The faculty “in-service” last month marked the first of two school-wide professional development days for 2009-2010.  In actuality, however, professional development happens year-round at Friends Select.

On October 9, middle and upper school faculty spent the day visiting other schools.  They travelled to such varied locations as the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), Cheltenham High School and The Crefeld School in the Philadelphia area, and The Calhoun School, The Spence School, and The School at Columbia University in New York City, among others.  They came back to Friends Select with a lot to share after a day spent observing and networking with their peer educators. 

On the same day, lower school teachers took an in-depth look at the Everyday Mathematics program used at the school.  Guest speaker, consultant Conrad Follmer, discussed the evolution of the curriculum at the University of Chicago as a response to a widely-used and generally ineffective paper-and-pencil, one-size-fits-all approach.  He talked about the ways in which Everyday Math employs a more balanced approach to teaching computation, concepts and problem-solving, recognizing that children learn in different ways and at different paces.  Lively discussion ensued.

The next full-day in-service is January 4.  Beyond these two scheduled days, faculty and staff will participate in many other professional development activities.  Just a few examples for the rest of this year:

In addition to these larger meetings, teachers will attend lectures and programs throughout the year tied to their individual fields of interest and expertise.

My own professional development includes two gatherings each year of Quaker heads sponsored by Friends Council on Education, an annual conference of speakers at the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) conference, and a series of workshops through Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS) on governance, admission, marketing and fundraising. 

This month, I will go to the annual conference in Princeton of the quaintly-titled Headmistresses Association of the East (HMAE).  Founded in 1911 by a group of headmistresses of schools in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, it is now a vibrant, coed organization which will be discussing “Educating the 21st Century Student.” 

Friends Select’s newly-released strategic plan lists the goal to “value and enrich intellectual capital.”  Focused and relevant professional development is one way to address that goal.  And, it is one way to continue to serve students by delivering both sound and contemporary education. 

 

The task sounded simple enough:  Groups of seven students and a teacher, already standing in rows on the rooftop playing field, were instructed to reassemble in age order without speaking or leaving their lines.  What happened?  Laughter, chaos, concentration, non-verbal communication, cooperation…and ultimately, success.  That particular exercise was just one of several team-building games that students and faculty played one September morning before heading out to Fairmount Park in early October for outdoor community service projects.

Opportunities abound throughout the year for students in grades six, seven and eight to interact in non-academic settings.  This mixing of the grades is done intentionally, says middle school director Terry Kessel, who believes that the students in different grades have a lot to offer one another.  “The older students ‘civilize’ the younger students,” she says, only half-joking, “and the sixth graders give their older classmates a chance to be role models and leaders.”  What’s more, shared activities build community through the discovery of common ground between all students in incremental and meaningful ways that they then carry with them into upper school.

Instances in which the grades mingle are particularly helpful to sixth graders who, as newcomers to the middle school, need to learn to function more independently.  “One of the fastest ways to expand their world is to join a team,” says middle school dean Ed Rhee.  “That’s one reason we require one season of sports each year– even for students who don’t especially like sports,” he continues.  “They quickly find out about spirit, teamwork, camaraderie…and how joining a team helps you make friends and rapidly feel like part of the middle school and the Friends Select community.” 

Middle school takes an if-you-build-it-they-will-come approach to inter-grade activities.  Says Kessel:  “We put the structure in place, and then the students really take off -- in performing arts groups, community service, student government and sports, where they are peers regardless of their grade.” 

Why in the world would six upper school students voluntarily arrive at school at 6:30 a.m.?  Ask seniors Amanda Mauri; Ambuj Suri; Morgan Williams; and Melissa Matusky; junior Emily Johnson; and sophomore Cate MacQueen.  Their answer:  “Spirit Day.”  It was still dark when these hardy six students met upper school dean Kendall Cameron at the front door on October 2 to get organized for a day they had spent months planning. 

“Spirit Day is a great example of how we build community in the upper school,” says upper school director Jesse Dougherty.  “It is a student driven/faculty advised activity in which the students really make it all happen.”  Other clubs in the upper school, ranging from Model U.N. and the math club to the history journal and foosball club are structured according to a similar model:  Students take the lead, with faculty available for guidance and support.

While clubs may appear, on the surface, to be focused mainly on fun, Dougherty notes that the tool-box of skills involved in clubs, sports, musical performance and theatre have important ramifications for academic performance.  “Learning to collaborate with peers, plan, focus and work hard are invaluable skills in the classroom and beyond,” he says.  “What’s more, ‘co-curriculars’ are the ballast that lends balance to the upper school experience, providing an important element of play in students’ busy lives at school.”

Senior Amanda Mauri, student government president, co-chaired Spirit Day with senior Ambuj Suri, Spirit Club president.  She admits that pulling off the event was a lot of work.  “We started brainstorming last spring and had hoped to have everything planned by the end of the summer,” she says.  “But scheduling and logistics were tricky, since it was a regular school day for everyone else.  We’ll do a few things differently next year.” 

Brainstorming, scheduling, logistics, delegating, de-briefing.  Sounds like Spirit Day taught the students some valuable real-life lessons, along with providing them the satisfaction of a job well done.