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Intellectual independence
INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE A message from the Head of School
At Summit, we believe knowledge that is earned is the most enduring. That knowledge is the soul of intellectual independence–an independence upon which Louise Futrell founded our school as evidenced in her reflection, “I had a dream school in mind where everybody could be a somebody.” For 80 years Summit has helped children grow in their ability to meet challenges, take intellectual risks and transform not only their own lives but the world around them. Summit’s exceptional educators provide the passionate and innovative learning that
inspires and develops our students to reach their full potential. Our teachers understand that curiosity is the basic fuel of learning and they neither waste nor squelch it. They embrace it–and enable each child to do the same. The pages of this issue of Summit News are filled with stories of intellectual independence. Director of Early Childhood Julie Smith describes how our classrooms are designed to nurture young children’s innate curiosity. Director of Lower School Roanne Ornelles offers a window into the 6+1 Traits of Writing Program that helps
our students become accomplished authors. Director of Upper School Gardner Barrier recounts the story of a rising 9th Grader who, inspired by his leadership opportunity at Summit Summer, invested himself in his own unique robotics projects at home. Director of Triad Academy at Summit School Carrie Malloy reveals both the roots and reach of Triad’s becoming an academic division of Summit as she combines the training she received from Louise Futrell with her long-standing fascination with neuroscience and its implications for teaching and learning. (continued on next page)
These articles reflect our Strategic Plan, Developing Our Full Potential, in action, reminding us all–through the voices of our extraordinary teachers–that inspiring learning is not limited to our students; rather, we cultivate a culture of learning that encompasses faculty, administrators, parents and community alike. Lower School teacher Cathy Denning recounts her experiences at Columbia University’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Early Childhood and Lower School teachers Jodi Turner and Teresa Tsipis describe the faculty-driven creation of Summit’s very own Center for Excellence and Innovation (CEI), a professional learning community that mines the collective knowledge and passions of not only Summit’s faculty and staff, but of our colleagues along the Reynolda corridor (including Wake Forest University, SECCA and Reynolda House), throughout the state–and beyond.
As we take the first steps in our journey of this new school year, we are guided by three questions:
1. What does Summit give to children that is essential, unique and enduring? 2. How do we prepare our students for a future we can scarcely imagine, much less predict? 3. What can we promise to our families about the difference we make in each child’s life?
The answer to all three of these questions is the same: Inspiring Learning. This learning, which plays itself out in the experiences of every member of the Summit community, includes: The robust curriculum in each division and at every grade level, Jrk through 9, at Summit; the Inspiring Learning Series, featuring speakers who, this year, will address the practical implications of John Medina’s book Brain Rules; innovative course offerings such as our work with MIT’s Media Lab, WFU’s Angell Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Southeast Center for Contemporary Art’s backyard gallery program; and our Center for Excellence and Innovation.
Intellectual Independence Summit News
These experiences demonstrate the keeping of our Six Promises: scholarship at its best, intellectual independence, a fertile learning environment, a sturdy confidence, state of the art facilities, and educators who engage the whole child. Here’s to a year of inspiring learning for our entire community– learning that lasts a lifetime.
Michael Ebeling Head of School
ISSUE IV of VI, Fall 2012
Summit School • 2100 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, N C 27106 • 336.724.5811 • www.summitschool.com • Editor: Mary Horan, Director of Communications Photography: Martin Tucker • Design: One Hero Creative, Inc. • Summit School admits students of any race, religion, color, and national or ethnic origin.
SUMMIT ESTABLISHES CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE & INNOVATION From its earliest days, Summit School has been committed to the idea that the most important factor in a child’s success is the quality of the classroom teacher. So when Head of School Michael Ebeling set out to create a Center for Excellence and Innovation at Summit to support the faculty, he asked the experts to set it up–Summit’s teachers themselves.
“We have an extraordinary amount of talent on this campus,” she said. “Our teachers are constantly striving to grow as educators and the learning that we do finds its way into the classroom each day and benefits our children.” A committee of teachers created a survey to gauge what sorts of professional development opportunities faculty members would find helpful, and then the faculty got together for a planning session. “I think we’re always wanting to be at that cutting edge,” said Teresa Tspis, a Fifth Grade teacher who served on (continued on next page)
We have an extraordinary amount of talent on this campus. Our teachers are constantly striving to grow as educators and the learning that we do finds its way into the classroom each day and benefits our children.
