialists

Michael Faber ‘90 (continued on page 2)

Stephanie Linkous Lon Magness ‘79 Stilly McFadden ‘69 Gregg Meeks Bryan Nearn ‘55 Chris Sanders Fred Schaeffer ‘82

The Mallorys (from left to right): Neely, Suzanne, Linda, Neely III ‘70, Leslie, Bob E ‘10, William ‘18, Bob E. Jr. ‘76 and Lamar ‘11. Not Pictured: Neely IV ‘01 and Richard ‘04

Chuck Smith ‘60 Barbara Williamson

2 WE’RE OFF TO A GREAT START

PHASE

Phase 2 of the Building

I would like to offer a very special thank

On behalf of the entire PDS community,

Boys, Making Men

you to Mr. and Mrs. Neely Mallory for their

I would like to thank each and every

Campaign is off to

generous gift to support the Building Boys,

one of you for your prayers and words of

a great start, and I

Making Men Campaign. It is fitting that the

encouragement as we boldly move forward

want to thank those

new Mallory Reading and Learning Center

with Phase 2 of the campaign and for your

of you who have

will be named in their honor. Mr. and Mrs.

commitments to support the PDS boys of

already made gifts to support this extremely

Mallory believe that the elementary school

today and tomorrow.

important initiative. If you haven’t made a

years are the most formative of a boy’s

commitment, I encourage you to consider

life and share PDS’s desire to provide its

investing in the campaign and becoming

students with the finest possible resources

part of this exciting chapter in the history

to enhance a boy’s learning experience.

of your school.

Lee Burns, Headmaster

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.

(continued from page 1) were added to the faculty for the 2001-02 school year. In adding reading specialists, the goal was to create a balanced, comprehensive reading program for PDS with a special emphasis on developing critical and creative thinking skills through small group instruction.

WHY GIVE TO THE BUILDING BOYS, MAKING MEN CAMPAIGN? 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.

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

2 | THE

VISION

text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections as they read. All of these skills are related to the foundational skill of writing and are learned and practiced concurrently.

PDS currently has two learning specialists.

The first learning specialist was added to the Susan Droke, Assistant Headmaster for faculty for the school year 2006-07, with a Teaching and Learning, explains how reading second learning specialist added in school year is essential to learning. “The small group 2009-10. The role of the learning specialist curriculum has been created by the reading is to work as a resource for boys and teachers, specialists and is designed to enrich and helping them to understand two important extend the regular reading program. All boys aspects of the learning process: the unique are part of small group reading instruction profile of the learner and the best teaching methods and approaches that will maximize his successful IT IS TRUE THAT FIRST YOU LEARN learning experience and TO READ, THEN YOU READ TO LEARN. outcome. Everyone learns in a different way, yet schools have

BY FOCUSING ON DEVELOPING A not traditionally been set up to teach to a variety of learning STRONG READING FOUNDATION FOR styles. Technology is greatly enhancing the school’s ability EACH BOY, WE ARE SUPPORTING to do this in helping us to learn about how an individual boy LEARNING FOR A LIFETIME. learns best and in offering an ever-increasing arsenal because the small group is more effective. of learning tools. Learning specialists help So, to dispel a myth, the role of the reading teachers reach the learning outcomes they specialist is to work with all boys, not just boys desire while focusing on the way each boy who might need extra support,” she says. learns best. In addition, learning specialists work with boys to help them become selfThe emphasis of the PDS reading curriculum aware, independent, and strategic learners, is to focus on laying the foundation for lifelong teaching them strategies and approaches that learning by developing a love of reading. are most effective for them because of their The reading specialists strive to equip each individual learning style. Learning profiles are boy with the strategies to become confident administered to every PDS boy in grades 4–6. and competent readers by modeling reading, The Reading and Learning Center will allow writing, and thinking as the boys engage the reading and learning specialists to have a in authentic literacy activities. Reading common space in which to teach boys and plan and comprehension skills are not taught in together to maximize learning for each boy. isolation, but in the context of outstanding children’s literature. “Reading is complicated,” “Education is the key to success,” says explains Mrs. Droke. “Some of the skills Mrs. Mallory. “PDS works to provide boys that we teach explicitly and in the context of with that firm, secure foundation at the reading are inference, drawing conclusions, beginning of their educational careers. PDS main idea, using context clues, narrative gives boys values for life. We are thrilled to elements, compare/contrast skills, sequencing, think about the difference the Reading and cause and effect, and fact and opinion.”

Learning Center can make by giving extra instruction, attention, and support to all boys After attending Project Zero, an intensive as they are learning to read.” Mrs. Mallory summer program investigating student learning speaks eloquently of their gift as a legacy and cognitive development at the Harvard for the future. “Dedicating the Reading Graduate School of Education, the reading and Learning Center is the best gift that we specialists have adapted their curriculum could give our boys and future students of to include thinking routines. Mrs. Droke PDS,” she says. “I can see the Reading and explains that making sure each foundational Learning Center providing that extra bit of skill is well developed for each boy will allow support to get boys off and running toward him to then move to the higher level skills of success for many generations to come.” synthesis and application where boys make

A SCIENCE LAB FOR EVERY BOY

Kim Bullard is the Science Department Chair for Early Childhood and Elementary. Mrs. Bullard has been teaching (almost exclusively) science for 17 years. She has been with PDS for nine years.

