The Comm unity School

1. The CommunitySchool Progressive Education Tradition: Cohort 1 The Calhoun School Rob Brown, Lori Dorr, Paige Lyne, Jennifer Taylor May 2011

2. 1. Community Mission Statement • The mission of the Community School is to facilitate members to move towards the fullest expression of themselves by creating learner centered, enriching environments that arouse and sustain children’s curiosity and support discovery of self, others, and the surroundings through experiential learning, participatory study, and theme-based curriculum. • Our diverse community works as a partnership (teacher/student, student/student, parent/teacher, community/school) to create an educational framework to cultivate excellence in academics, arts, and character (physical, social, emotional, and moral), thereby preparing our students with the goals and tools for life-long learning, service and global citizenship.

3. 2. How CommunityEnacts Mission • Authentic Curriculum: instruction focused on active learning in real-world contexts calling for higher-order thinking, consideration of alternatives, extended writing, and an audience for student work. • Explicit Teaching of Academic Skills: critical thinking, research, experimentation, debate • Culture of Revision and Redemption • Adaptive Pedagogy: multiple instructional strategies that support active learning and give students different entry points to learning, allowing them to use their multiple intelligences (Howard Gardner.) • Integrated Curriculum (joint curricular planning): academic and vocational disciplines organized in an interconnected and integrated way. • Small class sizes • For older students: longer blocks of class time – depth over breadth • Time for Collaboration • Individualization and Group Learning: Individualized study, problem solving, and the project method. • Teacher as Facilitator: teacher assumes the role of facilitator, encouraging, offering suggestions, questioning, and helping to plan and implement courses of study: • Continuous Relationships: support relationships and allow relationships to develop over time. • Looping: for older students, who have different classes for each discipline, they will have each specialist for 2 years. • Advisory Relationship: For students 2nd grade and on, they will have a teacher who will act as a advisor and oversee the entire portfolio of the child’s progress. • Educational Team Meetings: For younger children (pre-K thru 1st), teachers meet to discuss progression (academic, when appropriate, emotional, social, behavioral)

4. 3. How CommunityEnacts Mission • High standards with Common Expectations and High Supports: • Common expectations and standards across teachers • Evaluation of student work (portfolio, presentations, and debates): self examination, teacher examination, community examination: student work/mastery is made public for all community members. • Letter grades are offered starting in 7th grade • Homework is out-of-school learning in the lower and middle school years, reserved for occasions when it seems appropriate rather than tasks assigned for their own sake. • Non-academic distinctions (community service, athletic, artistic) are also annually awarded • Revision and Redemption: • Middle school students are offered the opportunity to improve their work upon appeal. • Upper School students are limited to a certain number of appeals. • Community Connections (Also see Partner Schools) • School (Cross-grade activities and events), Local, National, International (see Diversity) • Families: expectation of parental participation outlined during interview process. Participation is defined as one or more of the following: • Time: parents are informed of the many events they may attend and volunteer opportunities. • Money: parents are informed of need for additional funding to realize the schools mission. Participation in supporting this mission, above tuition, in any capacity, is encouraged and ingrained in the culture. • Skill: the school identifies skills they may need assistance with (database, etc.) and ask parents to volunteer such skills.

5. 4. How CommunityEnacts Mission • Freedom and Responsibility • Honor Code – Each student is honor bound to refrain from stealing, lying about community business, and cheating on academic work. All students, faculty, and other employees of Davidson College are responsible for familiarity with and support of the Honor Code. Community member will make up a council to address violations of the code. • Diversity, Multicultural and Antiracist Teaching • Opportunities for democratic discourse about teaching and learning, encourage participation by stakeholders. • Conscious of various interpretations of various historical events: • Exposure to primary and secondary sources • Provide children the opportunity to hear different opinions and perspectives from peers in the classroom. • Create relationships with local public and charter schools and collaborate on projects (invite schools to theme days or science outings in parks). • Collaborate with groups such as Early Steps, Jack and Jill of America, The TEAK Fellowship to both increase number of applications from children of diverse backgrounds and to market progressive education to different groups. • Create relationships with local public and charter schools and collaborate on projects (invite schools to theme days or science outings in parks).

6. 5. CommunityAdmissions • First round of applications review is need blind. • Lower grades: play visit, parent interview, parent participation agreement (please see above, Community Connections) • Middle grades: child interview, child sample work (portfolio) representing who they are/interests/beliefs, written essay, parent interview, parent participation agreement • Upper grades: child interview, child sample work (portfolio) representing who they are/interests/beliefs, written essay, parent interview, parent participation agreement • Diversity: • Collaborate with groups (i.e., Early Steps, Jack and Jill of America, The TEAK Fellowship) to both increase number of applications from children of diverse backgrounds and to market progressive education to different groups. • 1/3 of each grade to receive some form of financial aid

7. 6. CommunityCorporate Governance • Transparency and school-wide communication on decision-making • Community School Board of Trustees: • Alumni • Members representing all divisions of the school (lower, middle, upper) • PA • Multicultural and financial representation • Institutionalized Feedback Loop: • Annual feedback from student government: middle school, upper school • Periodic feedback given from parents and teachers on school. Goal is not necessarily to respond to each point and make changes, but to understand different constituencies and changing needs/expectations, if any.

8. 6. CommunityFinances