Leading Edge Program 2004 Honorees
The NAIS Leading Edge recognition program honors NAIS member schools and school subscribers (new independent school and international school subscribers only) at varying enrollment levels for their outstanding programs. Here is a list and profile of each program honored by the Leading Edge program in 2004.
Community Relations
Curriculum Innovation
Equity and Justice
Technology
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Ransom Everglades School/Summerbridge
Miami, Florida
Head of School: Ellen Moceri
Program Contact: John Flickinger, flickinger@ransomeverglades.org
Extending Our Reach
Pursuing its goal to be a private school with a public purpose. Ransom Everglades recently obtained federal funding to expand its 12-year-old Summerbridge program.
Summerbridge at Ransom Everglades is a member of the Breakthrough National Collaborative, a national collaborative of programs that offers motivated middle school students a tuition-free educational experience designed to prepare them for college-bound high school programs. Talented high school and college students serve as volunteer teachers, with mentoring and assistance from Ransom Everglades faculty. Learning is experiential and project-centered, based on a rigorous, skills-based curriculum.
Ransom Everglades was the only independent school in Florida to receive funding under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. The $2.3 million federal grant allowed the school to double the reach of its Summerbridge program and to forge a partnership with two inner city schools. Ransom Everglades leverages its financial and human resources to strengthen the partner schools, while administering the grant and providing year-round access to its state-of-the-art classrooms, computer labs, science labs, library, performing arts, and athletic facilities to 170 at-risk middle school students.
The program is an unqualified success. A recent study by Stanford University found that Summerbridge students are applying to and attending academically rigorous high schools, and then after graduating, are on track to enter four-year colleges. In the Ransom Everglades Summerbridge program, 85 percent of students enroll in college preparatory programs and nearly 99 percent graduate from high school. In addition, 75 percent of student teachers go on to pursue careers in education.
By creating opportunities for leadership and service for young people, the Summerbridge program touches two of the cornerstones upon which Ransom Everglades was founded a century ago. It provides a model for public/private partnership in education, and an example of the lasting contribution independent schools can make in strengthening their local communities.
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St. Paul's Episcopal School
Oakland, California
Head of School: Karan A. Merry
Program Contact: Love Weinstock, lweinstock@spes.org
Integrated Service Learning
For students at St. Paul's Episcopal, an integral part of their education is learning to be good citizens. The unique Service Learning program at St. Paul's Episcopal integrates community service with academic instruction and critical, reflective thinking.
Each year St. Paul's students provide over 7,000 hours in community service through more than two dozen local organizations during the school day. They explore the needs of their community and learn how they can have a positive impact. In the classroom, the projects tie in directly with curricula in social studies, science, math, and art. In the field, students pursue activities in the public schools, city parks, nature centers, senior residences, animal shelters, and homeless organizations. The program culminates in eighth grade, when students create their own projects and lead others in a community service activity.
A full-time Director of Service Learning and Public Purpose supports the faculty in creating and developing service learning projects that are incorporated into the curriculum at each grade level. For example, while the kindergarten class is exploring the meaning of "family" with residents of the senior center across the street, the third grade class is conducting the official annual census of the birds that inhabit the Lake Merritt sanctuary.
Service Learning at St. Paul's is ongoing and constantly evolving. Over the next five years due to the school's expansion, participation will increase from 298 to 408 students. As curriculum develops, community service is becoming more intricately embedded into student life, with family-based projects and even projects outside of regular school hours.
A school in the city, of the city, and for the city, St. Paul's is a private school with a public purpose. The mission of its Service Learning program is to develop in its students a life-long awareness of their connectedness to others and sense of responsibility for their community. By integrating community service with the academic curricula, students grow up understanding that service is not an extracurricular activity, but a regular part of their everyday lives.
