It's the people...
Politicians are fond of saying "It's the economy, stupid." If I were to coin a similar phrase for education, it would be, "It's the people, stupid." (But of course in schools we never call anyone "stupid," so I won't be coining that phrase!)
It is all about the people, though. You want your child to get a great education?
Step One: find a school where the teachers are exceptionally well-qualified.
Step Two: visit the school and see the people in action.
Step Three: ask yourself, "Are these the people who can help my child achieve up to his/her potential?" If so, get yourself an application!
Here, we will help you with Step One:
Ready for Step Two? Call us at 540-877-5552 or email me at claire@iswva.org. I am looking forward to introducing you to our people.
Claire McDonald, PhD
Head of School
Head of School's Opening Remarks 9/4/2012
Welcome, welcome! Welcome back to our returning families. And a hearty welcome to our new families. Welcome back, teachers—Ms. Brigitte, Ms. Meghan, Ms. Diane, Ms. Becky, and Ms. Rebecca. And a big welcome to our new teachers, Ms. Laura and Ms. Erin and Ms. Karla.
As many of you know, ISW spent the 2011-12 school year talking about who we want to be as a school and as individuals. Students talked, teachers talked, the Board talked, parents talked. We formed a committee that met for hours. And in the end, we decided that ISW would embrace five Core Values going forward, five qualities that we expect from one another at all times:
RESPECT
RESPONSIBILITY
INTEGRITY
EMPATHY
COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
That’s a mouthful, but it reduces to this: when you, adult or student, become a member of the ISW community you agree to do your best to hold yourself to the highest standards at all times.
Today, I want to focus on the last value: commitment to education. What does this mean in real life? For adults in our community, commitment to education means you don’t see school as a consumer good (like, say, clothes) that you buy for your child, hand to them and walk away. Education is more like health—yes, you certainly spend money on it, but in the end, it’s something you cultivate, not something you buy. This summer, the adults in our community cultivated the school and demonstrated their commitment to education by volunteering. We thank many people who spent part of their summer building and improving our program:
Ms. Meghan, who spent the summer obsessing about reading curriculum.
Ms. Laura and Ms. Erin, who were so excited about having classrooms that they each had the whole room painted and furnished within 48 hours of getting keys.
Ms. Diane, who has been working on developing our new Latin curriculum.
Ms. Brigitte, who had a new classroom, the math lab, to prepare for her students.
Math Committee, who spent hours choosing a new Algebra curriculum for our 7th grade advanced math students.
Mr. John (Butler), who dismantled, transported and reconstructed our new play set.
Ms. Kay and Mr. Bob, who transformed the Purple Palace into something a little more school-like.
Ms. Susan, who painted interior spaces.
Mr. John (Britto), who worked on technology in almost every room.
And Mr. Gerry, who put in new doors and installed all manner of items.
Thank you! Students, this year I challenge you to consider what commitment to education means to you. In preparation for this talk, I Googled “students demonstrate commitment to education” and found nothing about students. It was all about the adults. It was all about how teachers can somehow force their students to be committed. Apparently, Google doesn’t understand what the ISW community has always known—that this is your education.
And committing to your own education starts with the way that you talk about it. One of my daughters, who shall remain nameless, often sighs with relief announcing, “I have finished Ms. X’s homework.” And then she has to tolerate me saying, “Ms. X’s homework was completed years ago. She has her degrees. It is your homework you finished.” I also observed over many years working in several very high powered high schools that students had a penchant for saying, “I got an A!” when the test went well but, “He gave me a D” when it didn’t go so well.
Again, dear students, the work is yours, whether you earn a high score or a low one. So what does it look like when a student is truly committed to his or her education? First, the obvious—you own your work, good or bad. You show up to class on time, ready to learn. You do your homework--and not just to say it’s done but with a serious effort to understand your subject.
