Pondering Forever

In 1993 I received information about a Teacher's Seminar held at Westtown School outside of Philadelphia. It looked great, actually better than great; but it said attendance was by invitation only. With some combination of trepidation and courage I picked up the phone and called the seminar leader, David Mallery. I asked him how someone could get invited. He didn't know me from Adam's cat, but he said who do you want to invite? Sheepishly I replied, "myself." He signed me up immediately.

At Westtown, I learned that David was so much more than a seminar leader. He was a friend, a colleague, a mentor, I don't think it's too far to go to say he could be your hero. By the time the week ended he had connections with me that he had made over the previous 20 years through Guilford College and Friends Council and other places AND he had that with every one who particpated in this experience.

Over the years since 1993 I had the opportunity to go to 2 more of his seminars and to send a number of NGFS staff to various of his seminars. Each person always came back energized, excited, invigorated to teach, to teach better and to teach to each and every student they had. I was also lucky enough to stay in touch with David through my work at Friends Council. About once every year or two we would get together for breakfast in Philadelphia. David always called it our summit meeting. We would talk about NGFS, about Quaker education, about life and I always came away knowing education is truly the most noble and fulfilling profession.

Last week Carrie (who also went to a Westtown Seminar, just a couple of years ago) got word that David was very ill and likely not to live through the week. On Saturday a friend of mine, who I met at the Westtown seminar, called to let me know that David had passed away. My last summit with David came last April at a bakery in Germantown with Carrie there also. I certainly didn't know it would be the last, in fact I was planning to try to schedule another summit this April. We had a wonderful time, and hugged David when we left. Carrie and I were so happy to have gotten to spend a morning with David and have our reservoirs filled, even overfilled. We talked for a long time driving home about the difference David had made in our lives and in the lives of EVERYONE we knew that had ever met him.

Tracy Chapman has a lyric that reads, "I've seen and met angels wearing the disguises of ordinary people living ordinary lives." I don't know that anyone would describe David as ordinary, but he certainly was an angel in the lives of thousands and thousands of educators over his life. I have been left this week smultaneously feeling incredibly empty and incredibly joyful for having known David. I feel for his family during this time, but also know they have an extended family too large to count. And I've thought a lot about forever, if anyone can "live" forever, it is David. He touched so many in his life, who continue to give his gifts of grace, compassion and joy for life. I know how much I loved and love David, and I know so many colleagues who feel the same way. I know your life will continue through each one of us and we will each do our part to keep what you gave us alive.

David liked to ask his seminar participants to close their eyes and create a variety of images, maybe your favorite teacher, and then yourself as an adult encountering that teacher and painting what you would say and do given this chance. So, as a small part of paying forward what David gave to me, I ask you "paint a picture of someone who made a difference in your life, see them as you remember them and for all they did for you." Then if the opportunity presents itself, or maybe make the opportunity. Tell them. After all what better gift than to let someone know they made a difference in your life. I'm so glad I got to tell David that time and time again.

NGFS continues to go global

NGFS Rainbow students, teachers and families have completed their 2nd round with Rock Our World. ROW provides an opportunity for students, teachers and their families to work with students teachers and families in other schools from all over the world to compose music, create videos and have conversations with one another. This round was focused on tolerance and each group of students had to create a project to become more tolerant of the world around them. Rainbow students tasted foods from around the world and then had an opportunity to come in one evening and meet with Japanese students to talk about foods from around the world and other topics. We hope NGFS will be invited to participate in future ROW rounds.

In January NGFS Upper Division students will have the opportunity to expand their class choices by over 200 classes because of a collaborative effort between NGFS and Virtual High School (VHS). Students are currently signing up for classes. Following is the press release that went out on Tuesday of this week. It's exciting to see the many ways that NGFS is preparing our students for their world, while remaining true to our core values of simplicity, harmony, integrity, community, equality and stewardship.

