Recently in School Visits Category

Outside of critics and architects, the ways that buildings shape thought and convey ideas are often afterthoughts. How many times a day do all of us go in and out of a variety of buildings, seldom thinking about the ideas and concepts that a building conveys? It's just not something unless you're trained in it or interested in architecture that we think about.

However, every once-and-a-while, a building comes along that gets everyone who comes into contact with it to say "wow' prompting the realization of the importance of architecture and it's ability to communicate with those who come into contact with it.

The Cambridge School of Weston seems to have commissioned such a building, the Garthwaite Center for Science and Art which has been chosen by The American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment (COTE) as one of the nation's Top Ten Green Projects of the year. The building features design that reflects its New England setting coupled as well as fulfilling US Green Building Council LEED Platinum standards.

The building celebrates its design and engineering with exposed mechanical systems and features; wood is wood and pipes are pipes. "The building uses 60 percent less fossil fuel than traditional school buildings and only ten gallons of water per day." Additional efficiencies result from thoughtful site placement and renewable energy sources.

Of course, the Garthwaite Center's first show in the art gallery focuses on global warming.

Commitment emanates outward from the building. The center works to keep CSW students and faculty mindful, of not only what they use and can conserve each day, but also mindful of the possibilities when you carry environmental stewardship into the world.

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.

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.

On a recent visit to Vermont Academy, I found a school and students dedicated to environmental stewardship. VA student environmental work is beyond anything I participated in or saw during my high school days when students concentrated on bringing recycling to the forefront.

VA students are working to raise $40,000 to install a wind turbine on campus. The turbine would generate a portion of the school's electrical needs reducing the demand for conventionally generated grid power (coal, gas, and nuclear).

Check out their case video:



I especially enjoy their negation of the "wind turbines are ugly" argument. They create a powerful choice- smokestacks or turbines.

The school is also investing in other forms of alternative energy. This past March VA installed solar panels atop the Williams Gymnasium. Like the wind turbine the solar panels will reduce VA's carbon footprint and energy consumption by supplanting boiler use.

One final note that underscores VA's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. A particularly eco-minded student raised money through the school's trustees and others for the school to purchase it's first bio-diesel truck.

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.

Most people are not aware of the fact that there are a number of boarding schools that serves the needs of boys and girls of middle school age (10-15). Some of these schools are for high achieving, highly motivated students; others are for children who struggle with some aspect of the learning process and for whom academics can be a challenge. This range is one of the great things about junior boarding schools; there is a place for anyone. The job of the Educational Consultant is to help the family find the right fit and to guide the family through the admission process. For more information about this unique group of schools and specific info about each school, check out their website at www.jbsa.org.

I recently visited 2 junior boarding schools devoted to working with students with learning differences--The Greenwood School in Putney, Vermont and the Linden Hill School in Northfield, Massachusetts. Both are for boys only and enroll a small number of students-- Linden Hill has 32 students, Greenwood 44. Remediation of a language based learning disability (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, etc.) is the focus of each school although they will also enroll boys with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). I was impressed by the level of personal care at each school. Teachers and Administrators know each student and their specific needs. Faculty training is extensive and constant. Students often enter the school with low self confidence and a lack of academic success and leave with a new set of academic skills and a belief they can be accomplished students. The programs are highly structured, success oriented and offer an array of competitive and recreational sports and extensive arts and other extracurricular activities. The boys who graduate from these two schools will usually enter a secondary boarding school that can continue to provide academic support and, in some cases, language remediation. Each school has a Director of Placement who will help the family select the right high school and will assist with the application process.

As an educational consultant it's important for me to visit and revisit schools to keep a pulse on the community, administration changes and on current & past students. Not to mention curriculum modifications and new courses being offered (for instance more boarding schools this year and next are offering Mandarin Chinese). With this in mind, I recently visited a group of boarding schools in California's beautiful Ojai Valley.

These schools have much to offer with the wonderful year-round weather where they can eat their meals outside and also hang out on their beautiful campuses. Students are outside using their environment for academics, skiing, hiking, camping, horseback riding, mountain biking, surfing in the pacific, water polo, volleyball, swimming, etc.  Actually what's not to like about a California boarding school?
 
Below are my impressions (in notes form) of the schools I visited:

Dunn School: Excellent learning skills program; small; caring; talented students; artistically sound; good academics; great personal attention to students and families. Friendly hands on type of school. They're welcoming a new headmaster in July. Fifty years of experience; beautiful campus; art building houses a fantastic program!  School setting and campus are absolutely breathtaking; incredible scenery-- horse country.
 
Midland School: A school with a clear mission that definitely prepares kids in academics, life skills and beyond. Excellent academics along with a faculty committed to the school and its philosophy. Strong relationships between faculty and students in a simple, self-reliant lifestyle. Close to nature in teaching students to appreciate life's fundamental joys and challenges. Definitely a school community entrusting students to take leadership roles while having collective responsibility in taking care of oneself and others in the community. I loved Midland's simple lifestyle and values. Beautiful land with very bright students who are both ambitious, artistic and take advantage of their 2,860 acre classroom!
 