There are also other elements to commitment to education that are not so obvious. Perhaps the most important one is to ask questions. For those of you in upper elementary and middle school, you are undoubtedly beginning to think about what kind of careers you might want to pursue. Ask yourself if you are doing everything you can today to be prepared for that career you dream of and the career you haven’t even thought of. Ask your teachers and other students questions—and not just the easy ones like “Can you work that sample problem again for me?” Ask us, “Why are we studying this?” if it isn’t obvious. Ask us, “Can we study this more?” if you find something you really like. Feel free to say, “I don’t get this. Is there another way we can approach this?” If you have an idea for a field trip or a speaker or an activity, share it. We adults promise to take you seriously even if we can’t always make it happen. And finally, students, remember this: you are here to get an education for yourself—not for your parents, not for your teachers, not for me. For yourself.
You owe yourself the very best.
Kindergartners, Lowers, Uppers, Middles, thank you for your excitement, your inspiration and your trust. This school is, as always, our gift to one another. Welcome to the new school year.
What I think about when I tuck my children into bed at night
I happened to be listening to one of those Sirius radio stations that covers politics 24-7 last week, and I heard the First Lady talking about what she thinks about when she tucks her children in at night. It led me to consider the same question—what do I think about when I tuck my children in at night?
I think about two things—today and tomorrow, or, more specifically, their todays and their tomorrows. I think about how ISW was founded and about how our school contributes to everything our family seeks for our children.
There is a great wealth of research on brain development that demonstrates that students learn best when they feel safe and loved. A little stress is a good thing—as when an assignment is due and you know you have to buckle down and finish. As a matter of fact, though, when a young brain is too stressed—when a student doesn’t feel safe around peers or teachers or when expectations are far above or far below his capabilities—the brain shuts down much of the “hardware” necessary for learning to occur. At ISW, students want to come to school. Every returning student I have spoken with in the month of August has volunteered that he/she is more than ready to return. My own children, as I tuck them in at night, talk about how they can’t wait to get back to school. Are their brains ready for learning? You bet!
Ah yes, they love school today…but will they be ready for tomorrow? Will this child be prepared--to be self-sufficient, to create a fulfilling career that does more than pay the bills, to find a lifelong partner, to be a kind and thoughtful friend and to attract a supportive circle of friends? Will this child of mine make a serious contribution to the community by using his or her talents to the fullest? This is a tall order.
Here’s what I know about education. To answer the above in the affirmative as adults, young people must learn to take responsibility for themselves and their work, to treat others with respect and empathy, to act with integrity, and to commit themselves wholeheartedly to pursuing their passions. They must confront and conquer real problems—concepts that challenge them, skills that sometimes seem unattainable, people with whom they don’t have chemistry—in order to build their intellectual and emotional muscles.
And young people need caring, respectful, smart, fun-loving adults who are willing to learn alongside them and to help navigate the complicated journey to adulthood. If ever there were a school that provides the right opportunities and the right adults, it’s ISW.
Of course there are never any guarantees. But as an ISW parent, I am confident that our school provides my children and all of our students the best chances for a wonderful today as well as the tomorrows of their dreams.
What Makes a Community Work? Part One
We will spend the rest of the year highlighting the accomplishments of our students. But today, before the school year officially begins, I want to take a moment to honor the adults of our school community. ISW is a remarkable place, and everyone who visits us sees that immediately.
At ISW, our parents volunteer. It’s part of the deal if you decide to send your child(ren) here. We don’t spend a lot of time tracking hours or comparing ourselves to one another. We each take responsibility for the things that we are able to do and do well. It shouldn’t work, and yet it does. We don’t have what economists call “free riders” –people who benefit from other people’s generosity without contributing something of themselves. We don’t have a lot of entitlement at ISW. Our families are 100% committed to their children’s education. When we have a need, someone steps in to fulfill it.
