Start with Pre-K?

I've been agonizing about how I'm going to get to the position to be able to open a school like this (I know, I'm still in college, I have a few more years to worry about that!), and I think maybe the best way to go would be to start with pre-K classes. Kids learn sooooo much in their first five years (hey, not a bad name) of life, and there are so many parents without the basic skills to help their children grow. I know I'm passionate about the first five years, and I've known since I started dreaming about this school that I eventually wanted to go into pre-K work. So why not start there?

The First Five Years:
Parenting classes for expecting parents
Parenting classes for new parents
Classes for child development and parental development
Day care and learning
Play-based learning
Montessori-based learning
Classes for parents - mothers can "have it all" - family and successful careers

Faculty Training

The Texas Private School Accreditation Commission requires schools to train their faculty frequently. I think it'd be great to have an online system set up that has continuous materials to train faculty. That way, teachers could take the courses whenever they want (as long as it's by a certain date), and it would be part of their personal schedules. This would include regular teacher training as well as current materials in their subject and some of what students are learning in all of their classes, particularly in culture class.

Current Events/Life Skills Class

I'd love to have interesting and exciting ways for students to get involved with current events and history. Here are some sites that have games I found interesting:

Education World has an interesting activity about creating historical newspapers.

Free Current Events lessons

Lesson Planet lesson plans

10-Period Schedule

My focus schools will each have a 10-period schedule. Here are possible times based on my 8-period schedule:

8:30-9:45 – 1^st

9:50-11:05 – 2^nd

11:10-12:15 – 3^rd

12:30-1:05 – lunch

1:10-2:35 – 4^th

2:40-3:55 – 5^th

4:00-5:00 – study hall

I'd simply have to add an extra class on Fridays to make the Friday schedule comparable to my 8-period schedule. 

During Breaks

Like I say in my trips for students post, I want to have plenty of school-sponsored opportunities for students to travel during breaks. I also want day programs (half day?) for students during breaks. There should be advanced, enrichment, and remedial classes as well as SAT and PSAT prep classes. There should also be day camp-like programs. This way students aren't just staying home all day without their parents. I'd like these programs to be free.

Flipped Classroom

After Khan Academy came to be, some teachers started using "flipped classrooms." A flipped classroom is one in which the teacher assigns videos for homework (in many cases, Khan lectures) then students work on problems (traditionally homework) in class, where the teacher is available to help. This is supposed to personalize teaching. I love the idea! I don't think it would work for every subject, but I think especially for the maths and sciences, this could work at most levels. 

Independent School vs. Private School

From the looks of it, I may be thinking of an Independent school instead of a private school, like I thought. Wiki Link

I'd have to get accredited either way. Wiki Link

Trips for Students

I know it would make tuition steep, but I want trips added in to students' tuition so they go on "free" trips throughout the year. We have four big breaks, so I think one week trips should be offered in fall break (only two weeks long) and winter break (don't really want to go over Christmas) and two week and one week trips should be offered over spring and summer breaks (both three week breaks). This gives students time to relax at home and the opportunity to see the world.

I want to offer two "free" trips to every student each year: one 2-week and one 1-week or two 1-weeks. That would be eight trips by the time they graduate high school. I'd also encourage every student to plan the trips so they go to every continent (besides Antarctica) at least once.

With so many students going on so many trips, it would be great if we could get a partnership with an airline and with other companies like the Ron Clark Academy has with Delta. Of course, at least at first, because this is a for-profit school, my kids aren't going to be mostly low-income students, but maybe I can at least get some deals.

Number of Students and Teachers

I think I want to have about 300 students in each academy. (This is completely just initial thoughts.) That would be 75 students in each year.

We could admit 65 students their freshman year. I'm guessing 60-65 of those will accept. Then we could work our way up to 75 by letting students in their sophomore, junior, and senior year.

Classes could be about 25 students each. That would be three classes of each year for each subject (so three Culture I, three Culture II, three Culture III, and three Culture IV each year). That would be 12 classes total for most of the subjects. Two teachers could be 6 classes each, perhaps underclassmen for one and upperclassmen for the other.

That leaves two periods open for the teacher. One of those periods could be an open period, a planning period, and the other could be used for teaching a further studies or other class. Maybe some of the teachers could be hired to analyze data within the school during that last period.

2 English teachers - f/s and j/s
2 History teachers - f/s and j/s
2 Culture teachers - f/s and j/s
3 Math teachers - students come to high school at different levels of math


Arts
PE
Further Studies
Science - One science teacher for each of the three sciences?
Foreign Language - One teacher for each foreign language offered?
Friday Classes:
Arts
PE
Change Class 
World Class

School Mascot

Here is a list of mascots that I think would be acceptable for my academies: Athena, eagle, dog, owl, presidents, (name) poet, Pegasus, Lord (name), knights, phoenix, lion, hawk, stag. There are plenty more, I'm sure, but these ones are just my initial list. I think because I want all of my schools to have the same colors that they should all have the same mascot, too. It would be more unified. Maybe I should have the first school vote on what the mascot should be. I'd like to have veto power, though! Oooooor I do like the sound of the Murray Academy Lions. MAL.

School Colors

In the midst of educational policy and logistics, I can't forget that opening a school requires the thought of things like mascots and school colors! I haven't gotten anywhere with the mascot problem, but I'm thinking the school colors could be emerald and platinum. I love that both are precious and rich materials and especially that platinum is the best of normal jewelry metals. The green and silver colors would also be beautiful, if done right.

