Transcript Slide 1

How Great Schools Work
Partnering
with
Patrick F. Bassett,
NAISParents
President
[email protected]
(20 minute version = slides 2, 7-10)
Where Do Kids Go to School?
 56 million in school, K-12, about 90% in public schools, 10-11%
in private schools (of that, 1%+ in independent college-prep
private schools).
 How do U.S. schools stack up globally? College for all? What
do college presidents of selective colleges say they are looking
for? What’s our record? How do we seek “the match?”
 Most critical elements for success of students and schools?
– Small schools with intimate environments (not small classes)
– Great teachers (High IQ & EQ). (Recent data: Rand Study
of LA Unified)
– Supportive Parents (supportive of their kids’ uniqueness &
their kids’ school)
Five Things Great Schools (& parents) Do
(From the President, Independent School Magazine, Winter 2009)
1. Control the Environment: The most important choice parents
make is the peers they “choose” for their children. (Cf. UVA
Study). The assembly line, the hospital bubble, vs. the garden
hothouse.
2. Model “Grown-up” Behavior: “Under-parenting” is selfish
and irresponsible; “over-parenting,” misguided and unhealthy
for the parent perpetrator and the child victim. (Cf. Wendy
Mogel’s Blessings of the Skinned Knee, Blessings of a B- ).
Separate & individuate vs. “failure to launch.”
3. Read: The most important thing parents can do with their
children to prepare them for school at all levels is to read with
them. Cf. Rite of passage stories: Harry Potter; Huckleberry
Finn; Catcher in the Rye; Funny in Farsi; Typical American;
etc. = Rite of passage stories for the youngest. Grimm’s Fairy
Tales
Five Things Great Schools (& parents) Do
4. Experiment and Innovate: Student engagement
the key
5. Seek Balance: Know how to finish this sentence:
“I want my child to be.…” (Cf. Studies by
Anthony Campolo–Eastern College and Douglas
Heath—Haverford; “Academic Achievement &
Character” - CSEE
…. Bonus 6th Point:
Partner Together
To help the child find his or her path
The Independent School Advantage
1. Small and intimate schools: Student:teacher ratio in NAIS
schools is 9:1 (vs. 17:1 in parochial schools and 16:1 in public
schools). Smaller learning environments translate into stronger
academic achievement. (Advocacy Message #1: Independent
schools are close knit communities where one’s child is known.)
2. Study of core knowledge to advanced levels: By the 8th grade,
70% of NAIS students study Algebra I (vs. 32% in public schools),
and 85% study foreign language (vs. 24%). (Gatekeeper courses for
college.) (Advocacy Message #2: Independent schools challenge
students to stretch their minds.)
3. Developing team-skills and leadership: 71% of public school
students drop team activities by secondary school vs. near universal
team participation by independent school students (94%).
(Advocacy message #3: Value of being a “player.”)
4. Placing a higher value on community service & civic
participation: Universal expectation of community
service. (Advocacy Message #4: Independent schools go
beyond academics to develop responsible, independent,
and community-oriented students.)
5. Education for character is central for independent
schools (vs. 80% of public school elite admit to cheating-Who’s Who in American High Schools Survey, ’98 &
2005). (Advocacy Message #5: Values as the “value-added”
of great schools.)
6. An inclusive environment: On average, 20-25% of
students attending NAIS schools receive financial aid or
tuition remission; on average, 25% of students at NAIS
schools are students of color. (Advocacy Message #6: More,
not less diverse than many public schools.)
7. Expressing strong career & job satisfaction: Skilled in 21st
C. technology skills; pursuing healthy, active adult lives
(Advocacy message #7:“Not just for school but for life.”)
8. Attending America’s most respected colleges & universities
and succeeding at whatever college attended: (Advocacy
message #8: Independent schools vastly over-represented in the
150 most selective colleges.)
9. Persistence factor-leading the nation in post-secondary
achievement:
 Most 9th graders anticipate college; few graduate.
 Pell Institute Study of graduation rates (by age 24) for all
college students by income levels: Low income = 9%;
middle income = 39%; high income = 52% (of those who go)
(Advocacy message #9: Importance of peer norms and
achievement -oriented culture.)
Psst! 'Human Capital‘ -DAVID BROOKS
“What Works” for Success
New York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005
 Cultural Capital: the habits, assumptions, emotional
dispositions and linguistic capacities we unconsciously pick
up from families, neighbors and ethnic groups - usually by
age 3.