Oak Grove School: Offers a small boarding high school in which students live in a home-like dormitory. A totally vegetarian campus; growing their own organic foods that are prepared in-house. I feel this will be the first green campus among independent schools. Students were very interactive, friendly, genuinely love their school and give back to it daily. Great science facility; strong visual and performing arts; strong music program. Kids were very at ease and comfortable with their faculty. Food was excellent!  They have recently been featured in a TV show about healthy eating for kids and living green. I loved the school and they are trying to grow there boarding population. It truly is a breath of fresh air!
 
Besant Hill School: Visual and performing arts are outstanding. Beautiful campus complete with a yurt were they hold school meetings (a terrific space). Very talented musicians who compose & preform their own music. Interesting campus. Perfect for the self-motivated student.
 
Villanova Preparatory School:  An Augustinian High School; strong academically and athletically. Has a very high Asian boarding population. Community service is very important. Lovely campus and facilities.

So often it seems that we lose track of schools located in unique locales. Visiting Worcester Academy in Worcester, MA, I found myself thinking "when was the last time that I found myself on the campus of an urban boarding school?" Maybe never?

Worcester is a good sized school- 600 total students with an upper school boarding program of 150 and urban it is. Worcester relishes its urban setting and makes the city of Worcester's cultural institutions part and parcel of the lesson plans.

Using the surrounding museums, architecture and cultural resources, Worcester faculty take their students beyond the classroom holding classes in neighboring cultural institutions. Rather than the occasional day long field trip into the city- bookended by bumpy, noisy, and bouncy rides on a yellow 44 passenger school bus- Worcester students enjoy and benefit from a succession small, regular, city experiences.

Susanne Carpenter, Worcester's Director of Admission, explains how the Worcester Art Museum Museum becomes the classroom for students.  

"Students taking the upper school elective "Thinking Like Leonardo" explore the nature of the creative process by studying Da Vinci as a creative thinker, scientist, artist, engineer and inventor. A portion of the course is dedicated to understanding the power of one's senses and how Da Vinci explored his world through his various senses. To bring this concept to life, students head downtown to visit the Worcester Art Museum for "Flora in Winter" when the Museum comes alive filled with floral displays by skilled artisans from across New England.  Students are exposed to a rich feast for the senses by exploring the sites and smells of these creative floral artistic interpretations as well as the contrast of the museum's rich art collection. "

At Worcester the vibrancy of urban community is part of the experience. Check out the school's web site to learn more.

My visit to Eagle Hill School in Hardwick, MA this past Wednesday (3/19/08) reminded me of the importance that tone plays in the life of a school. In its work with learning (dis)abilities, tone provides the foundation for students and faculty at Eagle Hill.

All relationships-from those in the dormitory to those in the classroom, from how expectations are set to how students respond-bind and remind Eagle Hill faculty and students that they work and live together in a setting that supports and looks out for one another.

Every person that I met at Eagle Hill demonstrated a warm engagement towards one another and towards me, as a visitor. Every student greeted me with an extended hand, looked me in the eye, and inquired as to how my visit was going.

From the ground up, the entire community was fully engaged. Peter McDonald, Eagle Hill's head of school, graciously spent time with me describing the school and its growth. My hard-hat tour of the cultural center, currently under construction, reinforced the sense of community. The new cultural center will provide Eagle Hill students with opportunities to learn through experiences, and students will be able to participate in all facets of the building's operation from production to performance to financing and marketing productions. The cultural center will also allow Eagle Hill to reach further into the surrounding community.

Dr. McDonald said that the new center was designed to enhance the art program, provide students with a resident theater company run by John and Linda Tomasi, and host speakers, musicals and other events that will be open to the residents of Hardwick and surrounding towns."

I left Eagle Hill marveling at the engagement of everyone in the community. No one is left disconnected and this tone begins with an extended hand and a warm greeting when you arrive on campus.

Visit Eagle Hill's web site to learn more about the school.

My student tour guide during a recent visit to Kents Hill School (Kents Hill, ME) reminded me about the unique opportunities of small schools. Her enthusiasm was infectious (wouldn't expect less from a tour guide). Kents Hill does what small schools often do best- bring its students to life.

Kents Hill encourages its students to extend themselves beyond the recognized programs- an Advanced Placement program that received the 2003 Siemens Foundation Award for Advanced Placement, the Waters Learning Center for academic support and environmental science- into the areas of personal direction and accomplishment.

When I asked, "what makes Kents Hill?"  She answered the community and the supportive nature of the everyone- faculty and students. She posited that a student might want to build a violin- a difficult task for even the most experienced wood worker.  In many settings the student might be hamstrung by two issues- no wood shop and adult discouragement.

Kents Hill has a wood shop so that students can work with their hands and a Kents Hill faculty member would approach the question differently. Rather than dissuading the student, a Kents Hill adult might say, "O.K., lets look at the situation. If it can be done, lets put together a plan and we'll support and help you through the process."

This exchange provides the quintessential example of the small school experience. Small schools tend to be much more student driven and focused than their larger counterparts. This student centered focus and flexibility allows students to pursue and grow in personal and unique directions.

Visit Kents Hill's website to learn more about the school.