New Garden Friends School Expands Curriculum with 200 New Online Classes12-10-2009 GREENSBORO, N.C. – High school students at New Garden Friends School will start the New Year with the option to choose from more than 200 new classes on topics as diverse as American popular music and constitutional law. The expanded curriculum is made possible through a partnership with the Virtual High School, a pioneer in online learning. More than 6,000 students are enrolled in Virtual High School courses at 324 member schools in 27 states and 24 countries. New Garden Friends School is the only Triad educational institution offering Virtual High School courses and one of only five schools statewide. “Our affiliation with Virtual High School gives our students a way to explore new interests and to develop collaborative, online learning skills that are increasingly critical to success in college and in the workplace,” says David Tomlin, head of New Garden Friends School. “They will have new opportunities to build character, promote creativity and entrepreneurial aspirations, learn new problem solving techniques, practice communication skills, and test their teamwork and leadership capabilities.” Students will be able to select from Virtual High School courses in the arts, business, foreign languages, language arts, life skills, health, mathematics, science, social studies and technology. Each class will be delivered over the Internet as a complement to the rigorous curriculum taught by New Garden Friends School teachers. Students will have the opportunity to collaborate with peers from around the globe who are enrolled in the same online classes. About New Garden Friends School Founded in 1971, New Garden Friends School is part of a centuries-old tradition of Quaker education and is committed to the Quaker testimonies of peace, equality, truth, integrity, simplicity, community and stewardship. An interdisciplinary, hands-on approach to learning is designed to help students uncover their strengths, express themselves fully and become active community leaders. New Garden Friends School serves pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The organization is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It also is a member of the Friends Council on Education, an association of more than 80 Friends schools across the nation committed to excellence in education. For more information on New Garden Friends School, visit http://www.ngfs.org/.

Have a wonderful weekend, remember to purchase your BEAR WEAR before the holidays. Next Friday is a half-day for students, extended care is offered until 6PM as always.

On being thankful

I will say this from the beginning, my blog is inspired by the message that David Bills gave at New Garden Friends Meeting this past Sunday on this exact topic. I'm also inspired by my love of having a day that gives us all cause to stop and give thanks.

I know each one of us has challenges and difficulties in our lives, some small and some monumentally large. That being said, I'm thankful for a day that causes me to stop and reflect on all I have to be thankful for. I hope I don't bore you too much with my list and I promise you it will just be the very beginnings of a list. I do hope it will encourage folks to stop and think of their own list.

I am thankful for a community that has supported me through 25 years as an educator and administrator. That has given me far more opportunities to learn than I have given the students that I have taught over those years. A community that more times than not celebrates me for what I do well and forgives me for my weaknesses.

I am thankful to have an incredible wife, Carrie, who truly loves being the wife of a head of school. This is a blessing, because often times her job is much tougher than mine. As an educator herself she helps me to continue to grow in my professional work, this is simply the icing on the cake.

I am thankful for parents who spoiled me as a child but also held me accountable for my actions. I know that if I hadn't been successful in my life it would have been my own fault. They provided me every opportunity to succeed and to be happy in my life.

I am thankful for innumerable friends who care about me no matter what. Who support me in my personal and professional life. I am especially grateful to my friends who keep me sane by getting me on my bike or out for a walk or to a getaway to the beach, etc, etc, etc.

I am thankful for the opportunity to work with our students through the Quakerism seminar I teach and through coaching girls basketball. Almost all heads of school know that being with the students makes them better administrators but not all schools afford this to their heads of school. Working with the students keeps me grounded in what is most important, energizes me by being around their own energy, and allows me to better empathize with our great staff through both their celebrations and trials in their own classrooms with their own students.

I am thankful for a staff that puts everything they have into providing the best and most current education for the students at NGFS. A staff that is consistently bringing new, more scientifically researched information that continues to allow us to offer the strongest curriculum from age 3 through 12th grade that we know to offer. And for a staff that truly cares for me far more than most heads could ever imagine. I can only hope they feel so cared for from me.

