Annual Report to Newtown Monthly
Meeting
November 7, 2010
Newtown Friends School provides an
education full of academic challenge, where students are encouraged to engage
in the learning process and to think creatively and independently. We are a community
rooted in Quaker values, where respect is taught in principle and exemplified
in practice. With this balanced foundation, students become confident
individuals who think for themselves while caring for each other and the world
around them.
- Mission Statement
I am so pleased to have the opportunity to come
before you and speak about Newtown Friends School. Before I share my thoughts about the state of
the School, I first want to thank the meeting and it’s members and attenders
for the warm welcome extended to me and my family. From my visits as a candidate, to the present
day, we have felt a real kindness offered to us by people we previously did not
know. It is empowering to feel the
strength of the educational and spiritual community that is Newtown Friends
School and Newtown Monthly Meeting. The
partnership I have observed, and into which I now step, is remarkable.
You heard from Ann in her report about the economic
challenges faced by many independent schools in this area. The stagnant economy and significant slowdown
in the growth of school age children in the immediate area has resulted in
fewer students in most independent schools, including Newtown Friends
School. As a result, the administration
and the Committee have been working diligently and hand-in-hand to prepare the
School for the possibility that we will be slightly smaller for a few
years. Our goal, and we will achieve it,
is to ensure that whatever changes we bring to the school will result in a
program infused with Quaker values and stronger than before.
To give you an idea of the good work that is
occurring just down the road, I want to spend time with you now sharing some of
the program and planning highlights from the remainder of the 2009 – 2010
school year and the start of this school year.
If the work of the committee is at 30,000 feet, this part of my report
will swoop down to 20,000 and 10,000 feet, and even to ground level. Ultimately, this is where the most important
work in occurring.
·
The
Science Companion curriculum was introduced in grades 3 – 6 last year. This year, it was introduced in Kindergarten,
1st, and 2nd grades.
We have a new Lower School science teacher this year as well, and she
has gotten off to a great start.
·
We
launched this fall the new Social Studies program as developed by the
Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) last year.
We are currently finalizing the three Language Arts Scopes &
Sequences (Reading, Writing and Word Study) written by the CRC in June, 2010.
The Language Arts program relies heavily on standards created by Teachers
College, Columbia University. All K-8
Language Arts teachers are currently using these same programs; the scopes
& sequences are designed to provide an overview and sequence for the
concepts and units to reduce redundancies and eliminate gaps. Additionally, a math Scope and Sequence is
being written right now for implementation next school year.
·
The
position of Director of Technology was re-envisioned and improved to now be
called the Director
of Curriculum & Integrated Technology.
This has had an immediate and hugely positive impact on our overall
curricular picture and on the integration of technology into the classroom.
·
The School made three highly successful hires
at the end of last year and over the summer, in kindergarten, Lower School
science, and Upper School social studies.
We have brought to the school youthful, smart, engaging, talented and
enthusiastic professionals to reach and teach our students.
·
We introduced 8th grade digital
portfolios. These are not only a great
learning experience for our students but also a great admissions and marketing
tool both internally and externally.
·
Also last year, Jody Smith started the course
entitled US 101 for 6th graders.
The classes give the students invaluable strategies, techniques, and
tips to find success in the additional rigor of the Upper School. This has been very well received.
·
We now have Latin and Spanish in 5th
grade, with the students cycling back and forth between the two. This will allow a choice between the two in 6th
grade, and a chance for greater immersion and learning over the subsequent 3
years.
·
Last spring, the 8th grade show Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was
a huge success. When Katie Johnson, our
music teacher went out on maternity leave, her husband Nolan, a professional
actor, took over to direct the show.