PART OF THE VISION FOR PHASE 2 IS FOR A NEW SCIENCE LAB.

By Kim Bullard, PDS Science Lab Instructor PDS has made it possible for me to do the best job I can do every year. When I first came to PDS, the science lab was barely used. I dusted it off and started to integrate labs into the science lessons as our class schedule permitted. Of course, the boys loved coming to science lab for lots of reasons. Lab allows the boys to talk and move. Lab is about testing out hypotheses with your head and your hands. It is about discovering how things work by taking them apart and investigating the mechanics. Lab is mental and physical action.

After I had established a good routine of labs, Mr. Burns came to me and said, “You know, I like what is going on in here. I can tell the boys are engaged and learning from the noise level. They are having fun doing it. What can we do to make this better?” My answer came easy: time. The class schedule at that time limited the labs that I could set up and narrowed the labs that we could attempt. By the next school year, the schedule was revamped to make room for more and extended science labs.

We went on like that for a year or so, and Mr. Burns came around again.

“I really like what you are doing in here,” he said. “The boys are learning, engaged, and developing wonderful ways of thinking. Dream big.” he said, “Let me know how we can make this better.” I had no idea that dreaming about what boys needed to conduct more sophisticated labs more often would lead to conversations with architects, and three years later, a new science lab.

Today the current science lab is shared between grades 2–6. To make sure that each grade gets time in the lab, we spread the lab time for each grade throughout

the six-day schedule rotation. For example, Grade 3 attends lab once in a six-day rotation. Grades 4–6 attend more often but only for one semester each.

First grade conducts science experiments in their classrooms which are not equipped with adequate learning spaces or equipment for optimal exploration.

My big concern is that the boys are not getting the frequency and quality of lab instruction and actual hands-on time that they need to be prepared and knowledgeable for the science classes they will experience in high school.

We are at a time, once again, to ask what can we do to make this better?

science and to develop comfort and competence in the thinking routines of the scientific method. We need to encourage our boys from young ages to be good observers, rigorous questioners, and disciplined explorers in science and other disciplines as well. The earlier we start setting the foundational science process skills, the better we are preparing boys for the middle school and high school years. In addition, eliminating the worry over space constraints gives us the freedom to investigate that which needs to change in order to offer the best, most innovative science curriculum and experience for our learners.

The earlier we start setting the foundational science process skills, the better we are preparing boys for the middle school and high school years.

Part of the vision for Phase 2 is for a new science lab. If we have two fully equipped science labs running all year, we could provide enriched and frequent exploratory learning opportunities for all PDS boys. The second floor science lab will be dedicated space for Upper School boys whose science curriculum requires more sophisticated lab equipment and space. The current lab will then be transformed slightly to better accommodate boys grades 1–3 who physically are smaller and need a right-sized learning environment. Because fewer students would need access to each space, we could do more science more often.

Science lab is the perfect setting to work with all of the 21st century skills. With each activity boys are required to ask questions, formulate hypotheses, record observations, infer meaning from relevant observations, and draw conclusions. It is imperative that elementary schools foster the natural curiosity that children have about the world and develop thinking frameworks which will support learning and development in science and all other domains. In this way, the lab experience is about the essential process skills that a boy will take through a lifetime of learning.

I believe it is essential to start as early as possible to set a firm foundation in

THE

VISION | 3

THE

VISION

BUILDING THE FUTURE OF PRESBYTERIAN DAY SCHOOL 4025 4 40 025 Poplar 02 Poplar Po plar Avenue Avenue Ave nue • Memphis, M phi Mem phis, s, Tennessee Tennes Ten ne see 38111-6022 38 8111 111-60 11-60 -6 6 22

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.

2

PHASE

PHASE 2 IS UNDERWAY PDS’s goal is to raise $10 million. It includes funding to support:

Music Center Art Center Media Center

3Reading and Learning Center

1

PHASE

Science Lab Dining Hall and Kitchen Scholarships for Students Professional Development for Teachers

PHASE 1 IS COMPLETE $16 million has been raised. It included funding to support:

3Early Childhood Center

3Physical Education Center

3Lifetime Fitness Center

3Commons

3Multipurpose Fields

3Playgrounds

3Crain Center for Global Learning

3Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence

3Scholarships for Students

3Professional Development for Teachers

3The Building Boys, Making Men Program

3Outdoor Pavilion

3Campus Parking

NONPROFIT NON O P ON PRO RO FIT F IT T OR O ORG. R G. G. U POS US POSTAG TAG T GE POSTAGE

PAID P AID

MEMPHIS, ME MEM E M PH PHI P H I S,, TN N PE PER PERMIT E R MIT NO N O . 554 5 54 NO.