I am thankful for a parent community that is so incredibly supportive of the work and play of the students of NGFS, and so supportive of the time and energy of our staff as they work with our students. Our parents play a pivotal role in making NGFS as strong a community as it is.

I could continue on and on and on, but won't at this time. I hope each of you has time over Thanksgiving to be with family and friends and share thanks for all that is good in your world.

Welcome Home

I'm humbled to write today's blog about a man I consider a friend and a mentor. Without his vision, energy and collaborative work NGFS would have not come into existence. You see, in 1969 Bruce Stewart took a group of Guilford College students to the Philadelphia area to visit Friends Schools there. From that visit the vision arose to create a Friends School in the Greensboro area. Through Bruce's hard work and the hard work of others including another founder of the school and current trustee Jim Newlin, New Garden opened its doors in 1971.

Bruce continued his service to Guilford College for many more years. In fact, that is where I first met him, when I was a student at Guilford. A little known fact, Bruce and I ran on the same 5K relay team race contested by Guilford students and staff and sponsored by the college. After his tenure at Guilford, Bruce served as head of school first at Abington Friends School, in Jenkintown PA. AFS is one of the oldest Friends Schools in the country, having opened its doors in 1697. He left Abington to become head of Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC. At Sidwell, Bruce would tell me he had to be so careful with his words and any statistics or data he shared publicly because of the Washington press. Yet he led Sidwell with such incredible vision and concern for all things Quaker.

Through the years I have had many opportunities to visit with Bruce. We always have had time to get together at Friends Schools Heads Gatherings and we served on the Friends Council on Education Board of Directors. Each time I see Bruce, all he wants to talk about is NGFS and how this community is doing. He has said he never imagined NGFS having the staying power to become such a strong, educational institution in the Triad area. That he thought it might live for 10 years, and having served its mission, closed its doors. He is thrilled that we continue to serve that initial mission of educating kids in a caring, supportive, challenging environment.

Bruce cares deeply about the NGFS community and has for longer than the school has existed. We are fortunate next week to welcome Bruce home for a day. He and his wife Andra will be visiting NGFS on Wednesday, November 18. At 5:30 PM he will be speaking in the Commons at the upper division campus. All NGFS community members are invited to this event and we hope you will come out' share with friends that you think may be interested also. Bruce is a dynamic, visionary speaker. He will share about "The Importance of Friends Education for the 21st Century." If you can come please RSVP to Beth Brooks at bbrooks@purringtonmoody.com. We are offering child care at the Guilford campus in the extended care room.

I hope to see many of you at this special event. It will be a great time to say thanks to Bruce, hear him speak about a topic near and dear to his heart, and welcome him home.

NGFS staff community and collegiality

Each year the staff of NGFS begins the year with a retreat. We study new educational information, making sure that when we make changes to our dynamic curriculum, these changes are sound scientifically and allow for consistency from one level to the next. We also have time to play and just spend quality time together. It is a great way to begin the year. Historically we then go through the year with very few extended opportunities to renew ourselves as an entire community, sharing and learning from one another.

Last year it was suggested by a person on staff to have a few opportunities throughout the year to come together as a staff for an extended time. Certainly this was an idea whose time had come. That's why in this school year calendar we have 3 early release day for students: today, March 8 and May 3. On these afternoons our entire staff will come together professionally to further study important educational trends and also just have time to be with one another.

Today we will be continuing our conversation of what makes us the best education for a 21st century student. More and more research shows a consistency of skills that students today need to have, some of these are the ability to: write and speak eloquently, access and analyze information, and be creative and imaginative.

As we work together today as a staff, we will spend time thinking about what skills and traits a person needs to succeed in the world after formal schooling. This helps us see when and where to initiate and build these skills within our students. We will also have time to discuss how we transform units of study so that we maintain critical and interesting content, but allow our students to use the tools of the day, and be considering the tools of tomorrow. This will be a wonderfully useful opportunity for all of us on staff as we work to give our students the best we can give them for the world they will live in.

