October Newsletter
Can you believe it is October already?!
Progressive Education and What It Looks Like
I think it is so important to educate families who are new to our school as well as those of you who have been around for years. Progressive education is not something that is commonly discussed outside of Universities so I would like to take this opportunity to break it down for you.
Alfie Kohn a well known name in education wrote the below passage about Progressive Education.
I reviewed decades’ worth of research in the late 1990s: studies of preschools and high schools; studies of instruction in reading, writing, math, and science; broad studies of “open classrooms,” “student-centered” education, and teaching consistent with constructivist accounts of learning, but also investigations of specific innovations like democratic classrooms, multiage instruction, looping, cooperative learning, and authentic assessment (including the abolition of grades). Across domains, the results overwhelmingly favor progressive education. Regardless of one’s values, in other words, this approach can be recommended purely on the basis of its effectiveness. And if your criteria are more ambitious — long-term retention of what’s been taught, the capacity to understand ideas and apply them to new kinds of problems, a desire to continue learning — the relative benefits of progressive education are even greater. This conclusion is only strengthened by the lack of data to support the value of standardized tests, homework, conventional discipline (based on rewards or consequences), competition, and other traditional practices.
Practices you can expect to see in a progressive program:
Emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects, expeditionary learning, experiential learning
Integrated curriculum focused on thematic units
Integration of entrepreneurship into education
Strong emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking
Group work and development of social skills
Understanding and action as the goals of learning as opposed to rote knowledge
Collaborative and cooperative learning projects
Education for social responsibility and democracy
Highly personalized learning accounting for each individual's personal goals
Integration of community service and service learning projects into the daily curriculum
Selection of subject content by looking forward to ask what skills will be needed in future society
De-emphasis on textbooks in favor of varied learning resources
Emphasis on lifelong learning and social skills
Assessment by evaluation of child's projects and productions
Attendance and Why It Matters
Because of the unique program we teach it is impossible to recreate a school day at home. Our classrooms are filled with inquiry, problem solving, processing and teamwork and when that day is missed it is gone forever. Research shows that attendance is one of the greatest predictors of graduation and a significant driver of student achievement and when students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating. It’s an issue for children as young as kindergarten and first grade, whose poor attendance can hurt academic performance and set a pattern for years to come. Parents can be powerful allies in preventing the problem and creating solutions. Getting your student to school daily is so important. If your child is sick we want you to keep them home but if they are not motivated, don't feel 100% or feel like they need a "mental health" day we ask that you give it a try and come to school. We promise to communicate with you about their health if they are not feeling well while at school. Next month I will be showing you numbers on how attendance can greatly impact our budget as it is our largest and almost only income source. We would like to empowers families to support student success and work to get kids to school daily.
Engagement
If we want our children to grow up to be thoughtful and engaged citizens, we should help them be part of social change now.
Thank you!
Amazing!
Traffic Updates
If your child is a middle school student they are allowed to walk off campus as long as we are informed that they have permission.
I am looking forward to eventually having a larger pick up zone and a road that exits onto Genesee