Ron Clark

Understand from the beginning that I am a full fledged fan girl of Ron Clark. I went to a talk by Ron Clark at my university a few months ago, and at the end, when he was signing his latest book for me, he told me I had been a very good listener during his presentation. It floored me because the talk was to a room of 50 or so people, but he had still noticed and was able to compliment me. I think for a very long time, that is going to be the best and most remembered compliment I'll get. Moral of this story: at a younger age, praise like that is even more important for the self esteem and work ethic of students.

Calligraphy

I recently learned how to write using basic (and rather rough calligraphy). It is not going to be terribly useful to me ever (except the times I just feel like writing something more nicely, like on photo albums or journals I know I'm going to keep for a long time), but it was fun and possibly made my regular handwriting a bit neater.

The point is, I think it would be nice to just have one lesson on some sort of calligraphy (oh yes, there are MANY different types) in culture class. Perhaps each student could pick from a handout and/or video showing and explaining how to write using calligraphy, and the teacher could wander around the room helping and learning with them.

Culture Class

Let's introduce some democracy and allow the students in each class to vote off of a list of countries to study. For example, the class would be getting ready to study a new country, and out of a list of all of the countries they hadn't studied that year, they would get to have a few rounds of voting to pick which to study next.

This could also work with the other topics in the class, at least with the order of learning it, like whether to study business attire, formal place settings, or other topics next, though each topic would have to be covered in the year.

Moonwalking With Einstein

I recently read a book called Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer. It is about his experience training for and winning a national memory competition, mostly using a technique involving "memory palaces," where interesting and outrageous information is stored in a familiar buildling (like your childhood house) in your head to remember things.

One thing he mentioned, which I think is INCREDIBLY important to include in my school, is that "Creating new memories stretches out psychological time, and lengthens our perceptions of our lives." Basically, it feels like we've really accomplished something and had a great life if we do exciting and interesting things, like trips, work, and other activities.

I highly recommend the book to everyone. It is easy to read and very interesting.

Longer Day

I'm liking the idea of having a longer day than I had originally planned. I'm thinking 8:30-5:30.

I do want to note that I really need to keep in mind that my kids need to stay active during the day, especially if I'm lengthening the amount of time they're in school. So maybe this means that there should be a PE and an arts class every day, which wouldn't mean extra homework but would mean staying active and engaged.

Split Culture Class?

Now that I'm thinking of lengthening the day, I am considering splitting my culture class into two separate classes simply because there is so much I keep adding to the class. Still in the thinking stage of this one though.

I need to think about what is going to make these kids do the absolute best in the world, be the best for themselves and an international economy.

Boarding School

I do not think I want to have a boarding school for my first school simply because I want kids of all ages, and I do not want kids younger than high school in boarding school.

In talking with my dad over the past few months, I have found that he is incredibly against boarding schools because he feels like then the parents are not raising their own kids, and the kids are being sent off like rejects. I think he has the completely wrong opinion (in most cases), and here is another example why:

My fellow intern at the US DOE, Lucy, went to boarding school for high school, and she loved it. Her school kept the students busy from 8:30-6:30 six days a week (that schedule five days for my private school kids?), so she became incredibly involved when she got to college because she was used to having that much time filled every day.

Paul Quinn College Food Program

As part of my internship, I went to the closing remarks of the White House Interfaith Challenge at Howard University. One of the speakers was Michael Sorrel of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, TX. He told an incredible story:

About two years ago, Paul Quinn College, a historically black school of only 200 students, cut their football program - practically a criminal thing to do in Texas - to start growing organic food on the field to use, sell, and give away. The purpose was to teach its students about taking steps to fight problems in their communities, and the biggest problem in the area was getting food. This student-run program has decided to give 10% of the food grown to the local community and use the rest in their cafeterias or sell it.

This story was incredible, and the lesson these educators are teaching their students, about helping their communities, is truly priceless.

An article about the program.
Information about the Presidential Challenge.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Q&A

I have the great pleasure to be an intern at the U.S. Department of Education this summer. On my very first day, I got to go to a Q&A session with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the rest of the Department's interns. A few things that popped out to me while listening to him speak:

1. I should have international races/competitions with my schools and schools/districts overseas.
2. The idea of a flipped classroom sounds like it could really be a great step in education. The idea is that students are sent home to watch online lectures (like the ones from Khan Academy), when the student can watch the video as many times as needed, and then work on what is normally considered homework in class, where the teacher is able to help.
3. Something the Secretary said himself: Technology has changed so much in the past few hundred years, and yet education is still on an agrarian schedule. Innovation in the classroom is important, and we need to change with the times.
4. I may want to bring back the 3rd language, at least in the international schools.
5. Arne Duncan: "Education is too far down on the priority list." President Obama met with the head of South Korea once and asked him what his most difficult challenge was with education. The leader of South Korea said that the parents are too demanding. He has to spend millions of dollars to do things like start English in first grade because the parents won't wait until second. What does this say about American parents and education?
6. I'd love to find something for every class (or have the teachers/departments find something) that has to do with the subject that can be a filler so that wasted time in class goes down. For example, in almost every class, current events in that subject could fill up time. Or, in math, practice problems. Things of this nature.
7. Arne Duncan: "I don't teach 3rd graders to read. My job is to help those people who teach 3rd graders to read to do their jobs better." This is exactly how I feel about what I want to do with education.

If you want to see some of the fun things I'm doing in Washington, D.C., please visit my other blog The Travels of Olivia, DC Internship.