Patrick F. Bassett, NAIS Presidentbassett@nais.org

(20 minute version = slides 2, 7-10)

How Great Schools Work

Partnering with Parents

Where Do Kids Go to School?

56 million in school, K-12, about 90% in public schools, 10-11% in private schools (of that, 1%+ in independent college-prep private schools).

How do U.S. schools stack up globally? College for all? What do college presidents of selective colleges say they are looking for? What’s our record? How do we seek “the match?”

Most critical elements for success of students and schools?

– Small schools with intimate environments (not small classes)

– Great teachers (High IQ & EQ). (Recent data: Rand Study of LA Unified)

– Supportive Parents (supportive of their kids’ uniqueness & their kids’ school)

Five Things Great Schools (& parents) Do(From the President, Independent School Magazine, Winter 2009)

1. Control the Environment: The most important choice parents make is the peers they “choose” for their children. (Cf. UVA Study). The assembly line, the hospital bubble, vs. the garden hothouse.

2. Model “Grown-up” Behavior: “Under-parenting” is selfish and irresponsible; “over-parenting,” misguided and unhealthy for the parent perpetrator and the child victim. (Cf. Wendy Mogel’s Blessings of the Skinned Knee, Blessings of a B- ). Separate & individuate vs. “failure to launch.”

3. Read: The most important thing parents can do with their children to prepare them for school at all levels is to read with them. Cf. Rite of passage stories: Harry Potter; Huckleberry Finn; Catcher in the Rye; Funny in Farsi; Typical American; etc. = Rite of passage stories for the youngest. Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Five Things Great Schools (& parents) Do

4. Experiment and Innovate: Student engagement the key

5. Seek Balance: Know how to finish this sentence: “I want my child to be.…” (Cf. Studies by Anthony Campolo–Eastern College and Douglas Heath—Haverford; “Academic Achievement & Character” - CSEE

…. Bonus 6th Point:

Partner Together

To help the child find his or her path

1. Small and intimate schools: Student:teacher ratio in NAIS schools is 9:1 (vs. 17:1 in parochial schools and 16:1 in public schools). Smaller learning environments translate into stronger academic achievement. (Advocacy Message #1: Independent schools are close knit communities where one’s child is known.)

2. Study of core knowledge to advanced levels: By the 8th grade, 70% of NAIS students study Algebra I (vs. 32% in public schools), and 85% study foreign language (vs. 24%). (Gatekeeper courses for college.) (Advocacy Message #2: Independent schools challenge students to stretch their minds.)

3. Developing team-skills and leadership: 71% of public school students drop team activities by secondary school vs. near universal team participation by independent school students (94%). (Advocacy message #3: Value of being a “player.”)

The Independent School Advantage

4. Placing a higher value on community service & civic participation: Universal expectation of community service. (Advocacy Message #4: Independent schools go beyond academics to develop responsible, independent, and community-oriented students.)

5. Education for character is central for independent schools (vs. 80% of public school elite admit to cheating--Who’s Who in American High Schools Survey, ’98 & 2005). (Advocacy Message #5: Values as the “value-added” of great schools.)

6. An inclusive environment: On average, 20-25% of students attending NAIS schools receive financial aid or tuition remission; on average, 25% of students at NAIS schools are students of color. (Advocacy Message #6: More, not less diverse than many public schools.)

7. Expressing strong career & job satisfaction: Skilled in 21st C. technology skills; pursuing healthy, active adult lives (Advocacy message #7:“Not just for school but for life.”)

8. Attending America’s most respected colleges & universities and succeeding at whatever college attended: (Advocacy message #8: Independent schools vastly over-represented in the 150 most selective colleges.)

9. Persistence factor-leading the nation in post-secondary achievement: Most 9th graders anticipate college; few graduate. Pell Institute Study of graduation rates (by age 24) for all

college students by income levels: Low income = 9%; middle income = 39%; high income = 52% (of those who go)

(Advocacy message #9: Importance of peer norms and achievement -oriented culture.)

