At the Core of Being Grateful

All across America, we will be sitting down to a big Thanksgiving meal and sharing what we are most grateful for in our lives.  Near the top of the list for me is being grateful to lead an independent school.  Having the opportunity to lead outstanding educators in knowing precisely what is needed to teach our children well.  Being independent allows us to teach to each child’s needs.  We have been preparing students for high schools in this manner for a very long time and doing it exceptionally well.

Our friends in the public schools have lost the opportunity to teach what they feel is important due to the Common Core Curriculum.  When we lose control over who we are, what we do, and how we do it, we are lost.  Adrift.  Wandering. 

I have collected three quotes about the Common Core from experts in education who are far smarter than me.  This is what they had to say;

“The curriculum is to schooling as blueprints are to builders, as maps are to travelers, as patterns are to clothing manufacturers, as models are to designers, complicated by the fact that what needs to be understood is dynamic, therefore impossible to model with a static curriculum.”  Marion Brady

“Some states adopted them without seeing a finished draft. The standards, unfortunately, were never field-tested. No one knew in advance whether they would improve achievement or depress it, whether they would widen or narrow the achievement gap among children of different races. It is hard to imagine a major corporation releasing a new product nationwide without first testing it among consumers to see if it is successful. But that is what happened with the Common Core standards.” Diane Ravitch

“However, for me there are two far bigger problems with the Standards themselves – errors that arguably caused the bulk of the current backlash. The writers of the Standards (especially in Math) did a terrible job of 1) justifying the Standards as appropriate to college and workplace readiness, and 2) explaining in detail what the Standards imply for educational practice. The documents simply fail at communicating the kinds of changes the Standards demand locally.” Grant Wiggins

While the debate rages on, I will sit down to our Thanksgiving meal grateful for Sumner Academy and knowing we are doing what is best for our children.

Our mission is to discover and cultivate each child’s unique abilities.

Snow Day? A retro blog about decision making.

Anatomy of a Snow Day

Recently, Amy and I were able to drive to my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan to visit with my mother and two brothers.  It was a great drive and as we were approaching the Michigan state line, we began to see traces of snow on the ground!  That was a great reminder to me to let you know of my thought process in determining what constitutes a snow day and what does not.

The decision making process is different for our school in comparison to other surrounding independent schools and public schools.  Things I do have to consider include our faculty and staff driving in, our parents and their drive in, our bus routes and safe pick up and delivery, and the safety in and around the campus.  One thing I do not have to consider is having student drivers on the road!  Our school calendar and the required number of days in attendance does not play a role in closing school, safety always comes first.  There is a process regarding make up days should we go over the amount of extra days.  This is highly unlikely however.

If we do not close and the roads are questionable, our students are not counted tardy for that day.  I want your child(ren) at school, but I want them safely brought to school, so take your time!

When our area anticipates wintery weather, I rise at 5:00 AM or earlier and check the local news and the radar and forecast on the National Weather Service website.  Since our decision is independent of all other schools, I like to make sure all bases are covered before I make a final decision.  The first call I make is to Hannah so we can update our website and send out notices via email and text.  Next, I call four local television stations Channels 2, 4, 5, and 17.  In my experience in Memphis, I know that television stations are not the most reliable in regards to timely posting…so check our website first!

At this point it is around 6:15 or 6:30 and I have another decision to make – stay home and sit by the fire, or go in to work and complete some much needed paperwork that has built up over the last several weeks.  Sometimes, I choose to drive in just because I’m from Michigan and need to prove it to myself I can still drive in snow and ice.  So, if you see me in a ditch somewhere, just shake your head as you pass.  Stubborn Michigander.

I hope this gives you some insight into how I make the decision to close or stay open.  As you read, the fastest way to find out is to check our website at www.sumneracademy.org.

Take Care Now

So, we were ready to have a big week of fun and excitement for my wife’s fifty-fourth birthday.  The week included dinner out, tickets to see Josh Turner at the Ryman, and then head The Grove in Oxford, Mississippi Saturday for some tailgating with her family and rooting the Volunteers on.  One perforated appendix had other ideas.

In the early morning hours of her birthday, she complained of severe abdominal pain.  Our daughter, Madelyn, had surprised her Sunday by coming home for the celebration.  Instead, she ended up taking her mother to the doctor’s office.  An ultrasound was ordered for later that afternoon.  The initial reading of the ultrasound was inconclusive.  We were told if the pain became unbearable, head to the emergency room.  The next morning it was, we were in the Skyline Medical Center’s ER at 6:00 AM.  We had six, yes, six, nurses/techs/doctors there taking care of Amy.  Another ultrasound and a CT was ordered and it was still inconclusive, but many possibilities were thrown out.  We were admitted and in a room by 11:00 AM.  The two main nurses we had, Jackie during the day and Michael at night, showed exceptional care.  They both went above and beyond the call of duty in their caring and attention to detail.  Especially since it took the surgeon nine hours to consult with us.

That’s when it hit me.

I was seeing in this hospital setting the same thing our parents share with me regularly about Sumner Academy.  The teachers go well above and beyond the call of duty in their caring and attention to detail.  I have termed this practice, “prescriptive education.”  Since the founding of the school, the vision and mission has not wavered, “Our mission is to discover and cultivate each child’s unique abilities.”

Postscript:

Amy has healed completely thanks to the attention and care she received at Skyline Medical Center.  Our students continue to reap the benefits of a Sumner Academy education including the attention and care they receive fro each and every faculty member here.