Friends School Heads Gathering

What an amazing event when roughly 50 heads of Friends Schools from all across the country get together! There are new Friends Schools and ones over 300 years old. There are nursery schools only, schools that go through 6th or 8th, and schools that go through 12th grade. And once a year the heads get together. Never, outside of the NGFS community, am I more surrounded by professionals more committed to there work than at this event. This year's event was co-hosted by Newtown Friends School and George School in Newtown, PA.

What do we spend our time on at such a conference, well the themes will probably sound familiar. We discuss the the idea that Friends Schools are well positioned for the 21st century because friends have always moved away from fear and toward opportunity. We talked about collaborative inquiry leading to innovation. We talked about our commitment to have each individual student in all our schools have the chance to learn who he/she is as an individual and to respect and learn about their peers. And we talked about the importance of hope and that Friends Schools teach hope.

Of course this year most of us have had economic and enrollment concerns, however it seems most of us are doing very well with enrollment and we have been creative with budgets to make the most out of an economy where people have less. One particular area of goodness, is that we all feel that there is an abundance of creativity, wisdom and optimism in our communities that will help us through the current times and better prepare us for hopefully better economic times ahead.

I am always filled with a sense of joy to be with these colleagues, who are more freinds than friendly acquaintences. I look forward to this gathering and always come back with ideas and energy that hopefully helps the NGFS community. I hope that I am able to share ideas and energy that others can take back to their communities.

I look forward to being back in NC tomorrow and greatly looking forward to the Fall Unity Festival next Friday. Hope to see you there.

Opportunities

Wednesday morning I have the first Breakfast with David event of the year. This one was held at New Garden Friends Meeting near our early school--A Child's Garden. Last night we had a dinner for our middle school families to learn what comes next at NGFS, in other words a time to find out about 9th grade. What I realize from these two events, hosted on two of our three campuses is that both were about opportunities.

A good school should provide its students with worthwhile learning and life opportunities and prepare its students to take advantage of opportunities that arise for her/him outside of school and certainly as she/he moves into adulthood. Of course I believe NGFS is a good school and that we do offer many opportunities to our students.

In talking with parents of our younger students, we talked about what is available to those students now and looking forward. We talked about collaborative events such as when ACG students come up to do PE with middle schoolers and Charles. We shared the importance of our ACG students getting to visit with their friends at Friends Homes and make that intergenerational connection. Throughout the morning we discussed many of the opportunities that exist for these students, and that exist for the adults in the community. Such that, our parents can be involved in the life of not only their children but the life of the school.

At our "Find out about 9th grade" program, once again we talked a lot about the opportunities that exist for our 9th grade and older students. Although I live these opportunities everyday with our students I am still amazed what exists for these students. Our students have the chance to do honors work in all core subject areas and international language. This allows our students to take on the next challenge of learning when appropriate. Students have the opportunity to take quarterly electives on Fridays from 10-12. These electives cover a wide range of subjects from core subjects to the arts to outdoor activity. Many of our 8th graders are now taking some of these electives also. Our 8th and 9th graders are participating in a Toastmaster's Club where they are learning public speaking skills and can also learn about forensics, as in debate. At the upper division we even begin each morning with a brief community time to hear announcements and have the chance to further build community. I could go on and on, but will save other opportunities for later blogs.

These two events just brought to focus all the opportunities our children have across all of our levels. At our youngest levels opportunities from the teddy bear picnic, moving to incredible units on castles or the Anasazi to the first overnight trips to wonderful places within North Carolina and the chance to be in dramatic performances exist. In our middle division, students have their first chance to play organized sports for the school, they get to go on multiple night trips out of the state as part of the curriculum, along with the opportunity to learn guitar just to name a few.

This is an exciting place for our students to grow, to learn and to take advantage of many, many opportunities that are provided.