Psst! 'Human Capital‘ -DAVID BROOKS “What Works” for SuccessNew York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005

Cultural Capital: the habits, assumptions, emotional dispositions and linguistic capacities we unconsciously pick up from families, neighbors and ethnic groups - usually by age 3.

– PFB note: Is it “cool” to read, to study, or not?

Social Capital: the knowledge of how to behave in groups and within institutions.

– PFB note: UNC classes for students on how to behave in restaurants; needed.

Moral Capital: the ability to be trustworthy.

– PFB note: “Counter-culture” of independent schools.

Psst! 'Human Capital‘ -DAVID BROOKS “What Works” for SuccessNew York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005

Aspirational Capital: the fire-in-the-belly ambition to achieve. “90% of life is just showing up.” ~Woody Allen.

– PFB Note: Millionaire studies: C+/B- students—who were told they wouldn’t amount to much. Worrying about “self-esteem” vs. encouraging “prove them wrong.”

Cognitive Capital: This can mean pure, inherited brainpower. But important cognitive skills are not measured by IQ tests and are not fixed.

– PFB Note: EQ more important in life than IQ, especially empathy and social judgment. “Growth mindset” most important of all.

Psst! 'Human Capital‘ -DAVID BROOKS “What Works” for SuccessNew York Times Op-Ed, Nov 13, 2005

Educational Reform in America: Not much return on investment.

David Brooks: “The only things that work are local, human-to-human immersions that transform the students down to their very beings. Extraordinary schools, which create intense cultures of achievement, work. Extraordinary teachers, who inspire students to transform their lives, work.”

Overview

Independence & Governance: How Schools Work

What Great Schools Have in Common

What Kids Need

What Parents Need

Student Needs (cf. Robert Evans)

To Belong: To be part of a community (homogeneous independent school communities vs. clique stratification in large schools: e.g., cafeteria geography of jocks, preps, geeks, granolas, artistes, hip hop, grunge, ravers, Goths, etc.). Entry tickets to the group?

To Develop Skills (interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic, athletic, aesthetic) (Why kids show up)

To Learn Values/“The Rules” (virtue, persistence, “showing up”; respecting the boundary line; self-discipline more important than IQ in influencing academic success-Psychological Science, 2005)

Student Needs

To Have Success (ego-building growth, confidence, unconditional love)

To Overcome Failures (the most valuable lessons, despite helicopter parents)

Kurt Hahn’s “Seven Laws of Salem” and Wendy Mogel’s The Blessing of the Skinned Knee and The Blessing of a B Minus) and Deborah Roffman’s “Pedagogically Speaking.” PFB note: Greenhouse effect of independent schools: ideal growing conditions but also necessary stresses before transplanting to outdoor world.

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Overview

Independence & Governance: How Schools Work

Why Choose an Independent School?

What Kids Need

What Parents Need

What Some Parents (5%) Need that Schools CAN’T Provide cf. Time, 2/21/05 “Parents Behaving Badly”; Wendy Mogel’s The Blessings of a Skinned Knee; Michael Thompson’s For the Sake of the Children: An NAIS Guide to Successful Family-School Relationships.

2005 MetLife Survey of The American Teacher: Public school teachers report very satisfied in working with students = 68%; in working with parents = 25%

What Most Parents Need that Schools CAN Provide

Practical Needs: Extended Day, Rich Afterschool Offerings, Conferencing at Convenient Times, Day Care On-site for Meetings; Website calendars & syllabi.

Psychic Needs: Reinforcement of school choice

Human Needs: To be heard (NB. Starbucks & Skim Milk)

And… (the main, main thing…)

A Mutually Supportive Partnership with the School...

What Most Parents Need that Schools CAN Provide

A Mutually Supportive Partnership with the School...

Understanding the quid pro quo between teachers and parents.

Supporting the authority of teachers and school. And vice versa.

Discounting heavily rumors your child brings home from school. Avoid the parking lot Mafia.

Setting proper environment and expectations for homework.

Limiting TV consumption to 1 hr. per day of acceptable fare. Encouraging reading instead of TV.

