Director’s Blog, June 2011
This Year’s Successes
I am often asked, at this point in the year, “So, how was the year? Successful? Are you happy with the way things are ending?” My answer, invariably, is “Yes.” We always have a good year. Children learn. They are healthy and happy. New families join, seniors graduate to terrific colleges. Some things change for the better, some stay the same, also for the better. So, “Yes,” we had a successful year this year. Can we demonstrate or illustrate this? It is not always easy to measure the success of a school (which is surprising given how much time we spend measuring out students’ progress.) Clearly, there are some indicators of how well we performed this year. What follows, in no particular order, are my thoughts on some of our successes.
To measure success in the divisions, we can look to awards, accolades, championships, publications, etc. To name a few:
• The high school robotics team came in first in their division in the NY region, advancing to the world championship where they came in 25th. Upon their return to NYC, they began to “deconstruct” the 24 robots ahead of them and are planning for next year’s competition.
• A group of high school students won the award for best documentary at the Toronto Student Film Festival
• The 7th/8th grade girls’ basketball team ended their season in first place. All other inter-mural basketball teams, in the middle and high school, made it through at least one round of playoffs.
• A number of other teams won championships or tournaments or, in individual sports, had students who came in first place—cross-country and track are two examples.
• Our recently published literary magazine IE is excellent this year, as always. This volume is just one example of LREI’s terrific student publications, which include the yearbooks—Expressions and Really Red—and our high school newspaper, The Charlton Label.
• Throughout the three divisions there are a multitude of other demonstrations of learning—publishing parties, art shows and museums.
• In all three divisions, weekly gatherings are student led.
• We produced four major theatrical productions plus at least four smaller plays that came out of the classroom curriculum. In addition we held two seasonal concerts for the bands and choruses in which roughly 25% of the school participated.
• The number and variety of the field trips taken by our students is a true sign of our success as a mission driven school.
• A good number of faculty and administrators presented at conferences and workshops in New York and nationally.
Outside of the academic program:
• From an enrollment standpoint, we had a fantastic year. Many, many applicants for all spots. We were able to fill grades Fours-Nine with excellent students and families. We are excited about the LREI community’s newest members and all that they will bring to the 2011-2012 school year. We have enrolled our largest class of 9th graders ever at 63 students. Almost 75% of eighth graders are moving up to ninth grade!
• We are thrilled by the college options and choices of the Class of 2011. Congratulations to them and thank you to our new college guidance team. The colleges in which our seniors are enrolled are excellent, highly academic, diverse and inspiring.
• Teacher turnover is at an all-time low.
• Thanks to the generosity of the LREI community we are poised to meet our Annual Fund goal, though are still hoping that we will see an additional increase in participation. Thank you to all who contributed and to all who helped to solicit donations. Thank you, in advance, to any who will contribute between now and June 30th. The Big Auction added significantly to our Annual Fund successes bringing in at least $250,000. Thank you to the organizers.
• We are proud of our successes in making the school accessible and inclusive. We feel successful about the ways in which we have worked with students and families on issues of equity and justice.
• The Parents Association had a successful year with ever increasing levels of participation in their various events. Surely a sign of success.
• As you may know, almost a year ago, LREI was awarded a grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation to fund our work in looking ahead a number of years and adding to our high school program in ways that will assure that we are preparing our students for their future, even though we don’t know where it will take them or us. The redesign team has made excellent progress and our work will continue into the summer and fall. As do all E.E. Ford grants, we were required to match the $50,000 with $50,000 from the LREI community. At last accounting, we had raised $67,000 in gifts to this fund. Thank you to all who contributed.
There are many other examples of success waiting to be included on the list above, a list that could cover many pages and still leave out something or someone. We should be proud of these accomplishments; they are exciting and say a great deal about what we value, about our students and teachers and how they spend their time.
To shift focus somewhat, we should also be proud of those things that are less easily seen, such as the four year-old who learns to separate from a parent, the first grader who learns to read and the third grader who begins to learn to do research. We should celebrate success in learning math at all levels, in being a scientist searching for answers and in speaking in a foreign language. We must give pats on the back all around for robots built, for essays written, for literature deconstructed. This list, too, is long, as long as the list of each of our students is, as we know that each of them stretched intellectually this year.
Another indication of success, I am convinced, are the many, many conversations that are going on concerning the next steps in the growth of LREI’s program, about projects for the summer and plans for the next school year. These are not plans to remediate failure or to fill giant gaps, but are the result of thoughtful reflection on how best meet the school’s academic mission. This sort of ongoing reflection and innovation are essential to our mission. It is a great success when our teachers, at the end of a busy and taxing school year, continue to plan for the further development of our program. This is clearly the path to increased success for LREI and to achieving the true potential of our progressive program.
Finally, I spent a number of hours over the past week meeting, in small groups, with all of our seniors. The goal of these exit interviews was to get some feedback from our oldest, wisest and most mature students. Their comments and thoughts were honest and constructive. The students have high expectations for themselves and for their schoolmates and, most importantly, for the school. They were encouraging about the directions the school is currently taking and clear about those things that should not change as well about areas where the students felt we should focus some attention. More so than the specifics of their comments, their ability to be self-reflective, to make mature and constructive suggestions and to hold themselves accountable for some of what they wish would have happened during their time in high school are the true successes of our program. Along with their families, we have fostered decent, caring, smart and hard working citizens who are going off to college able and eager to have an impact on their new communities, to learn and to succeed.
Best, Phil
Updates and Announcements:
Exam Week begins tomorrow with Reading Day! Please take a look at last week’s blog for Trimester III Exam Week details.
Please click here for the 2011-2012 School Calendar.
The school store will be open for the last time this year on Wednesday June 8th. 8am -9am. Be prepared for summer with LREI t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and water bottles!
1. PA Officers Poll: Each year the Parents Association asks its members to vote on a slate of officers and representatives for the following school year. Click here for the ballot for the 2011-2012 school year. All parents/guardians of LREI students are members of the association and are encouraged to vote. There is no election for class parent representatives. If you would like to volunteer to be a parent rep, please speak to your divisional coordinator or the current year’s parent reps. Once completed, please return your ballot to the receptionist in either building. Copies of the ballot are available at the front desk of either building. Ballots can also be mailed to the school; please address them to Parents Association Elections.
2. TO ALL PARENTS FROM THE LREI PARENTS ASSOCIATION:
From the Parents Association: Spring is here, so it is time to start planning for the next school year. The Parents Association would like to let you know the many ways you can participate. Becoming a parent rep is a great way to get involved. If you have not been a parent rep before but would like to try it or find out more about it, please let us know. We would be happy to talk to you more about what the job entails. You can also refer to the Family Handbook (accessible through our website www.LREI.org) for the Parent Rep Guidelines. We will be matching parent reps to classes in mid-August or so, when the class lists are finalized. If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, you could consider volunteering for any of our PA committees; please click here for the list. Please email us at PA-Presidents@lrei.org if you have any questions or suggestions.