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The Unquowa School
Fairfield, Connecticut
Head of School: John P. Blessington
Program Contact: Anne Cain, acain@unquowa.com
Finding New Ways to Serve
Sometimes the best ideas come from unexpected places. Eight years ago, there was a nurse who worked at both the Unquowa School and Giant Steps, a program for autistic youth. Observing the Unquowa students playing together, she reflected on how few opportunities the Giant Steps children have to interact with their peers. After speaking with Suellen Hansen, the upper school director, together they contacted the Giant Steps director.
That plan grew into an innovative "Reverse Inclusion" community service program that today brings Unquowa and Giant Steps students together every other week. Because some autistic youth do not integrate into their local school systems, the program is based on "reverse inclusion" - the Unquowa students go to Giant Steps, so the disruption is minimized.
The students prepare for their first visit by researching autism. Then, a member of the Giant Steps staff gives the class an orientation. Each Unqouwa student is paired with the same Giant Step student for the entire year. Together, they engage in recreational and educational projects, everything from baking cookies to playing basketball.
Unquowa students learn more about the world of autism through their hands-on experiences at Giant Steps. They learn to be responsible, compassionate, and supportive role models, while the students at Giant Steps gradually build successful social relationships through regular communication and modeling.
The program started small, with just two students. Over time, it has grown to include the entire eighth grade. The program aims to provide service to the community while instilling a sense of compassion, responsibility, cooperation, respect, and integrity in Unquowa students. This coincides with the mission of the Unquowa school, "to prepare our family of children with an unafraid spirit to achieve their personal best."
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CURRICULUM INNOVATION
Atlanta International School
Atlanta, Georgia
Head of School and Program Contact: David B. Hawley, dhawley@aischool.org
Pursuing Global Understanding
At Atlanta International School, learning is guided through a series of six essential questions, which are asked and answered in two languages by a deliberately diverse student body. By the fifth grade, students at AIS have not only mastered a second language, they have lived and studied in another country with native speakers.
The primary school is modeled after the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Program. From four-year-old kindergarten through grade five, students alternate between two core teachers who are native language speakers, one who teaches in English and one who teaches in French, Spanish, or German. By design, half of the students at AIS are from the United States and half are from other countries, so that all students become proficient in two languages, and all learn to see the world from different cultural and linguistic perspectives.
By the end of the fifth grade, more than 90 percent of AIS students achieve an "intermediate-high" level in French, German, or Spanish on the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency exam. This is the same level of proficiency required by most states to become a certified high school teacher of foreign language.
AIS collaborates with three schools in Costa Rica, Martinique, and Berlin. As a culminating primary school experience, fifth graders go to live with a family in one of those countries and study at the affiliated school. The correspondent student then comes to Atlanta. Shifting this international experience from Spain and France to Costa Rica and Martinique added a new dimension of diversity. In Martinique, the students live with families of a different socioeconomic status, which further contributes to the goal of international understanding.
Atlanta International School has designed a program that recognizes the challenges and opportunities of living an interdependent world. Students acquire a versatile intellectual competence and a commitment to mutual respect and understanding that enables them to contribute to and thrive in this world.
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Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
Brooklyn, New York
Head of School and Program Contact: Dane Peters
Overcoming Learning Challenges
At Brooklyn Heights Montessori School, The Little Room is big news. A special education program funded by the State but contained entirely within the school walls, The Little Room operates as a school-within-a-school, providing educational programs and mainstreaming opportunities for children with speech/language deficits.
The Little Room serves 37 children in three Preschool classes and one K-2 class. Students are referred by the public school districts and come with individual education plans. After-school services (counseling and speech occupational and physical therapies) are also provided to 70 public and private school children in the community.
Students in The Little Room have the potential for age-level cognitive intelligence, but are limited in their performance due to language delays. Many also demonstrate social, emotional, and sensory deficits relating to their language difficulties. The goal of The Little Room is to provide a language-based program within a modified Montessori classroom. In support of the school's mission, The Little Room also fosters socioeconomic and learning style diversity.
Combined activities enable children from The Little Room and the larger school community to play and work together in concert with the school's mission. Added effort is made by teachers and the Parents Association to include Little Room families in the activities of the school.