·
The TASC committee did a phenomenal job of fundraising
last year --- raising over $10,000 for Darfur in one day. TASC
stands for “The Agents of Social Change,” and is our student led service
organization. The group’s motto is
“mission possible.” The group’s fund
raising effort this year is, once again, Darfur. Last month, Dr. Adam, Simon Deng, and NFS
graduate Martha Heinemann Bixby stopped at Newtown Friends School while on the
Darfur Freedom Walk to speak to students in grades 4 – 8 in recognition of
TASC’s two-year, $16,000 plus contribution to the Save Darfur Coalition. Just this past week, Newtown Friends School
was named “Darfur Hero of the Month” for November by the Save Darfur
Coalition. We received an award in
Washington DC during the recent 7th grade trip down there.
·
Last Spring, we had a very successful secondary
school season, the full details of which are included as a chart in this report. Students were accepted into 17 independent
schools, in addition to local county schools.
In 13 of these schools, our acceptance rate was 75% or greater. Fifteen students enrolled at George School
and 8 students enrolled in local county schools.
·
A new
character education program has started in the Upper School, funded through
summer grant work.
·
New
behavior guidelines that specifically address bullying were implemented in the
Upper School this year. The guidelines,
which were reviewed and supported by Barbara Simmons from the Peace Center,
include a clear definition of bullying that empowers the victim.
·
Both
Back-to-School Nights went very well, with the Upper School using a new
format of four workshops focusing on
different topics.
·
This
year, we are using a good portion of our faculty meeting time to devote to in-house
Professional Development. The faculty
have formed five interest groups to study Web 2.0 & Project Based Learning
or to learn about the use of Smartboards.
This work will continue all year.
·
We are
looking rigorously at the math program this year, and have conducted a survey
of every K-8 math teacher. We are
researching math instruction in other independent schools, including local Friends
schools. Six faculty and staff members
are attending a Singapore Math workshop on December 1st, and we are
looking at this for possible future inclusion in the school.
·
Integrated
technology is an ever-growing part of our dynamic curriculum. This year,
every Lower School class has been to the computer lab multiple times for a
content area activity unrelated to computer class. For example,
kindergarten goes to the computer lab to use Pixie software to demonstrate
their knowledge of and to learn more about mathematical patterns. Sixth grade English students are blogging
about their independent reading. Eighth
grade Social Studies students created Quaker abolitionist podcasts about slavery
and Westward expansion.
·
Fall
Fest, the first community-building event of the year, was held on Saturday,
October 30. We had a huge crowd, and everyone had a good time. The number of pumpkin chunkin teams rose from
3 last year to 8 this year. Also, the
distance the pumpkins were thrown was increased as well, and during the event,
I had to stand on the road to Pennswood and halt cars during the moments of
pumpkin flight. Pumpkins were flying well
over 300 feet!
·
Under
the direction of Alice Gens, our Business Officer, the School is involved in
the PAISBOA (Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools Business Officers
Association) Energy Purchasing Program.
This allows us to purchase energy with many other schools, saving money,
and giving us price stability and price predictability. We are looking at all ways to purchase and
use materials and resources in a responsible and economical manner.
·
We are
in the midst of planning for the 2011 Golf Outing and the Auction, both of
which will be held next May. Proceeds from
these events support the School, including the Tuition Assistance Fund.
·
Newtown
Friends School had a large presence at the Newtown 5-K race on Oct. 9.
·
Upper
School GP Day was held on Tuesday, Nov. 2, and we had a huge crowd. Grandparents were in the building from about
9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., and visited classes before ending the day with a catered
lunch. Subs and pasta salad!
·
We had a
successful Secondary School fair on Oct. 5.
The auditorium was filled with admissions officers from local secondary
schools, giving our 8th grade families a chance to learn about many
schools in one evening.
·
The Eighth
graders have written their queries, and many this year have digital
presentational components. This year’s
theme of Integrity is being highlighted in the queries.
·
The
Sunshine committee of TASC has already planned and executed two spirit days:
Sports Team Day (in honor of the Phillies and/or anyone’s favorite team) and
“Wear Pink” for Breast Cancer Awareness.