As we return to school this fall, the fruits of our volunteerism are easy to see:
- The building, which we affectionately nicknamed “The Pink Palace,” is now a more traditional tan and black, thanks to ISW grandparent Kay Hallett and ISW parent Bob McDonald.
- Our students will enjoy a new play set assembled by ISW parent John Butler and a fence installed by ISW parents Mary and Gerry Axelson and Becky and David Lloyd.
- Our Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Math Lab classrooms and the women’s bathroom all sport new coats of paint thanks to our teachers—Laura Viner (and her husband Jay), Erin Gilbert, and Brigitte DeHaven (and her husband John Britto)—and ISW parent and Board member Susan Nyberg. We also have a huge number of interior improvements thanks to the work of Gerry Axelson.
- We have a new fundraiser, Clues and Blues, headed by the very capable Kate Gregori. More on that shortly!
One of the biggest reasons that our community works is that we don’t see education as a consumer good—something you buy for your child, hand them and walk away. We see learning as a process and a delight that the whole family can participate in and enjoy. Learning only happens when you invest yourself. Families who choose to send their children to ISW and teachers who choose to work at ISW invest themselves wholeheartedly in the education process and in the school. And, as a result, our little school thrives.
Thank you, ISW adults, for all you have done this summer!
Claire
Welcome, Erin Gilbert!
ISW is very pleased to welcome our newest addition to the faculty, Erin Gilbert. Erin will be teaching Upper Elementary Humanities.
Erin Gilbert earned a BA in Elementary Education from Fairmont State University and an MA in Education from West Virginia University. She has worked as a teacher in many school settings as well as after-school and summer learning programs. Erin has also held several education leadership positions, including director of professional development at The National Summer Learning Association at Johns Hopkins University, Lead English teacher at a local middle school, and site coordinator for Energy Express. Erin holds a Virginia teaching license. She lives with her husband and daughter in Winchester.
Mathematics Beyond Rote Learning
At the start of my sophomore year of college, I had a revelation about math: you learn to take first derivatives for a reason. It turns out that skill is essential in all sorts of fields, from economics to physics and engineering. How is that I got all the way through BC Calculus in high school and didn’t know this? The answer lies in how math has been taught in the United States for the last 150 years: as a stand-alone class focused on learning to do calculations, with very little, if any, context or relationship to any other fields.
At ISW, learning to do calculations is just one step in learning math. Most of the time, it isn’t even the first step. Typically, the first step is putting manipulatives in the hands of students and giving them a problem to consider. Only after the concept is beginning to take form in students’ minds do we move to pencil and paper. And even after we have begun the very necessary process of practicing calculations and memorizing math facts, we work to engage our students in real world applications—especially applications in other subjects they are studying.
This coming year we are making some changes that we believe will take us even further:
- We have appointed Brigitte DeHaven as our mathematics lead teacher. She will teach math, 3rd grade through Algebra, and she will serve as an advisor to our entire staff. Brigitte will coach teachers—across the curriculum--in designing projects that use and expand our students’ math skills.
- This summer we formed a committee of teachers and parents to look for a new algebra curriculum for a small group of very talented 7th graders. We adopted Discovering Algebra: An Investigative Approach by Jerald Murdock, Ellen Kamischke and Eric Kamischke. We are excited about this program as it begins every chapter with real world applications—fractals in nature, parabolas in water fountain streams, etc.
According to a January 2010 study from Johns Hopkins, the math curriculum that schools use is not nearly as important as two other elements: how the students are taught and how the teachers are prepared.
One of the key recommendations of the Hopkins study is that students tackle problems in groups using cooperative learning. ISW has always used cooperative learning in teaching mathematics, and we plan to continue and expand that process as we adopt this new math program.
As for professional development, we are exceptionally lucky at ISW to have two wonderful advisors for our math teachers:
- Corri Taylor, who is the Director of Quantitative Reasoning at Wellesley College, former President of the National Numeracy Network, and an ISW Board Member.
