Paideia ClassicalA House System

PAIDEIA HOUSE SYSTEM

The original constitutional outline wassprawling. It was always in process evenwhen I handed it over to the administrationfor review.

I whittled that constitution down to a stagedroll out.

The pitch deck that I delivered to the Boardwas succinct and directed towards the schoolmission statement.

In brief

This small classical school lacked loyalty from olderstudents and their parents. I developed an internaldivision for the student body that would generatemicro-loyalties and foster school pride despite theschool’s small size and relative anonymity.

The full documents can be viewed in theoxbridge.pdf file

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Discipline was a critical concern for boardmembers and parents alike. The hallsincluded referrals and recommendations asan alternative to merits and demerits.

Each house met weekly to discuss ambitionsand goals and to join in conversation andrelfection.

It was critical to establish an appeals orrevisions process. This allowed flexibility,growht, and promoted student buy-in.

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In brief

The proposal needed clear boundaries andfeedback protocols to ensure that it did not fizzleor run amok. Here, you can view the key aspectsthat I built in to it.

The full documents can be viewed in theinfrastructure.pdf file

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STUDENT LIFE

As a christian institution, the students wouldmeet weekly in their respective housechambers for prayer and reflection beforeengaging in sport or ceremony.

At the beginning of each school year, therising 6th grade students would be sorted intohouses in a special ceremony.

Each week, after other official duties werecomplete, the houses would compete inathletics in hopes of winning a house cup atthe end of the year,

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In brief

The chief aim was to generate student delight andinstitutional loyalty. House events and procedureswere critical to that goal. These documents outlinedaily, weekly, and seasonal ceremonies andactivities.

The full documents can be viewed in thestudentlife.pdf file

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SUPPLEMENTS

Since the houses focused directly oncultivating virtue in the social life of thestudent, I enlarged the implciations toinclude academic life as a mode of virtuousformation.

In time, I began to focus on developing thestudent outside of the school through labourand communal belonging. In turn, Ideveloped a work study program centered onthe idea of guilds.

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In brief

This system may have been a seedling but it hadmany avenues for growth. We eventually integratedthis new infrastructure into the school’s overallcurricular trajectory. Here are a few ways I wovethem into other areas of school life.

The full documents can be viewed in thesupplement.pdf file

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