In addition to my joining the School in August,
Diane Zimmaro joined the administrative team as the new Director of Development
and Alumni Relations. Diane has
extensive experience in the independent school development arena. With this hire, we have a complete and
dynamic senior administrative team to lead the school. As a group, we are full of ideas and
initiatives that outpace our ability to do all of them at the same time. It’s a good problem to have and I am excited
about my work with this group.
Attached to this report are the unaudited results
for the 2009-10 school year, showing a net surplus of just shy of $27,000. Currently, we are in the midst of a leaner
year, and we have done all we can to keep a tight eye on the budget without
compromising the strength of our academic program. For this year, 93 students applied for
admission, and we enrolled 53 new students, one more than last year. We received 72 applications for assistance;
59 qualified for aid. This represents
21% of the student body. Quaker students
received 17% of the available funding. We
awarded a total of approximately $442,000 in tuition assistance with $407,000
from Newtown Friends School, and the remainder coming from other sources (PYM,
local meetings, etc.)
Last year, Newtown Friends School was involved in
one of the most challenging events that independent schools face: the search
for and hiring of a new Head of School.
It’s a demanding and exhaustive process of reflection, preparation, and
interviewing. I’ve observed several of
these, and been involved in a few as well.
More than a few members of this meeting were involved in various
capacities with the search. The meeting
as a whole should know how well this was done, at every step of the way. I say this not because I was offered the job,
but because as a candidate, I was well taken care of in terms of information,
travel and food, scheduling, and follow up.
Hiring a seasoned consultant was the good first step. Actually implementing all of the ideas was
the tough second step, and it was done well.
The school, and the program are in great shape. We are actively looking at the skill sets
necessary for our students to be able to excel in the 21st century
work environment. Pat Bassett, the President
of the National Association of Independent Schools, has gathered material from
many sources into a list he calls the six
C’s, representing the skills that will expected of students as they depart
school and enter the work force: We are
using this list to guide our curricular work.
The six “C’s” are:
·
Character: honor and
integrity; empathy and caring; respect, responsibility, reverence, resilience,
self-discipline, persistence, courage
·
Creativity: the entrepreneurial
spirit, the ability to think in original and different ways
·
Critical
thinking via real-world problem-solving on a local,
national and global stage: analysis, filtering and synthesis. Project-based, not solely text-based learning
·
Communications: writing, and especially
public speaking
·
Collaboration
and
teaming. Our students must know how to
work effectively in a group
And the final “C:”
·
CEO -
ship:
i.e., leadership. (Bassett says “Everyone should be the CEO of something”). Not in the business sense. Ideas and initiatives.
Moving forward, we are
consciously designing the program so that our students acquire these skills so
that they are ready for the their next step, and for life.
Newtown Friends School is first and foremost a
Quaker School. The values and tenets
that we espouse are as much caught as they are taught. Collectively and individually, we seek divine
guidance as we work to provide a relevant education to our students. Twice a week, we gather in the auditorium to
hear announcements, messages, and Queries.
We see videos of good ideas and of the ways things ought to be. We sing songs; some just once, and one song sung
at the end of each assembly. Last week,
we sang Imagine by John Lennon. The large SPICES wall hangings adorn the side
wall of the auditorium, reminding us of what we collectively value. If you walk into classrooms, you will observe
moments of silence, respectful engagement between classmates, and adults and
students. You will also observe
discussions about different religious celebrations and traditions. If you join us in Meeting for Worship at the
George School meeting house, you will hear brief messages of budding
introspection. If you observe a TASC
meeting, you will see students making the world a better place. If you happened to stand with me during
carpool by the north door each morning, you would see older kids holding the
door for the little ones, and helping them to their classrooms. If you could sit in Jody Smith’s office at
certain moments, you would see peaceful and meaningful resolution to conflict. A long time ago, William Penn said that we
should teach “Love and Information" in Friends Schools. I stand before you today and can honestly say
that is exactly what we are doing.
Thank you very much.
Respectfully submitted,
Dana
Dana H. Harrison
Head of School
Newtown Friends School
