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May 24, 2010

Event Synopsis

Session 1: Constituencies in a School Community— Parents, Teachers, and Students

What factors and constituencies contribute to a successful school community? This was the central question for our first fall seminar. The program included discussions by faculty members, parents, and students, all of whom shared their perspectives and observations about participating in, and contributing to, a community-oriented culture in school. While the comments of our panelists and presenters were focused almost exclusively on positive experiences here at Belmont Day School, many of the attributes they described are appropriate to any strong school community. Throughout the day, all of the speakers emphasized themes of knowing and being known, respect for individuals, and a deliberate attention to building and sustaining community.

Carol Cirillo, the longest-serving member of our faculty, was the first speaker of the day. Carol’s personal recollections set a warm and reflective tone for the day. She recounted many examples of her own experiences as a teacher and administrator, highlighting the power of respectful relationships among colleagues and the importance of meaningful connections between teachers and students. She noted that our school has always been a place that encourages growth for everyone—students, most of all, but also teachers, parents, and families. She also spoke enthusiastically about an interesting development that she’s noticed over the past few years—younger faculty assuming leadership roles in areas of their own interest. She emphasized the importance of recognizing and nurturing leadership potential, and highlighted the importance of “passing the baton” from more senior staff to newer members of the community. Through this type of mentoring and guidance, a school can sustain its mission and pass its core values to the next generation of educators.

A group of parents discussed their ideas and expectations of school communities for their children and themselves. Angela DeVecchi, the mother of a first grader and a fifth grader, who is herself and alumna of the school, echoed many of Carol’s comments about continuity and change. Angela talked about the importance of traditions and rituals that have always been a part of our school, and how these events still have relevance for our students. Our “Moving Up” ceremony at the end of the year, the Halloween parade, and Field Day were three specific occasions that give students a sense that this place is “their” school. Carrie Thies, the mother of an alumnus and a sixth grader, spoke about her experience joining the school when her sons were young. For her, the school has become a place that she eagerly spends time and makes social connections with other parents and with faculty and staff. Carrie noted that “there are lots of ways that I could choose to spend my time, but I love it here!” Julie Dalton, mother of an alumna and three other BDS students, spoke warmly about the ways in which teachers made strong connections between home and school, incorporating children’s interests into the life of the classroom. She talked about how different each of her children is from the others, and how despite those differences, all of her children are appreciated for their own contributions. A phrase that recurred throughout the parent panel was the importance of valuing each child individually, and valuing all of our children collectively as a core element of our mission.

Other faculty members joined the group throughout the day and presented specific strategies and approaches to building community, an effort that each of them described as a necessary part of their curriculum. Anne Armstrong, head of the arts department and the coordinator of our faculty trios program, spoke about the importance of trust among colleagues. She spoke eloquently about the difference between evaluation and feedback. Annie described the faculty trios program as a collective effort to improve our practice. She echoed the message that had been addressed all morning, that we are here for the children, and that reflective discussions about teaching will help all of us think more deeply about our work.

Dean Spencer, a member of the 6^th grade team, pointed out that a school community is a bigger network than just the people in the classroom—“it is all the people who affect my class, even if they’re not there,” he said. He described his process for determining which activities and topic to include in his curriculum: what do they need to know now, what do they need to know next, and what do they need to know for the future?

Lana Holman, one of the 4^th grade teachers, spoke about the ways in which she and her partner teachers create a sense of classroom community with their students. This goal is one that they address through direct instruction throughout the year, but with significant emphasis in the first days of school. They teach each of the school values as a core piece of content, devising activities to make those abstract ideas as concrete as possible for their students. At the end of their orientation, the class devises a contract, and each student signs the document as a pledge to honor the decisions that the group has made.

Jennifer Friborg, coordinator of the advisory program, facilitated a presentation by a panel of 7^th graders, who shared their own impressions of school community. Each student talked about the importance of teachers care about and identify with their students. The students also appreciated opportunities for independence, creativity, and leadership. They talked about the size of a community, and how much they valued relationships with people from different areas of the school. One student commented with a smile, “you can’t get away without knowing each other here.”

The program ended with a final discussion led by school psychologist Dr. Erna Place, head of school Lenesa Leana, and director of teacher training Lauren Goldberg, who reviewed the presentations and identified common themes for participants to consider as they think about creating their own classroom and school communities.

Session 2: Schooling in America: Theoretical and Social Context

If you could create an “ideal” school, what would it look like? Imagine having no constraints in terms of money, space, or program. Where would you build your school? Who would lead it? How many students would be enrolled? What types of learning moments would you want to incorporate? What skills would be at the core of your curriculum?
These questions were posed by Dr. Stephen Brand, an entrepreneurial consultant, as part of a seminar hosted by our Institute for Excellence in Teaching this week. The event, which is part of a core course for the associate teachers, was also attended by several administrators and faculty members. The topic for the day was “Schooling in America: Theoretical and Social Context.” Dr. Brand’s questions came toward the end of the day, after we had examined the contributions of many thinkers who have shaped the format and structure of schools in the United States.

We began our seminar with a compelling keynote presentation by Professor William Stokes, interim Dean of the Lesley Graduate School of Education. Dr. Stokes framed his remarks about the nature of educational theory as an ongoing series of debates between “traditional” and “progressive” ideas. He traced several of these debates back more than 500 years, noting that throughout history, schools have been seen as social institutions from which political, philosophical, and even moral principles have emerged. He pointed out the similarities in arguments that have been raised for centuries about the role of schools to train citizens and to shape the thinking of future generations.

Both of our speakers addressed aspects of schooling that are central to the mission of Belmont Day School: the nature of community, the importance of values, and the necessity of presenting curriculum in multiple forms to serve the needs of all learners. Dr. Brand showed a brief video clip, which used dramatic statistics about the almost incomprehensible growth of information in our society. At its core was the message that we are training children for jobs that don’t exist yet. “How do we prepare children for these jobs?” Dr. Brand asked. In our discussion about these challenges, we focused on the critical need for educators to guide students in the process of learning; teaching them how to learn, and how to develop skills to respond to the changing needs of our world. The curricular stories that we present in this column each week are our responses to some of Dr. Brand’s questions. They are examples of teaching methods that address advanced thinking skills, and which provide opportunities for our students to engage in the type of learning that will serve them well in the future.