- Jerald Murdock, who is a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, a Woodrow Wilson fellow, former President of the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the author of our newly-adopted Algebra program, and the grandfather of one of our newest students.
Our goal is to graduate students who never, ever ask, “What will we use this for?” because they already know the answer.
Claire McDonald, PhD
Head of School
Welcome, Laura Viner!
In March we posted about being in search of talented, passionate, loving teachers, and our search is (for now, at least) at an end. ISW happily announces that we have hired a new Lower Elementary teacher for the 2012-13 school year.
Laura Viner holds a BA in French with a minor in Elementary Education from Rutgers University. She has also earned an MA in Elementary Education from Georgian Court College in New Jersey. Laura holds New Jersey and Virginia teacher certifications and has taught elementary school and computer classes for children. She volunteers as a Hebrew teacher for the children of Beth El Congregation. She often hosts French exchange students at her home and gives them a true American family experience. Laura is new to Virginia and resides in Winchester with her husband Jay and their two children.
Welcome, Laura, to the ISW school community!
In search of talented, passionate, loving teachers...
It’s hiring season at ISW. Our program and enrollment are both growing, and we need more teachers! I love hiring.
Perhaps the most important attribute for any teacher is that he or she wants to be in the classroom. Teaching must be a calling; it should always be a first-choice job. High quality teaching at any level requires an enormous outpouring of energy, both intellectual and emotional. It requires 100% commitment. Our students deserve teachers who are well-versed in their discipline, who are passionate about progressive education, who know how to connect with young people and their families.
Teachers, in turn, deserve administrators who present a clear vision for the school’s future, who seek the faculty’s input in decision-making, and who commit to putting in place every appropriate support.
Given all that, here’s my radical idea: hire the very best, treat them as the creative, talented professionals they are, and put out everything I have to create the school of our collective teacher-dreams.
If you know of a wonderful candidate for ISW, please ask him or her to check out our job openings: http://www.iswva.org/faculty/.
Looking forward to talking about learning and teaching,
Claire
Student-led learning at its best
A few of our favorite things
ISW's Core Values Committee, composed of students, teachers, parents, and board members, met last week. As part of the process of working out the best way to state clearly and succinctly what we are about as a school community, I asked committee members to share one or two favorite ISW moments. Their answers were illuminating and worth sharing:
- One of our music teachers talked about bringing in her cello. She had "back-up" activities in case the children weren't interested. As it turned out, her students were enthralled and the back-up wasn't necessary. She walked away thrilled to have shared one of the most beautiful things in her life with 4th and 5th graders who appreciated what she was sharing.
- A Middle School student talked about a gamed called "Wah!" invented by ISW students and played daily. It involves a lot of running and yelling and laughing--things our students love to do during recess.
- A parent talked about our camping experience at Camp Paddy Run. It was a rainy, cloudy weekend, but the clouds parted just long enough for our families to enjoy an impromptu talk about the stars by a couple of resident star experts. We decided it was time to head to bed, and the clouds came rolling back in, leaving us all with the sense that the stars had come out just for us.
- Another parent described walking into school a little early at pick-up time, watching the Kindergartners sing and feeling of the love that pervades the Lower Elementary classroom. She spoke passionately about how the school cared about her child as a whole person.
- A student talked about how pleased he was when he was able to assist a teacher with a printer that was malfunctioning. Since then he has been taking a greater role in technology--installing virus protection on friends' laptops and helping other students sort out technology problems.
- Yet another student talked about nature, about her passion for spending time outdoors. She appreciated the amount of time devoted each day to the natural world.
- A teacher talked about how much she loves teaching in a school where she is encouraged to figure out how her students learn as individuals and where she has the latitude to play to each student's strengths.
Each person brought to our gathering his or her own unique vision of ISW. Two themes, though, were hard to miss--our commitment to nature, the arts, and technology resonates deeply with our families and our faculty, and respect and love form the basis for every relationship.