As The Little Room program has grown, it has become recognized throughout New York City as one of the finest center-based programs. Upon completion, students often find success in mainstream public school environments. Meanwhile, the entire school community benefits from helping Little Room children grow and enjoying the gifts they bring to the children and families in the greater school.
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Hyde School
Bath, Maine
Head of School: Laurie Hurd
Program Contact: William Barron, bbarron@hyde.edu
Learning Through Experience
For five weeks each summer, Hyde School students can take advantage of a Summer Exploration program that extends their academic and personal growth and prepares them for success in the fall.
Hyde School launched the Summer Exploration program three years ago, when they realized that some students needed a structured summer experience to continue their academic growth and character development. In addition, family members may participate, which facilitates character growth for entire families.
"What we act upon is what we learn," says Summer Exploration founder William Barron, who designed the program to tie in concepts learned in the classroom to real-life situations. Termed "edu-action," Barron created a curriculum that enables students to discover that the things they're learning in school have practical application, while the faculty has an opportunity to share their talents and interests. Past participants have kayaked on the ocean, biked the Maine Coast, created shadow puppets, built a dory boat from scratch, maintained hiking trails, assisted the disabled, and studied yoga and meditation at an ashram.
Students and their parents journal throughout the program, and share their journals via e-mail on a weekly basis. Involving the parents in this experiential learning process opens the lines of communication and gives the students greater incentive to excel. For the final weekend of the program, parents and students design presentations about what they have learned.
Through Summer Exploration, students take ownership for their behavior, identify obstacles to their success, learn to cooperate, gain self-knowledge, and nurture their resilience. By thinking "outside the box" of the classroom, Hyde School has found a way to enrich the lives students, parents, and faculty, and alumni.
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EQUITY AND JUSTICE INITIATIVES
Georgetown Day School
Washington, DC
Head of School: Peter Branch
Program Contact: Kevin Barr, kbarr@gds.org
Celebrating Our Differences
As Beverly Tatum has noted, racism is the air we breathe, invisible and yet all pervading. No institution can ever cease its efforts to make sure that the atmosphere is free of racial smog. Georgetown Day School is working hard to clear the air by promoting understanding and celebration of the differences that make us unique.
When the school's doors first opened in 1945, racial differences were magnified through segregation. The school pointedly declared that within its walls those differences would be downplayed; Georgetown Day School would be colorblind. Today, the school recognizes that identity is partly grounded in cultural, social, and racial differences. Now staff, parents, and students are provided with venues in which to explore those differences and grow from that exploration.
Georgetown Day School's diversity initiatives are multifaceted and supported by an inclusive Board Diversity Task Force, a Diversity Office with two diversity directors, and on-going faculty diversity training. The school sponsors a networking group for parents of students of color, and parent diversity discussions involving books, films, and guest speakers. Multi-racial and gay and lesbian student groups have been formed. There is a mentoring group for students of color, diversity issues retreats for students, and SEED trainings hosted on campus.
Along with a more multicultural curriculum and a renewed focus on recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty and student body, these efforts have changed the school's climate, program, and population. In just five years, the percentage of students of color has grown from 18 percent to 33 percent, while faculty diversity has grown from 8 percent to 22 percent. Conversations are more frank and free than in the past.
By creating a safe and supportive environment that honors the differences among its constituents, Georgetown Day School allows the testimony of previously marginalized voices to be heard, while aiding in the process of healing the wounds of racism.
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Gordon School
East Providence, Rhode Island
Head of School: Ralph L. Wales
Program Contact: Eric Polite II, epolite@gordonschool.org
Making Diverstiy a Priority
In 2000, the Board of Trustees at Gordon School approved the Strategic Plan for Racial Diversity detailing the school's commitment to and vision for racial diversity through practical goals, recommended steps, and broad accountability.
The goals of this strategic plan were ambitious: Enroll at least 20 percent students of color by the year 2005; achieve a minimum composition of 20 percent people of color on the Gordon School administration, faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees. The plan also outlined goals for recruitment and retention, examining institutional access and affordability, developing multicultural curricula, increasing parent education and involvement, and reviewing policies, procedures, and practices.