Centers for Excellence started at universities about ten years ago as faculty-driven professional development programs aimed at translating educational theory into practice. They are still a new idea in universities, and are even more rare in secondary education. Encouraging exceptional educators is one of three areas of focus for Summit’s strategic plan. Talented educators make everything else possible at a school, Ebeling said. “What Michael did very intentionally was to drop the idea in the lap of the faculty,” said Jodi Turner, a Junior Kindergarten teacher at Summit who served on the faculty committee that developed the CEI. “He didn’t want us to have any preconceived ideas about it. He wanted us to go out and build this from scratch.” She was initially intimidated by the idea, Turner said. But after visiting Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Ga., and talking with administrators there, she realized that Summit has wonderful assets and could start small.
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the committee. “Parent expectations are high. We don’t have to answer to state-sponsored tests. The faculty is motivated to be progressive in their teaching philosophy and to set high expectations for themselves.” The leadership team worked with Web Administrator Karen House to create a CEI webpage that allows teachers to sign up to lead a discussion or make a presentation based on what they’ve learned through a workshop, conference or their own experience. The webpage has professional development links by subject area and discipline. “Seeing this take shape during the summer was an exciting process,” said Ninth Grade Teacher Julie Giljames. A space on the third floor of the Library designed by Jr. Kindergarten teacher Cheryl Dickson will be converted to a discussion and meeting area. A New Teacher Mentor Team will offer guidance to faculty who are new to Summit or new to the profession. “We hope that it promotes a comfort in teachers teaching teachers in a professional environment,” Tsipsis said. “There’s so much talent at this school.
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We all have something to offer and we’re all willing to listen to each other. Just tapping into that will be great.” Cathy Denning, a Second Grade teacher who serves on the committee, said that Summit students will reap rewards from the CEI.
We talk about our students developing intellectual independence, but it’s just as important for the faculty “Establishing the CEI allows us to develop a professional learning community that mines the collective knowledge and passions of all of our faculty and staff,” she said. “You can accomplish more by working with others. That creates an interdependence that helps us meet the needs of all of our students.” Over the longer term, the center will extend its reach into public and independent schools in the region and spread its influence to the larger community, Ebeling said.
“Children deserve more than schools that operate in isolation,” he said. Winston-Salem has long enjoyed a reputation for civic-mindedness, Ebeling said. He sees the CEI acting as a regional think tank and catalyst for bringing exciting ideas to WinstonSalem. Typical offerings might include a regional gathering of writing teachers to learn about the latest ideas to come out of Columbia University’s Reading and Writing Project Summer Institute or a speaker series about the latest brain research from local neuroscientists. Jodi Turner said that although the focus of the CEI is on teachers and their development, the effort will have a profound effect on Summit and its culture. “We talk about our students developing intellectual independence, but it’s just as important for the faculty,” she said. “We all have our different passions and CEI will allow us to explore them and share with everyone else. That’s what we want our students to do.”
SECOND GRADE TEACHER PARTICIPATES IN WRITING PROGRAM AT COLUMBIA Many children can write well under the direction of a classroom teacher, but equipping them to write independently and powerfully are skills that will help them in every school subject–and continue to pay off after they’ve left school. Cathy Denning, a Second Grade teacher at Summit, attended the Summer Institute at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University’s Teachers College with the goal of helping her students and bringing ideas from the program back to Summit. “It’s a rigorous program that helps you plan the curriculum and gives you the best practices for the teaching of reading and writing,”
she said. “It’s a phenomenal experience that leaves your brain filled to overflow by the end of it.”
Internationally celebrated author Lucy Calkins is the founding director of the program.
The summer institute was established to extend the Teachers College program to a wider audience. The Teachers College has a mission to help young people become avid readers and writers through research and curriculum development, as well as work with students and teachers.
Denning said that the summer institute attracts more applicants than it can accept. This year’s program drew participants from all 50 states as well as about 50 foreign countries. The program is open to administrators and teachers, superintendents and principals.
It’s a rigorous program that helps you plan the curriculum and gives you the best practices for the teaching of reading and writing. It’s a phenomenal experience that leaves your brain filled to overflow by the end of it. 5
As a faculty member who works on the committee that is establishing the Center for Excellence and Innovation at Summit, Denning said that the institute was a chance to see a large professional learning community in action. “You’re talking to people from all over the world, people from other independent schools, people from public schools,” she said. “You share ideas and learn how others do things. That’s just priceless.” Institute participants met in large and small groups, where instructors helped them understand how they could take core state requirements and nudge their students toward more sophisticated reading and writing. They also learned how to develop appropriate expectations for children at various grade levels. Helping children find their voices as writers through their own
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observations is important. So is encouraging them to keep digging deeper to describe what they see and feel, Denning said.
and revision are important parts of the process. They have to ask, ‘How can I improve? How can I make my writing clearer for my audience?’”