– PFB note: Is it “cool” to read, to study, or not?
 Social Capital: the knowledge of how to behave in groups
and within institutions.
– PFB note: UNC classes for students on how to behave in
restaurants; needed.
 Moral Capital: the ability to be trustworthy.
– PFB note: “Counter-culture” of independent schools.
Psst! 'Human Capital‘ -DAVID BROOKS
“What Works” for Success
New York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005
 Aspirational Capital: the fire-in-the-belly ambition to
achieve. “90% of life is just showing up.” ~Woody Allen.
– PFB Note: Millionaire studies: C+/B- students—who
were told they wouldn’t amount to much. Worrying
about “self-esteem” vs. encouraging “prove them
wrong.”
 Cognitive Capital: This can mean pure, inherited
brainpower. But important cognitive skills are not measured
by IQ tests and are not fixed.
– PFB Note: EQ more important in life than IQ, especially
empathy and social judgment. “Growth mindset” most
important of all.
Psst! 'Human Capital‘ -DAVID BROOKS
“What Works” for Success
New York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005
 Educational Reform in America: Not much return
on investment.
 David Brooks: “The only things that work are local,
human-to-human immersions that transform the
students down to their very beings. Extraordinary
schools, which create intense cultures of
achievement, work. Extraordinary teachers, who
inspire students to transform their lives, work.”
Overview
 Independence & Governance: How
Schools Work
 What Great Schools Have in Common
 What Kids Need
 What Parents Need
Student Needs
(cf. Robert Evans)
 To Belong: To be part of a
community (homogeneous independent school
communities vs. clique stratification in large schools: e.g., cafeteria
geography of jocks, preps, geeks, granolas, artistes, hip hop,
grunge, ravers, Goths, etc.). Entry tickets to the group?
 To Develop Skills (interpersonal, intrapersonal,
academic, athletic, aesthetic) (Why kids show up)
 To Learn Values/“The Rules” (virtue,
persistence, “showing up”; respecting the boundary line;
self-discipline more important than IQ in influencing
academic success-Psychological Science, 2005)
Student Needs
 To Have Success (ego-building
growth, confidence, unconditional love)
 To Overcome Failures (the most
valuable lessons, despite helicopter
parents)
Kurt Hahn’s “Seven Laws of Salem” and Wendy Mogel’s The
Blessing of the Skinned Knee and The Blessing of a B Minus)
and Deborah Roffman’s “Pedagogically Speaking.” PFB note:
Greenhouse effect of independent schools: ideal growing
conditions but also necessary stresses before transplanting to
outdoor world.
Return
Overview
 Independence & Governance: How
Schools Work
 Why Choose an Independent School?
 What Kids Need
 What Parents Need
What Some Parents (5%) Need that Schools
CAN’T Provide cf. Time, 2/21/05 “Parents Behaving Badly”; Wendy Mogel’s The
Blessings of a Skinned Knee; Michael Thompson’s For the Sake of the Children: An NAIS Guide to
Successful Family-School Relationships.
2005 MetLife Survey
of The American
Teacher: Public school
teachers report very
satisfied in working
with students = 68%; in
working with parents =
25%
What Most Parents Need that Schools CAN Provide
 Practical Needs: Extended Day, Rich Afterschool
Offerings, Conferencing at Convenient Times, Day Care Onsite for Meetings; Website calendars & syllabi.
 Psychic Needs: Reinforcement of school choice
 Human Needs: To be heard (NB. Starbucks & Skim Milk)
And… (the main, main thing…)
 A Mutually Supportive Partnership with the School...
What Most Parents Need that Schools CAN Provide
 A Mutually Supportive Partnership with the School...
 Understanding the quid pro quo between teachers and
parents.
 Supporting the authority of teachers and school. And
vice versa.
 Discounting heavily rumors your child brings home from
school. Avoid the parking lot Mafia.
 Setting proper environment and expectations for
homework.
 Limiting TV consumption to 1 hr. per day of acceptable
fare. Encouraging reading instead of TV.
What Most Parents Need that Schools CAN
Provide:
 Parenting Needs: A Partnership with the School...
 Giving generously of time and resources to support the
program of the school.
 Respecting school schedule and calendar.
 Learning from professionals about the developmental stages
of young people.
 Helping young people make good choices regarding time:
Avoid over-scheduling.
 Resisting adolescents’ peculiar skill in wearing parents
down: curfews, parties, etc.