In pursuing the objectives in the plan, Gordon adopted the philosophy of multicultural education, which requires constant review of the school's climate, culture, and curriculum for bias and inequity. Diversity consultant Enid Lee has counseled the faculty on creating equity-centered classrooms, and there is faculty and staff representation at the NAIS People of Color Conference. For the second straight year, the eighth grade class at Gordon School will travel to Georgia and Alabama as part of their year-long study of the civil rights movement.
In just four years, Gordon has exceeded its initial five-year goals, with 22 percent students of color, 16 percent faculty, staff, and administration of color, and 19 percent Board of Trustees of color. Gordon will continue to aggressively pursue its diversity objectives by examining the connection between financial aid and racial diversity, hiring and retaining faculty and staff who mirror the diversity of the student body, and providing children with a comprehensive education.
Through its strategic plan, the Gordon School acknowledges that a multicultural environment is essential to the school's mission of educating young people for the "world beyond Gordon." This philosophy is consistent with Gordon's commitment to inclusiveness, individuality, and imagination.
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Atrium School
Watertown, Massachusetts
Head of School and Program Contact: Annalee Johnson
Taking Action on Diversity
An important component of the mission statement of the Atrium School is "to guide children to value the differences and similarities which define us as individuals, and to be respectful, contributing members of the larger world." To achieve that goal, the school's professional development model empowers faculty to lead, design, and implement sustained equity and justice work throughout the school.
This effort is spearheaded by the Faculty Diversity Action Committee, now in its third year. The committee includes 50 percent of the faculty, the Assistant Director and the Director, in close collaboration with the Parents of Children of Color, PTA, and the Diversity Committee of the Board of Trustees. The time commitment to this initiative is significant. One retreat day a year is focused on diversity, and members attend a monthly, half-day home group and weekly committee meetings.
To create a safe space for the open discussion of diversity issues and critical examination of teaching practices, the committee initiated monthly faculty home groups. As a result of home group discussions, images of contemporary life were added to common areas and classrooms to reflect the plurality of the school's families and the larger world, and a multicultural literature program was adopted. New initiatives are being planned with Parents of Children of Color, an all-school multicultural art project is scheduled for the spring, and a book group for parents and faculty has been created.
Evidence that the committee's objectives are being met can be found in the enthusiasm and commitment of faculty, trustees, and parents to the scope and depth of the work. More faculty joined the committee this year, and a PTA meeting discussing "Why Multicultural Education is Important for All Children" attracted a record attendance. Creating an environment that encourages reflection, experimentation, and change, and engaging the entire school community in the process contributes to the vibrancy of the Atrium School's diversity efforts.
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TECHNOLOGY
Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair, New Jersey
Head of School: Peter R. Greer
Program Contacts: Karen Newman, knewman@montclairkimberley.org, and William Stites
Expanding Opportunities to Improve
As part of its in-house summer faculty development program, the Montclair Kimberley Academy now offers online workshops designed by and tailored specifically to the needs of its teachers and administrators. Five online offerings in ethics, curriculum design, rubric design, differentiated instruction, and PowerPoint allow PK-12 teachers to learn at their own pace when they have time.
Montclair Kimberley aims to foster a "community of learners" by providing faculty development workshops on topics central to the school's curriculum planning and teaching methodologies. Offering the workshops online provides support for teachers who prefer a more relaxed, self-paced, reflective learning experience or who cannot attend daytime summer workshops.
The online workshops were created primarily by in-house teams using WebCrossings, the same technology used to run the school's Summer Virtual Classroom and Homework Hotline. Participants can post responses on electronic bulletin boards, submit works-in-progress to helplines, and share their thoughts through online chat sessions. Workshop creators monitor the sessions, and technology staff resolve problems via a tech helpline.
