The business portion of the blog
As of late, I've started an involvement with a grassroots charter school effort that is seeking approval to open a new kind of school in 2009 in Atlanta's Historic West End. The Kindezi School is a teacher co-op, with only six students per teacher, and uses what they call the tutorial method - one on one teacher-student interaction and a curriculum designed by the parent and teacher for each child, individually. The six-to-one ratio creates 'family-sized' classrooms and teachers will stay with the same class for at least two years. I'm very excited about the possibilities and I've spent quite a bit of time talking to founding board members, several of whom are very innovative educators. The head of the executive board, Dean Leaper, is actually volunteering his time this year as a teacher for Atlanta Public Schools, teaching a class of only six students (all refugees at different academic levels) to prove that this method works.
The public schools in Southwest Atlanta are lacking at best, and when we purchased our house in West End, we knew that we'd have to look either for other educational opportunities for Frankie in three years, or that we'd have to move. This school, should the charter get approved and should we get Frankie in, would allow us to stay and invest in a community that we're already growing to love even though we don't even live there yet! If you are a parent in Atlanta (especially Southwest Atlanta) please check them out and consider signing their petition. They are looking for a groundswell of local support in order to bolster their chances of making this school a reality. Or, if you don't live in SW ATL but want to show your support for Frankie (!), you can sign a community support petition. I'm attending another meeting tonight that's before the school board and taking Frankie to show that parents are serious about quality educational options in an area of town that's been mostly ignored in the past. (They might later regret asking me to bring my tot when he terrorizes the meeting.) Great things are happening in the West End!
3 comments:
That school sounds so great. It reminds me of how Riley's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) works. He is in a small special ed preschool where he has very individualized goals that are put together by his teachers, therapists and us. His teacher is wonderful and carries around cards with her that have Riley's goals written on them and room for her to document any progress that he's making. She is always aware of where he is on his goals and what needs to be done next. One of his therapists we've had a hard time with but it's getting sorted out. He has really been doing well.
I'm not suggesting that this charter school is a special school but I love the approach they are taking. It's so easy to get lost in a class with 30 other kids. I think every kid would benefit from more individual attention. And, you'll never hear me complain about a school that focuses on the arts. :)
The proponents of the school are very excited that classes this small have never happened in a public school setting. They've managed to slim down the administration so that they can afford to hire more teachers. And the great thing is that, since it's a public school, they have to take anyone who enrolls (up to capacity). That means that regular students and those with special learning needs will be side-by-side in the classroom (with of course, special ed teachers to also help out on occasion) but that each student will have the benefit of an IEP.
If this works, it has the potential to trickle outward to possibly more schools with this model. I hope that I can get on their board once they move from a founder's board to an executive board of people in the school and the community.
Oh and trust me, we like the arts as well over here!
Mary... I'm an educator and reading this blog entry totally made my day (after BYU, I got a M.Ed. in educational technology). Last year, I taught in a disgustingly NCLB school, where the entire day was scripted. It was AWFUL. They made me get rid of ALL of the books in my classroom library, including classic children's literature just because it wasn't the name brand garbage (ie: Harcourt Trophies) that our district bought.
So this year, I'm at a progressive school in a highly at-risk part of town. We use an approach similar to what you're describing, only with larger class sizes. Even with large classes (20-30 students), this approach STILL WORKS!!! IT WORKS!!! It's a LOT more work for the teacher, but who cares? It WORKS!!!!
I really really really hope that this gets approved. This is a great step forward!!!
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