Appendix: See Related Slides
For More Resources on this Topic, Go to
www.nais.org
Where Do Public School Teachers Send
Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation,
Sept. 2004)
Size/Rank City
%City %PS Fac Difference
49
Rochester, NY
14.6
37.5
22.9
38
Nashville, TN
7.2
28.6
21.4
44
Hartford-Bristol-MiddletonNew Britain, CT
7.0
25.0
18.0
24
Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH/KY/IN
24.4
41.2
16.8
3
Chicago, IL
22.6
38.7
16.1
32
Providence-Fall River-Pawtucket,
MA/RI
16.5
31.3
14.7
19
Baltimore, MD
20.9
35.1
14.3
4
Philadelphia, PA/NJ
30.9
43.8
12.8
22
Denver-Boulder, CO
12.6
23.3
10.7
13
Riverside-San Bernadino, CA
9.1
19.3
10.2
Where Do Public School Teachers Send
Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation,
Sept. 2004)
Size/Rank
City
%City %PS Fac Difference
1
New York-Northeastern NJ
22.7
32.5
9.8
43
Jacksonville, FL
18.6
28.0
9.4
12
San Francisco-OaklandVallejo, CA
25.2
34.3
9.1
6
Miami-Hialeah, FL
16.3
25.3
9.0
2
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
15.7
24.5
8.9
45
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
20.0
27.6
7.6
25
Portland, OR-WA
12.7
20.0
7.3
7
Washington, DC
19.8
26.8
7.0
11
Boston, MA-NH
21.7
28.2
6.4
36
Milwaukee, WI
23.4
29.4
6.0
Where Do Public School Teachers Send
Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation,
Sept. 2004)
Size/Rank
City
%City %PS Fac Difference
10
Detroit, MI
12.8
18.5
5.7
26
Sacramento, CA
10.0
15.2
5.2
40
New Orleans, LA
24.5
29.1
4.7
United States total (for Cities)
17.5
21.5
4.0
41
Memphis, TN/AR/MS
12.4
15.7
3.3
31
Columbus, OH
14.0
17.0
3.0
21
Pittsburgh, PA
13.4
14.9
1.5
14
Phoenix, AZ
8.2
9.2
1.0
33
Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport
News, VA
12.6
13.6
1.0
35
Las Vegas, NV
6.7
7.2
0.6
Where Do Public School Teachers Send
Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation,
Sept. 2004)
Size/Rank
City
%City %PS Fac Difference
27
Kansas City, MO-KS
17.3
17.1
-0.2
46
Richmond-Petersburg, VA
17.5
16.7
-0.8
8
Houston-Brazoria, TX
9.9
9.0
-0.9
17
San Diego, CA
10.4
9.3
-1.1
16
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
17.5
16.3
-1.2
20
Tampa-St. PetersburgClearwater, FL
15.1
13.4
-1.8
50
Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT
7.2
5.2
-2.0
30
San Jose, CA
16.6
14.1
-2.5
28
San Antonio, TX
11.6
8.6
-2.9
5
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
10.7
7.6
-3.1
34
Indianapolis, IN
14.5
11.1
-3.4
Where Do Public School Teachers Send
Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation,
Sept. 2004)
Size/Rank
City
%City %PS Fac Difference
15
Seattle-Everett, WA
22.0
18.6
-3.4
9
Atlanta, GA
11.6
7.8
-3.8
18
St. Louis, MO-IL
20.4
16.5
-3.9
23
Cleveland, OH
19.9
16.0
-3.9
39
Austin, TX
10.0
6.0
-4.0
48
Birmingham, AL
13.1
8.7
-4.4
29
Orlando, FL
14.2
9.6
-4.7
47
Oklahoma City, OK
10.5
1.7
-8.8
37
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill,
NC-SC
16.2
7.1
-9.1
42
Louisville, KY/IN
24.7
15.2
-9.5
Migration?
Leaving the City for the Schools, and Regretting It
By Winnie Hu, The New York Times (from November 13, 2006)

“…many New Yorkers with the means to do so flee the city when they
have children, seeing the suburbs as a way to stay committed to public
education without compromising their standards for safety and
academics.

Yet a small but growing number of such parents are abandoning even
some of the top-performing public schools in the region. In school
districts like Scarsdale, N.Y., and Montclair, N.J., where high test scores
and college admission rates have built national reputations and propelled
real estate prices upward, these demanding families say they were
disappointed by classes that were too crowded, bare-bones arts and
sports programs, and an emphasis on standardized testing rather than
creative teaching.”