Montclair Kimberley's online workshops provide a platform for collegial collaboration and curriculum planning and will be the centerpiece of a new faculty website. They have strengthened the school's faculty development program, an important factor in attracting and retaining the best faculty. Online learning has also helped to expand participants' use of technology with students.
Most important, Montclair Kimberley teachers love learning online. Evaluation ratings have been consistently high for the quality of learning experiences, and participants have been positive about the flexibility online learning provides. Participation has tripled, with 25 percent of all in-house courses of study completed online. Montclair Kimberley plans to expand its catalog of online courses, and has offered to share its experience with NAIS member schools.
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The Urban School of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Head of School: Mark Salkind
Program Contact: Howard Levin, hlevin@urbanschool.org, Collaborating Teacher: Deborah Dent-Samaké
Bringing History to Life
"Telling Their Stories: Oral History Archives Project" is an elective history course at The Urban School of San Francisco where students conduct interviews with actual witnesses to history and produce films that become part of the global knowledge base.
Working in three-person production teams, students prepare background research and travel to the homes of Bay Area Holocaust survivors. The students conduct two-hour interviews using a professional-style mobile digital video studio., The digital video files are transferred to each student's laptop where they complete full-text transcripts, edit and produce hundreds of Quicktime video files, and work with Web technologies. The Urban School is one of the first high schools on the West Coast to implement a wireless laptop program and Telling Their Stories is one example of the enhanced possibilities a laptop program provides.
The resulting work is posted at www.tellingstories.org, a public website where anyone can view over 20 hours of full-text and video spanning 12 fascinating interviews with six Holocaust survivors. Students and researchers from around the world have accessed and used this student-produced website, which will provide an enduring link to a pivotal moment in our history.
In future courses, the Urban School plans to pursue other 20th Century topics while keeping the focus on interviews with elders about key historic events. Urban's oral history archives will continue to grow through the contributions of students in the course and through other similar projects in the future.
The objective of the program is to expand students' understanding of 20th Century history and to create a model for integrating technology into core academic areas. Both of these goals directly address the Urban School's mission to "ignite a passion for learning" by fostering purposeful and meaningful engagement with the real world outside the classroom. The Urban School is committed to assisting other independent schools interested in adapting its model and resources to duplicate similar projects elsewhere.
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The Children's School
Stamford, Connecticut
Head of School and Program Contact: Maureen Murphy
Watching a Child Learn
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. At the Children's School, pictures - moving pictures - provide the basis for enhanced parent communication, teacher training, record keeping and continuous School improvement.
The traditional parent-teacher conference is taken to a new level at the School. Rather than simply telling parents how their child is doing, the staff conducts a videoconference, discussing each student's progress while showing a DVD of the child engaged in individual lessons and group activities. Using digital software, teachers edit hours of videotape into a 15-minute DVD that captures each child's learning experience. The DVD, which begins with a montage of the child set to music, is then given to the family to take home.
Showing the learning process ensures accountability and fosters a climate of respect and trust in the School community. Parents can see how the school pursues and fulfills its mission and gain a better understanding of their child's development. Teachers also use the tapes as part of a coaching process that includes professional assessment as well as evaluating materials and curricula. Few training tools are as powerful for a teacher as the opportunity to observe children on videotape.
Faculty members at the Children's School are trained to use a video camera and the digital editing software, iMovie. Teachers also record each child's progress in various subjects using PDA technology. This information is then downloaded onto a computer database where it is used to determine what lessons need to be videotaped.
This technology offers many advantages: educating parents, building the skills and expertise of the staff, and providing a narrative for continuous School improvement.
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Leading Edge Program 2003 Honorees
This content includes a listing and profile of each program for the 2003 LEP honored schools.
Leading Edge Program 2004 Honorees
This content includes a listing and profile of each program for the 2004 LEP honored schools.
Leading Edge Program 2005 Honorees
This content includes a listing and profile of each program for the 2005 LEP honored schools.
Leading Edge Program 2006 Honorees
This article provides a brief profile of each program honored in the 2006 Leading Edge Program.
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