Recently in Brian FIsher Category

We came across a school website that got us to stop and take a look the other day. The Fork Union Military Academy's site makes the most use out of more web tools than  any school site that I've seen in recent memory. Beyond their embrace of web 2.0 technologies, we also like the fact that kids/students are clearly part of their intended audience. I think- visually- the site clearly appeals to applicant age viewers.

On the site, they incorporate a number of features to connect and build their community. From podcasting about a variety of topics to utilizing the FUMA 411 Forum- they're the first school we've found that uses a message board- the site is well positioned to deliver the news of the day. Take the forum, it presents information both to current and applying students; provides discussion sections for family and friends; The Chaplain's Corner keeps the extended community involved with the schools spiritual work; and alumni have a dedicated section. We like their willingness to start and provide a public place on the site for all members of the FUMA family to meet and exchange ideas/news.

Some of the discussion dates show that it's still developing, but it allows the wide school community to stay connected and maintain a feel for campus happenings.

Kudos to Westtown School's recent launch of www.westtownschool.tv. They've built an on-line video environment designed to host and categorize school videos for their audiences.

Westtown currently offers 13 channels or topics in their library covering everything from current events and happenings to admission material. Users can create libraries and favorites lists for future visits and user groups and friends can share videos. Think Youtube for the Westtown community.

Anyone can upload; but of course, Westtown reserves the right to not accept video.

Video channels provide a great opportunity to build and foster a community of users interested and dedicated to a school. Everyone from parents, to students, to alumni can stay current with school happenings and witness firsthand the students' creative talents.

With planning a $43 million campus expansion, ground breaking on the project and his successor in place, Fay School's headmaster Stephen White has decided to call it a career. He leaves Fay at the end of this month with Robert Gustavson from the Fenn School taking the Fay reigns.

Fay acquired the former Kidder estate which had bisected its campus and is embarking on its largest campus wide update and expansion in 25-30 years. Along with the physical improvements comes greater student capacity and the addition of the school's first pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

Congratulations to Mr. White and the school on this outstanding accomplishment and, of course, a warm welcome to Mr. Gustavson.

Read a full article by the Boston Globe about the preservation, modernization, and Fay's new head of school.

Toronto's Upper Canada College announced last October that they would close their boarding student program. Alumni uproar and UCC's rethinking of their position spurred plans to keep the school's boarding component complete with renovations and upgrades.

Try convincing alumni that the place where they grew-up is no longer viable.

As is often the case though, boarding schools are expensive and complex to support and money lies at the root of the operation. The school has to be able to afford and finance it's existence. It's great to see alumni step to the fore and the school adjust it's position.

The Philadelphia Phillies chose Anthony Hewitt with their first pick in the recent baseball amateur draft.

Selecting a player directly out of high school is part and parcel of the baseball draft. What's noteworthy here is that he was chosen out of a boarding school. In Hewitt's case, he's grown-up in junior and upper boarding schools- 8th and 9th grade at Cardigan Mountain School and 10-12th grades at Salisbury School.

He's follows in a long line of boarding school players destined for the major leagues- Mo Vaughn (Trinity-Pawling), Kirk McCaskill (Trinity-Pawling), Sean DePaula (Cushing) and Darren Bragg (Taft) come off the top of my head. All of this group followed the boarding school-college- professional baseball route. Juan Nieves (Avon) took the Avon-minor league route (no college) to the Majors.

Still, most (from my unscientific observation) found their way to the show through their college teams. Hewitt may forego school and try to work up through the minors.

I'd never advocate skipping a bonus pay day if the money is on the table. A bird in hand beats the possibility of two in the bush. But, Hewitt might do well to look to Vanderbilt's Pedro Alvarez who developed at Vandy in the SEC and became the first round pick of the Pirates. Alvarez went from a 14th round pick out of high school to a first rounder out of Vandy.

Of note- Alvarez also attended private school at Horace Mann in New York.

The Boston Globe recently highlighted the work of Concord Academy students who spent a week working in the New Orleans renewal effort. This most recent trip included a larger group- 78- after the positive experiences of students on last year's trip to Kiln, MS.

Writing from north Mississippi and as an experienced New England boarding school student and faculty member, it's great to see this kind of outreach. I know how difficult it can be to get outside of a boarding school routine in order to gain experience and perspective. It's heartening to see and hear students move beyond their comfort zones. Community service is much easier when you set aside time as part of your school schedule.

Beyond their contributions to the coast, the students gain personally:

William Taylor, a junior from Brookline, is among the students who have signed up for a second turn because, he says, the first trip was so rewarding.