“Lucy Calkins says that teaching kids to write is like calling them out of hiding,” Denning said.
Denning said she plans to talk with teachers at her grade level and in her division about what she learned at the institute, offer suggestions for further reading and conduct writing workshops for students, modeled after those that professional writers use.
The institute recommends that teachers use the work of established authors to mentor and inspire young writers. “You talk about how an author makes you feel. You ask how do they do that? How do they use sentence structure and words to evoke feelings?” Denning said. The institute also encouraged teachers to instill in their students the habits of effective writers. “To write well, students have to write daily,” Denning said. “They have to understand that re-reading
“Writing workshop fosters independence and depth,” she said. “You don’t just say, ‘I’m done.’ Armed with a repertoire of strategies, students can go back and look at what they’ve done, learn from each other and revise.” Ultimately, students should be expected to be as fluent in writing as they are in reading.
HAVE YOU SEEN ECHOES?
We hope you’ve seen and enjoyed Echoes, our alum publication. It features articles on alums all over the world, including: • Denise Gagnon Faulhaber who is working and living in Dubai • Chloe Kontos, who just returned from an adventure working for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic • Margaret McKinnon Gardner and Deanne Maynard, who are reliving their Summit experiences as their children attend Burgundy Farm Country Day School in Alexandria, Virginia • John Milner, whose experience on a Summit exchange program to Mexico informed his choice of career • Alums Meredith McCullough Welch, Caitlan Folan, Ashley Moser Veneziano and Stephanie Flores de Valgaz who all followed different paths to their work teaching at Summit • Burgess Jenkins, who is passing along his love of acting to students in the Carolina Actors Group right here in Winston-Salem We appreciate being able to share their stories with you. If you’d like to see an electronic version of the magazine, go to the campus news section of our website.
CARRIE MALLOY TRIAD ACADEMY AT SUMMIT SCHOOL
For dyslexic students new to the Triad Academy division, the concept of intellectual independence can be a seemingly elusive goal. Performance inconsistency is a hallmark of dyslexia. Often our students have been in the habit of hiding in the classroom, hoping that their inability to read and write as well as their peers will go unnoticed. When the effort doesn’t match the output, frustration becomes a natural consequence. For children struggling with the basics, their gifts with higher order thinking and creative problem solving also go unappreciated, which is the perfect formula for self-doubt and a passive approach to learning.
their own learning. They develop a framework for managing their daily responsibilities, and learn a systematic approach to problem solving that transcends classroom performance. By the time students are ready to transition out of our division, they have the tools to express their intellectual independence which I believe is the greatest gift that we can give them. Carrie Malloy | Director, Triad Academy at Summit School
Once children enter our program, and realize that the problem does not lie within them, but rather with the fact that they require a learning approach different from their nondyslexic peers, our students gain the confidence to take ownership of
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SUMMIT PARTNERS WITH MIT When a research specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology first visited Summit in March and asked students to collaborate with him in designing a new type of bicycle, he expected them to build a working prototype out of something like legos. Instead, the group of 12 Summit Eighth Graders who were turned loose on the project built a full-scale model. The collaboration will continue this fall as a different set of students will work on refinements to the original design with Ryan Chin, a Phd candidate at MIT who works with a team that is designing alternative vehicles.
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For Chris Culp, Summit’s director of technology, the outcome was an example of what happens when students are allowed to pursue their passions. He and three other Summit faculty worked with students on the project. They also had help from Steve
and engaged, we had to remind them to get to the next class.” Chin first visited Summit in March, at the invitation of some Summit parents, when he was in town for a professional conference.
When you do something like this, you have an opportunity for it to get kind of chaotic. We never got to that point. They were so enthusiastic and engaged, we had to remind them to get to the next class. Harberger, an industrial designer, who is working part time at Summit. “We let them run with it. Once we got a couple of days into this project, we handed it over to the students. Rarely did we get involved,” Culp said. “When you do something like this, you have an opportunity for it to get kind of chaotic. We never got to that point. They were so enthusiastic
He met with Summit students and talked to them about his ongoing project in designing alternative cars and bicycles. More conversations followed and before long, Chin invited Summit students to work with him via video conferencing technology on a three-wheeled hybrid bicycle with an electric motor that would be safe and legal to operate on roads and greenways.