Independent vs. Privileged
Suburban Public Schools
Sources: Lessons of Privilege ~Art Powell; THL11/98 ~John Seel review of JD Harris’ The Nurture
Assumption; American Demographics 9/98
Independent
Suburban
Public
To
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10
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90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
• Greater than 70% high school students attend high school with more than 1000 enrollment (Ed Week, 10/20/01)
• Parents choice of peer group (i.e. school) is the most decisive decision in child’s development. ~John Seal, UVA
• Greatest persistence factor (graduating with a B.A.) is the academic intensity of one’s school. ~Adelman, OERI
• Participation: 73% quit childhood sports by age 13 (Chicago Tribune, 3/30/00). Girls who play afterschool sports far
less likely to have had any sexual partners. (American Demographics 9/98)
Return
Return
Richard Light’s Making the Most Out of College
 Based on decade worth of analysis of the undergraduate
experience at Harvard and other colleges.
 Tools you need to succeed in college: knowing how to
manage your time and having a disciplined work ethic,
balancing academics with true interest and commitment in
other areas particularly the arts, being comfortable engaging
in class and approaching professors outside of class, being
comfortable working in groups, and having the ability to
think analytically.
 Most powerful classes in college that reads like an
independent school curriculum guide: small classes, where
teachers get to know the students and use techniques that
would not work in large groups, where students do much of
the work of the course (presenting material, engaging in
discussion, summarizing a reading) and where there is a lot
of individual attention to writing.
Richard Light’s Making the Most Out of College
 Diversity in high school, at least as reported by Harvard
undergraduates, is not working well at all. First, the
numbers. Of the 120 undergraduates interviewed, 44
reported little or no ethnic diversity in their high schools. So
for this group, “how well it is working” was a moot point.
 For the other 76 undergraduates, a clear pattern emerged.
– Of the 22 who attended private or independent high schools, 19
ranked their personal experience with fellow students from ethnic
groups other than their own as either “positive” or “highly
positive.”
– The 54 students who attended public high schools presented a very
different picture: 38, or more than two-thirds, characterized their
personal experience as “negative” and “disappointing.”
– American public schools, at least those attended by the
undergraduates in the study, make remarkably little effort to build a
sense of community or shared culture. This is in sharp contrast to
reports from graduates from independent schools.
The Seven Laws of Salem (1930)
~Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound
1. Give children the opportunity for self-discovery.
2. Make the children meet with triumph and defeat.
3. Give the children the opportunity of self-effacement in the
common cause.
4. Provide periods of silence.
5. Train the imagination.
6. Make games important but not predominant.
7. Free the sons of the wealthy and powerful from the
enervating sense of privilege.
By what measure should we judge school systems?
School/College Graduates (Ed Week 3/22/06)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
9th Grade (100)
Graduate (67)
Enter College
(38)
Stay as Sophs
(26)
Grad in 6 yrs (18)
“America once had one of the most educated workforces in the world, but today
only 40 percent of young adults have a college degree – a lower percentage than
eleven other countries and no higher than a generation ago.” Secretary of
Education Arnie. Duncan 8/9/10 (“Restoring America’s Leadership in Higher Education”)
Note: Less than 40% of 18 year olds get to college; under 20% graduate within six years; only
27% of US jobs require a college degree (28% by 2012—US Bureau of Labor)
Country
% in College
% Graduate
Korea
48
18
Greece
43
<15
Finland
37
<15
Belgium
37
<15
US
35
17
Ireland
35
21
Poland
34
17
Australia
31
23
France
31
20
Hungary
31
16
% of 18-24 Year Olds in College vs. % Who Graduate
Spain
30
17
New Zealand
29
21
Netherlands
27
16
Norway
25
<15
Portugal
25
25
Sweden
24
18
Czech Republic
24
15
Germany
23
<15
Austria
23
<15
Denmark
20
23
US toward the top in college participation, towards the bottom in college completion.
Source: EdWeek 09/13/06
Return
College
%Public %Private College
%Public %Private
Amherst
58
41
Northwestern
78
22
Bowdoin
51
49
Pomona
64
35
Brown
58
39
Princeton
61
39
Columbia
57
43
Stanford
67
33
Cornell
69
23
Swarthmore
63
29
Dartmouth
66
34
UC-Berkeley
87
13
Duke
68
32
Univ of CHI
64
29
Georgetown
49
51
Univ of PA
52
48
Middlebury
53
47
Yale
54
46
MIT
69
21
The Path to Highly
Selective Colleges
Source: WSJ, Oct. 2006 &
CAPE Outlook, Nov. 2006
Note: Private schools in
general educate around
10% of students; in that
group, independent
schools are about 1%.