"It felt really good to help people," Taylor said. "When I'm in school, it's sometimes difficult to devote a lot of time to service. But I feel it's important, given some of the privilege I come from."

Citizenship requires effort and sacrifice; it's heartening to read about this groups willingness to go out and get their hands dirty. Making the commitment to use one's free time and energy demonstrates a high level of maturity. It's also important to see and learn about America- the differences and the ties that bind us.

Update: The folks at Concord were kind enough to turn us onto an article about the trip that they posted on their site. After giving it a read I discovered that they kept a blog to document their work. Both are well worth checking out.

Focused, tight community is a great quality of boarding school life that draws students from all over the world.  Sometimes, though, boarding school students need something to broaden their perspective--a reminder that their efforts inside the confines of a boarding school prime them for work and future contributions to society.

Buxton School is the first school that I've come across that makes a conscious effort to take the entire school beyond its campus and have every community member engage with an urban setting.  This is no small matter given that just above 80% of the US population lives in metropolitan areas.

Every year Buxton takes the entire school into a major North American city "for a week of exploring, learning, experiencing, investigating and understanding."  Recent visits include New Orleans (see photo below), Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Puerto Rico and Havana.


Before the trip, the entire school researches the topics that they will cover in the city-- homelessness, public transportation, civil liberties, local politics--whatever the city has to offer.  Students do all of the planning.  They arrange project interviews; schedule all trip logistics and budget.

Each trip also includes performances of the All-School Play in which every student plays a role or performs a function.

Beyond their personal responsibilities, students get a feeling for the roles, contributions, and efforts that individuals must make in order to fully participate in an urban setting.

"The trip allows you to experience the real world in real ways, to have interactions that are unscripted and improvisational but also purposeful and enlightening...to explore fascinating, complicated and thorny issues firsthand."  Students and faculty analyze and think about the issues that they've studied and seen through group presentations that are made upon returning from the trip.

What a tremendous way to broaden the frame of reference of students and expand the horizons of a tightly knit academic community.  It's gratifying to see that the faculty at Buxton is teaching the connection to the larger world.

For those unfamiliar with the National Public Radio series "This I Believe," it's a series of listener authored essays expounding on the things and ideas that the authors hold dear- perspectives and thoughts that inform the authors thinking and action. This week's essay comes from a high school student who's life I have not known, but I find it moving and appreciate her perspective and understanding.

I've often made the argument in print and in front of school colleagues that a primary function of education is to teach and instill empathy. One of the greatest forms of empathy is recognizing and understanding the shortcomings of one's parents. This essay deserves a read.

In keeping with our current theme of boarding schools creating and structuring opportunities that take their students beyond the focused confines of their campus, Miss Hall's School's Horizons program deserves attention.

Horizons includes a few key pieces that set the program apart from other community service programs. While the other programs that we've seen are certainly good and valuable in a myriad of ways, requiring thought and reflection on the experience sets Horizons apart from other programs.

Miss Hall's students gain experience beyond school practicing empathy and service; learning through experience; gaining first hand knowledge of different kinds of community contribution.

Thinking, planning and presentation make Horizons much more thorough and involved. Miss Hall's students don't just volunteer. They must research, know and understand the organization with whom they work. They must reflect upon and think about their work. And, each student must deliver a presentation on her experience.

The thing that strikes me most about Horizons is the opportunity to find and see the different roles, connections, and contributions that each individual can make in their community.

If Miss Hall's students graduate with an understanding of community connections, the ability to build and navigate these community webs and how to identify and contribute to community needs, they'll graduate with one of the greatest lessons. Get out; connect; do; give.

I'’ve always wondered why schools don'’t put greater emphasis on public speaking. It’s a skill I can’'t do without and it’s a skill in which all us could be stronger. The ability to present one'’s ideas, positions and arguments publicly is one of life’s underrated skills.
 
A few weeks back, I spoke with the folks at Stoneleigh-Burnham School where public speaking and presentation serve as a thematic thread of the student experience throughout the curriculum. The object is to help each girl build a confident public presentation persona.
 
The program engages students- providing the practice and experience- so that SBS students gain experience and confidence through classroom and project presentations, and all school meeting presentations. Every discipline at SBS includes public presentation and speaking requirements- even math.
 
SBS graduates know how to speak-up; speak out; and, speak confidently- no matter the subject matter and/or setting.
 
Beyond the academic year, SBS also offers A Voice of Her Own; a summer program in debate and public speaking.