The bicycle the students designed is called the Summit PEV, which stands for “persuasive electric vehicle.” The design of the bike is intended to eliminate all of the usual objections to riding a bike by providing storage space, electrical help on hills and protection from bad weather. The student team, who were chosen from the robotics program, met every day for much of April and half of May. MIT gave the students broad outlines for the bike’s design, and Summit gave them a budget. They were left to fill in such questions as how to distribute the three wheels and how to provide the electrical power. Students collected parts from local bike shops, Culp said, and bought gocart frame parts. He taught students to cut and weld the various parts together. They bought a kit online that allowed them to give the bike electrical power. The vehicle ended up looking like a recumbent bike.
“I was interested to see the kids come out and develop new talents or exercise some talents they weren’t quite sure they had,” Culp said. “Leaders emerged. I discovered–and the students discovered –some people had talents we didn’t know about.” Culp also used the project to talk with the students about the skills necessary to work in a team and how to get people to listen to their ideas. Students interviewed Matthew Burcyzk, the city’s bicycling and pedestrian coordinator, to make sure their design would meet legal requirements.
running on the last day of school and drove it around the Summit parking lot. Though the students went further than expected, there are still refinements to work out–which means that this year’s students will continue their collaboration with Chin. “He said that MIT might learn something from us,” Culp said, “which was kind of unbelievable and flattering to our students.”
“It tied back into skills they learned in math and science classes,” Culp said. “And it’s art and design, too. When they were designing their vehicle, they did extensive drawing.” Chin held a conference call with the students and was able to view the frame via Skype. Students got the bike
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SUMMIT CELEBRATES 80 YEARS OF MAGIC! Save the date for the Parents’ Association Auction on March 23. Plan to attend this enchanted evening complete with silent auction, divine food, tempting drinks, and an exciting live auction. We’ll enjoy spectacular, spellbinding entertainment with Hannibal the Magician. The Summit Auction supports the Learning that Lasts Forever Capital Campaign, which has raised $10.9 million toward the $13.5 million goal. Every penny we raise at the auction supports the campaign. So, join your friends for some fun while contributing to this important goal.
THE ANNUAL FUND IS UNDERWAY Intellectual Independence is the theme for Summit’s 2012-13 Annual Fund. We believe that learning is an action verb, and that knowledge that is earned is the most enduring. Summit is a place where children are inspired to ask questions, research facts, take risks and arrive at answers that are uniquely their own. We understand that curiosity is the basic fuel of learning. We don’t waste it and we don’t squelch it. We leverage it, encouraging children to exercise their unique brand of intellectual independence every day in the classroom, across the campus and throughout their lives.
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Experience the auction with a new technology twist: wireless bidding! You won’t miss a minute of the fun while you check on your items from a handheld device or even your own smartphone. The Auction Committee promises it will be a night to remember!
If you would like to volunteer or have ideas for great auction items, please contact Dana Stallings at dstallings9697@gmail.com or Jennifer Hudson at jennandjon@mac.com.
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Summit teaches Intellectual independence The Annual Fund provides the financial support to moderate tuition cost. Your participation helps students build a rich bank of experiences, giving them the competence and the confidence to determine their place
in the world. It provides the tools and resources to make every day at school an adventure. We appreciate your participation! If you have questions, contact development@summitmail.org
THE BIG PICTURE Despite 30 years of research about dyslexia, many people harbor a number of misconceptions about the condition, said Carrie Malloy, director of Triad Academy at Summit School. They may mistakenly think that dyslexics are lazy or less intelligent than average. The Big Picture, a documentary about dyslexia, talks about causes, treatment and the impact dyslexia can have on families. The film was shown on October 11 as part of the Triad Academy dedication.
Although Redford characterizes his son as a “big picture” thinker, Dylan was still barely able to read and write by the age of ten. In the film, Dylan is a high school senior who talks about his difficulties in school as he prepares to attend college. “Now that he is grown up and thriving, there are many things that I wish I had known about dyslexia at that time–things that would have helped me understand that his struggle in lower and middle school was not the final verdict on his academic or intellectual ability or ambition,” said Redford, on the film’s website.
The film features interviews with ordinary people who struggle with dyslexia, as well as accomplished politicians, business people and others who have achieved success in their chosen field–such as Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Airlines and Virgin Records and Charles “Chuck” Schwab, founder of the first discount brokerage firm in America– who are both dyslexic. For more information about the film, visit: www.thebigpicturemovie.com
“Through this documentary, people will come to understand that dyslexics quite often have superior intelligence,” Malloy said, “but they have to work twice as hard as the average student in the average classroom to achieve comparable results.” The film was directed and produced by James Redford, and focuses on his son, Dylan, who struggled with dyslexia. James is the son of actor and director Robert Redford.