Of the private
selective colleges,
about 40% of the
matriculants come
from private schools.
1. “The Match” vs. “The Decal”
2. Race to Nowhere & Getting In
3. Harvard?
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Pedagogically Speaking: Teaching Outside Pandora's Box
Deborah M. Roffman Independent School, Summer 2010
Five Core Nurturing Needs for K-12 Kids:
1. Affirmation
2. Information
3. Clarity around Values
4. Limit Setting
5. Anticipatory Guidance
How Well-Intentioned Adults Undermine
Children’s Moral & Emotional Development
• Parents have most profound impact on morals.
• Weissbourd’s research: Teens’ perception of
what they believe to be the most important
value for them in their parents’ mind:
1. For you to be happy
2. Achieving a high level of income
3. Having a high status job
4. Being a good person who cares about others
5. Gaining entrance into a selective college
2/3rds public & private school kids thought #1 over #4.
½ of high income private school kids thought #5 over #4.
Weissbourd’s comment on academic “pressure”:
30-40% of Harvard’s undergrads on antidepressants.
Dean Richard Light on Harvard Freshmen
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Demonstrations of Learning:
“What you do, not what you know, the ultimate test of
education.” ~PFB Tweet
1. Conduct a fluent conversation in a foreign language about
of piece of writing in that language. (Stanford University
requirement)
2. Write a cogent and persuasive opinion piece on a matter of
public importance.
3. Declaim with passion and from memory a passage that is
meaningful, of one’s own or from the culture’s literature or
history.
4. Demonstrate a commitment to creating a more sustainable
and global future with means that are scalable
5. Invent a machine or program a robot capable of performing
a difficult physical task.
Demonstrations of Learning
6. Exercise leadership in arena which you have passion and
expertise.
7. Using statistics or forensics, assess if a statement by a public
figure is demonstrably true.
8. Assess media coverage of a global event from various
cultural/national perspectives. (“Arab Spring” & 6th grade US
history unit on “causes of the revolution”)
9. Describe a breakthrough for a project-based team on which
you participated in which you contributed to overcoming a
human-created obstacle.
10. Produce or perform or stage or interpret a work of art.
The implied mission promise of a school with these outcomes?
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Challenge 20/20: Montessori School of Denver
Return
Rio Grande School (NM)
Grant Wood’s Victorian Survival
Smithsonian Podcast
interpretation by Katy
Waldman, Holton
Arms School
http://americanart.si.edu/eyelevel/pod
casts/podcast_victorian_survival.html
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College
%Public %Private
Amherst
58
41
Northwestern
78
22
Bowdoin
51
49
Pomona
64
35
Brown
58
39
Princeton
61
39
Columbia
57
43
Stanford
67
33
Cornell
69
23
Swarthmore
63
29
Dartmouth
66
34
UC-Berkeley
87
13
Duke
68
32
Univ of CHI
64
29
Georgetown
49
51
Univ of PA
52
48
Middlebury
53
47
Yale
54
46
MIT
69
21
Avg = 35%
from private
schools
The Path to
Highly
Selective
Colleges
Source: WSJ, Oct. 2006
& CAPE Outlook, Nov.
2006
Note: Private
schools in general
educate 10% of
students;
independent schools,
1%.
Return
Independent vs. Privileged
Suburban Public Schools
Sources: Lessons of Privilege ~Art Powell; THL11/98 ~John Seel review of JD Harris’ The Nurture
Assumption; American Demographics 9/98
Independent
Suburban
Public
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90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
• Greater than 70% high school students attend high school with more than 1000 enrollment (Ed Week, 10/20/01)
• Parents choice of peer group (i.e. school) is the most decisive decision in child’s development. ~John Seel, UVA
• Greatest persistence factor (graduating with a B.A.) is the academic intensity of one’s school. ~Adelman, OERI
• Participation: 73% quit childhood sports by age 13 (Chicago Tribune, 3/30/00). Girls who play afterschool sports far
less likely to have had any sexual partners. (American Demographics 9/98)
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Creativity, Robotics, Teaming and STEM
Falmouth Academy’s Submersible Robot
Return