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JULIE SMITH
INDEPENDENCE IS HAPPINESS. Susan B. Anthony
We often define the education of young children in terms of what is done for them. We teach them to read, to count, to see patterns and make connections. We read stories to them and select scientific facts to share with them. But research being done by people like John Medina and Allison Gopnik is helping us understand how the brain learns– and what we can do to support that learning. Young children are a delight to teach because so much is already happening inside their brains. They are quite literally learning all the time, independently. The insights we are gaining can be applied each day, giving these young minds and hearts unique opportunities to develop. Children are born curious. They are already able to think for themselves.
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They say what is on their minds without analyzing how others will respond. We often laugh at their candor. The desire to be independent and do things for themselves is already there. Children who know they are good at doing many things feel confident and joyful. They will be prepared to look around the world, see what needs to be done and do it. In a typical day at Summit, children are encouraged to think and act independently. If we follow the young child from the moment she leaps from the car into the classroom, this is what we might see: The child rushes in, finds her cubby, hangs up her bag, pauses in the doorway and looks around. Upon entering the class she must decide whom to greet, how to greet them and which group of children,
the newest chrysalis that was found out in the garden and raise questions such as, how did it stay on the plant so well? What will happen next? Why is it green? Each of these actions, each of these decisions, was made by the child in an independent way. The Summit classroom is designed to allow the innate curiosity the child arrived with to grow. Summit teachers are experienced, keen observers. Curious learners themselves, they grasp teachable moments. Together the class explores ideas, thinking out loud and asking questions. The goal is always to find joy in learning that can be shared with others. Early Childhood at Summit teaches children to think: I am unique, I am independent and what I learn matters to others.
Young children are a delight to teach because so much is already happening inside their brains. They are quite literally learning all the time, independently. The insights we are gaining can be applied each day, giving these young minds and hearts unique opportunities to develop. if any, to join. If the activity is say, building with blocks, she must decide what to build, which blocks to use and where to place them. As the teacher rings the bell, this same child needs to stop building and join the group for morning circle. It is clear that she knows the basics of the routine and how the class jobs work. She is also able to listen carefully to teachers and classmates and respond to what they say and how they feel. This same child is able to concentrate on the discussion about
Julie Smith | Director, Early Childhood and Parent Learning
GARDNER BARRIER
As I am starting to feel like my feet are underneath me here at Summit, I find myself grinning from ear to ear. This school is a wonderful institution. The mission is well crafted, but more importantly I see it in action every day. The Six Promises of Summit are compelling ideals that we embrace across this campus. Regarding Summit’s promise of Intellectual Independence, I decided to use some of my first days at
Summit to sit down with members of our Class of 2013 to gain their perspective. David Smith offered a wonderful testimonial about his experience with robotics. Not only has David worked with robots at Summit for the last few years, but he had the opportunity to work as a counselor at Summit’s Tech Fusion camp this summer. However, the impressive part (or scary part if you ask his mom) is that David has spent quite a bit of time this summer buying his own robotics kits and working on various projects at home. To see David take the proverbial ball and run with it is exciting. And I am quickly learning, that is the norm here. Jonathan Chen, another member of Summit’s class of 2013, explained to me that through his time at Summit teachers have guided him and gradually given him more latitude. Jonathan said that as early as Second Grade with Native American Day he was being asked to create and the activity incorporated choice. Eitan Strauss-Cohn is returning to Summit this year for his 9th Grade year. Eitan was quick to share with me that he feels so encouraged in this
community. He feels encouraged to take risks, be himself, and chase down passions. Eitan also explained that, “When I need help, it is always easy to get.” In my most recent 9th Grade meeting, I had the good fortune of speaking with Marie Preske, David Smith, Davis Spivey and Anne Hayden Wray. Their collective voice was so impressive. I told them on more than one occasion that I wish I would have had a camera rolling to capture their thoughts about our school. They described a school environment that celebrates the individual and encourages that individual to be passionate about what he or she is exploring. The Six Promises are clearly linked– they are interdependent in a host of ways. I feel grateful to be a part of this school community because Summit clearly is committed to inspiring learning–and is keeping its promises every day. Gardner Barrier | Director, Upper School
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SUMMIT SCHOOL MERGES WITH TRIAD ACADEMY Summit School and Triad Academy may have officially merged on June 30, but the two schools share an intertwining history and culture that goes back more than 60 years.
up,” said Michael Ebeling, head of school. “This is about helping children with this learning profile that 15 to 20 percent of children in every classroom are going to have.”
In the 1950s, Summit School founder Louise Futrell studied the Orton-Gillingham approach, which forms the basis of teaching at Triad Academy. Futrell had been impressed with the results she had seen in children who were having trouble learning to read.
Carrie Malloy, Triad Academy’s director for the past ten years, said that dyslexia is not about intelligence, but is a condition that requires a different way of teaching. The OrtonGillingham approach is backed by medical research.
Many of Triad Academy’s board members and faculty attended Summit. Both schools share a philosophy about the responsibility of teachers finding the best method to educate each child–and the importance of good teachers to a child’s success. “Here, we’re about challenging and supporting every child who shows
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“This is a time-tested approach. We can look at MRIs and see the brain changes that happen when we use this approach,” Malloy said. “Students can make four and five years of reading progress in a year.”
Stronger Together Triad Academy was founded in 1995 to help children with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences.
About 55 First through Twelfth Graders received small group instruction on an eight-acre campus close to the Forsyth-Davidson county line. Early on, Malloy said that the school decided that it was going to focus on the Orton-Gillingham approach and become the best. The school quickly became a beacon for people who were interested in the education the school provided. Triad Academy is one of only 12 schools in the country, and the only school in North Carolina, accredited by the Academy of OrtonGillingham Practitioners and Educators. Because of its location and small size, Triad Academy struggled to give its students a range of opportunities that fully used their talents. Collaboration with schools such as Summit was difficult, as was taking advantage of educational opportunities at community institutions. Summit’s Head of School Michael Ebeling, said that children with dyslexia and related differences are often called twice exceptional. They
have a learning difference, and they often excel in the arts, math, athletics and hands-on sciences. They often have a gift for leadership. “They fit beautifully into a robust program like Summit,” he said. “These kids have a great deal to contribute to this school environment and a great deal to gain from it.”
The Merger Takes Shape The merger was a result of conversations among Malloy, Ebeling, their schools’ boards and community leaders that began in February 2011. “What inspired us to create this partnership is an acute need in the community to challenge and support students who embody a combination of being academically high achieving, creative, talented and have dyslexia– and to do so in the kind of remarkably robust learning environment that Summit offers,” Ebeling said.
When we know so much about how children learn, it’s no longer acceptable to do anything less than bring to bear the gold standard in addressing this learning difference.
Traditionally, school systems tend to place children in one of two programs– a gifted track that addresses the areas in which they excel, or a learning differences program, that addresses an area in which they struggle. The problem is that they’re not addressing the whole child or giving them the breadth of opportunities children need to reach their potential.
“People said, ‘We can really solve each others’ problems here,” Malloy said. “When we dug in and looked at the cultures, it made sense for us to become a division of the school.”
Malloy said that through the years, she has enjoyed watching what happens to children once they come to Triad Academy. She expects to see the same thing happen at Summit.
Someone told Malloy that Triad Academy does a beautiful job of remediating, but the school also does a fine job of raising citizens.
“When we know so much about how children learn,” he said, “it’s no longer acceptable to do anything less than bring to bear the gold standard in addressing this learning difference.”
“It’s a commitment to a child as a learner, and the whole child approach, which is typical of Summit,” Malloy said.
In some schools, children who struggle to keep up with others often wear masks, she said. They’re silly or apathetic or become the class clown. Once they come to Triad Academy, they drop the masks. They become confident in knowing that they are capable of learning.
Summit sees such programs as art, music and drama not as extras, but as integral to educating the whole child. Triad had an excellent program, with a low student-teacher ratio, highly trained faculty and bright students who needed a different approach to learning before returning to mainstream education.
There were long discussions about how to fully integrate Triad Academy students into Summit, Malloy and Ebeling said. Triad Academy students attend Orton-Gillingham classes, but they eat lunch with their peers at Summit. They participate in Summit’s athletic, arts and drama programs.
“There are so many people who will say, ‘I can’t make a leap into that program because that labels my child.’ If we don’t intervene, they’ll label themselves,” Malloy said. “And the label they’ll give themselves is ‘stupid.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. These are creative, talented, high achieving students. We help them unlock their potential. What a gift.”
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TRIAD ACADEMY AT SUMMIT DEDICATION Triad Academy was established 17 years ago as a fledgling school on a rural campus that was dedicated to doing one thing well–offering children with dyslexia and other language-related differences a superior education. The dedication of Triad Academy at Summit on October 11 was a chance to celebrate the school as the educational force it has become and to share with the community exciting news about how a new challenge grant made the school more affordable for those who need the education it provides. The evening featured a showing of The Big Picture,
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a film about dyslexia directed by Robert Redford’s son, Jamie Redford.
only school in the state accredited by the Association of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.
Triad Academy has been
“Whenever there has been a need or a challenge that seemed insurmountable, we have landed on our feet,” said Carrie Malloy, Triad Academy’s director.
blessed to have a broad base of support from people who aren’t directly connected to the school From the start, Triad Academy has seemed to defy the odds by not just surviving, but thriving. The school has a national reputation and is the
Triad Academy is located in the former Teaching and Learning Center at the front of the Summit campus, next to the Dining Hall. The building was redesigned to accommodate 13 classrooms, a conference room, a tutoring room and office space for administration.
We are grateful to our donors who made meeting and exceeding the Schwab Challenge Grant possible. Sandra P. Adams Mr. and Mrs. Dent F. Allison Rick and Nancy Baker Mr. and Mrs. Leslie M. Baker, Jr. Jim Bunn Mary Louise and John Burress Frank E. Driscoll Liz and Michael Ebeling Lynn Flowers and Randy Perryman Ms. Nella P. Fulton Paul Fulton, Jr. Parker and Katie Grubbs Borden and Ann Hanes Mr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Henderson Peggy Hinkle Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Hoppe Stanhope A. and Liz Kelly Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Malloy
Mr. and Mrs. John B. McKinnon Mr. and Mrs. John G. Medlin Lynda and Frank Morris David and Roanne Ornelles Karen and Tom Pranikoff Mark and Lisa Rhoades Dr. Robert & Mrs. Amy Beck Rominger Mr. Charles R. Schwab Dr. and Mrs. Timothy E. Smith Betty P. Sutton Camille H. Townsend Mr. and Mrs. John Tuohy Alex and Elliott Turner Claudette B. Weston Ben and Tillie Willis Carol and Norton Willis Mrs. James P. Willis, Sr. Steve and Bonnie Zades
Students take all of their academic courses in the new building, but join their Summit classmates for the full range of social, cultural and athletic opportunities the school offers.
school often make the sacrifices necessary to attend an independent school for the two or three years that it usually takes to remediate children with language-based difficulties.
the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, which serves children with dyslexia. Triad Academy at Summit School agreed to raise $100,000 on its own. To date, more than $200,000 has been raised.
“We’ve been able to increase our student capacity, from 55 to 62 students,” said Karen Pranikoff, Triad Academy’s director of admissions and development. “This gives the Triad students a larger social context and allows them to take advantage of opportunities on campus–sports, pottery, drama.”
The school traditionally held an annual fundraiser featuring a prominent person with dyslexia as the speaker. Last year, actor Henry Winkler spoke. Triad Academy approached businessman Charles Schwab, who discovered he had dyslexia at the age of 40, to be this year’s speaker, but he was unable to attend this year’s event.
The money will be used to fund financial aid in the Triad Division for the next two years.
Triad Academy is a school of need, Pranikoff said, meaning that families who send children to the
Instead, Schwab offered the school a $50,000 challenge grant from
“Our goal was to establish an endowment so that we can support this division in perpetuity, and we did just that,” Carrie Malloy said. Triad Academy has been blessed to have a broad base of support from people who aren’t directly connected to the school, Malloy said.
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a couple of years and then she took a detour and received her master of business administration from the Babcock Graduate School of Business at Wake Forest University.
Carrie Malloy
After graduating from the Schools of Business in the 1980s, Malloy was hired as an account executive at Long, Haymes & Carr advertising agency, which is now known as Mullen. Malloy worked on the introduction of Hanes Her Way, the company’s first foray into the women’s underwear market.
DIRECTOR
Back when Malloy was a psychology major at Wake Forest University, she did her student teaching in Summit’s Explorer Program, which was developed to help children in the First through Third grades learn to read.
After spending more than 20 years as a school director, learning disabilities administrator and teacher in local public and private schools, Carrie Malloy measures the rewards in simple terms. “Every day we have the opportunity to make a significant, positive impact in the life of a child and his or her future success,” she said. “Often times, it takes one or two days in our program for children to ask, almost indignantly: ‘Why didn’t anyone ever tell me this?’ The light switch goes on and the spirit comes back.” Malloy, who has been director of Triad Academy since 2003, has in some ways come full circle with Triad Academy’s arrival at Summit.
Louise Futrell, Summit’s founder, was in her early 90s then and was still tutoring children using the OrtonGillingham approach every day. Malloy would often practice tutoring under Futrell’s direction.
Someone told her, “So, you’re a person who likes to be involved in helping things grow.” Malloy received a bachelor’s in psychology at Wake Forest University. Malloy received her certification in Learning Disabilities K-12 from the Orton Reading Center of Salem College. But after completing her undergraduate studies, she taught for
ROANNE ORNELLES It is often said that children need both roots to grow and wings to fly. Summit’s Lower School provides both. Through our child-centered classrooms, in which students are rooted in a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to their community of learners, and instruction that encourages each student to take risks and be problem-solvers that can shape their world, we help children reach their full potential.
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Someone told her, “So, you’re a person who likes to be involved in helping things grow.” “I’ve never looked at it like that before,” she said, “but I guess he was right.” Both of her careers in advertising and education have allowed her to use her background in psychology. “I’ve always been fascinated by neuroscience and its implications for teaching and learning,” she said. “Folks who came before me saw the anecdotal evidence in the OrtonGillingham approach, but they didn’t have the benefit of functional MRIs that document the neuronal changes that occur when dyslexics are taught in a way that takes into account the way they process information.”
What does this look like in the Lower School? If you walk into a classroom in the morning, you will see children walk confidently into the classroom, greet their peers and teachers, and complete daily jobs that they know will help them be ready to learn once the school day begins. The Responsive Classroom approach is implemented to help build community. In reading, a group of children may all remember and discuss the same plot and details of a story, but each may write a different ending to the story and become a proud author in his or
NEW DIVISION
He stayed on at Wake Forest as an adjunct professor in the Schools of Business and continues to work with the Master of Arts in Management Program.
Gardner Barrier
At Westchester, Barrier went on to serve as head of Upper School and assistant head of school, as well as a soccer, basketball and baseball coach.
DIRECTOR
As an undergraduate at Virginia Technical University, Gardner Barrier had always loved math and thought that he was heading toward a career in economic research. He had been researching whether children are as rational as adults when it comes to basic finances. (They were.) Then he began to rethink his plans. “I reached this moment in time, where I realized I wasn’t as big on the research as I was on the teaching,” he said. “At that point, I pressed pause.” He enrolled in a master’s degree program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that would allow him to study economics. He also enrolled in a middle grades education program and received a master’s of education. “Helping shape the lives of young people is incredibly rewarding,” he said. “Every day is an adventure.”
her own right. The 6+1 Traits of Writing program helps our children become accomplished authors. In math, children may learn the power of multiplication through the actual multiplication of a colony of beetles, and be motivated to learn about and graph the rate at which other insects multiply. Understanding patterns is an important focus of the Everyday Math Program that helps students make sense of their environment and put math to the test in the real world.
Barrier began working at Westchester Country Day School in High Point as a math teacher. About six years into his teaching job, the head of school said that he could see leadership potential in Barrier and that he should consider some type of degree in school leadership. A friend had told Barrier how much he was enjoying the master of business administration program at the Babcock School of Business at Wake Forest University. Within a month, Barrier was enrolled at the school. He learned a lot about business, but perhaps even more about himself during the years he earned his degree. As a lifelong lover of math, he was less challenged by the technical side of the curriculum. What Barrier found more interesting were the courses on organizational behavior. He found that the discussions on leading and motivating people and communicating a common vision relevant to his work as a school administrator. “Part of me was wondering about staying in education when I started the program,” he said. “It completely solidified my decision to be in education.”
He has a special rapport with students in Grades Six through Nine. “My middle school years were terrible. I have this heightened sensitivity to what middle school years could be,” he said. “Students are really coming into their own as far as starting to think abstractly, and they’re still open to new ideas. They’re creative and hungry.”
Helping shape the lives of young people is incredibly rewarding. Every day is an adventure. Michael Ebeling, head of school, said that the search committee was impressed with Barrier’s qualifications. “Gardner is known for his keen mind, warm heart, collaborative leadership and innovative spirit,” he said, “all of which were in evidence throughout the search process.”
In PE, children learn the rules of a game, but each game has a different outcome depending on different strategies used by the children. Teachers help the students reflect on their performance and they want to go back the next day to improve upon their successes. In all subject areas, each success and authentic learning experience build the desire and confidence that enable our students to fly! Roanne Ornelles | Director, Lower School
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