What Most Parents Need that Schools CAN Provide:

Parenting Needs: A Partnership with the School...

Giving generously of time and resources to support the program of the school.

Respecting school schedule and calendar.

Learning from professionals about the developmental stages of young people.

Helping young people make good choices regarding time: Avoid over-scheduling.

Resisting adolescents’ peculiar skill in wearing parents down: curfews, parties, etc.

Appendix: See Related SlidesFor More Resources on this Topic, Go to

www.nais.org

Where Do Public School Teachers Send Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation, Sept. 2004)

49 Rochester, NY 14.6 37.5 22.9

38 Nashville, TN 7.2 28.6 21.4

44Hartford-Bristol-Middleton-New Britain, CT 7.0 25.0 18.0

24 Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH/KY/IN 24.4 41.2 16.8

3 Chicago, IL 22.6 38.7 16.1

32Providence-Fall River-Pawtucket, MA/RI 16.5 31.3 14.7

19 Baltimore, MD 20.9 35.1 14.3

4 Philadelphia, PA/NJ 30.9 43.8 12.8

22 Denver-Boulder, CO 12.6 23.3 10.7

13 Riverside-San Bernadino, CA 9.1 19.3 10.2

Size/Rank City %City %PS Fac Difference

Where Do Public School Teachers Send Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation, Sept. 2004)

1 New York-Northeastern NJ 22.7 32.5 9.8

43 Jacksonville, FL 18.6 28.0 9.4

12San Francisco-Oakland-Vallejo, CA 25.2 34.3 9.1

6 Miami-Hialeah, FL 16.3 25.3 9.0

2 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA 15.7 24.5 8.9

45 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 20.0 27.6 7.6

25 Portland, OR-WA 12.7 20.0 7.3

7 Washington, DC 19.8 26.8 7.0

11 Boston, MA-NH 21.7 28.2 6.4

36 Milwaukee, WI 23.4 29.4 6.0

Size/Rank City %City %PS Fac Difference

Where Do Public School Teachers Send Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation, Sept. 2004)

10 Detroit, MI 12.8 18.5 5.7

26 Sacramento, CA 10.0 15.2 5.2

40 New Orleans, LA 24.5 29.1 4.7

  United States total (for Cities) 17.5 21.5 4.0

41 Memphis, TN/AR/MS 12.4 15.7 3.3

31 Columbus, OH 14.0 17.0 3.0

21 Pittsburgh, PA 13.4 14.9 1.5

14 Phoenix, AZ 8.2 9.2 1.0

33Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News, VA 12.6 13.6 1.0

35 Las Vegas, NV 6.7 7.2 0.6

Size/Rank City %City %PS Fac Difference

Where Do Public School Teachers Send Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation, Sept. 2004)

27 Kansas City, MO-KS 17.3 17.1 -0.2

46 Richmond-Petersburg, VA 17.5 16.7 -0.8

8 Houston-Brazoria, TX 9.9 9.0 -0.9

17 San Diego, CA 10.4 9.3 -1.1

16 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 17.5 16.3 -1.2

20Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 15.1 13.4 -1.8

50 Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT 7.2 5.2 -2.0

30 San Jose, CA 16.6 14.1 -2.5

28 San Antonio, TX 11.6 8.6 -2.9

5 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 10.7 7.6 -3.1

34 Indianapolis, IN 14.5 11.1 -3.4

Size/Rank City %City %PS Fac Difference

Where Do Public School Teachers Send Their Kids To School? (Dennis Doyle, et. al., Fordham Foundation, Sept. 2004)

15 Seattle-Everett, WA 22.0 18.6 -3.4

9 Atlanta, GA 11.6 7.8 -3.8

18 St. Louis, MO-IL 20.4 16.5 -3.9

23 Cleveland, OH 19.9 16.0 -3.9

39 Austin, TX 10.0 6.0 -4.0

48 Birmingham, AL 13.1 8.7 -4.4

29 Orlando, FL 14.2 9.6 -4.7

47 Oklahoma City, OK 10.5 1.7 -8.8

37Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC 16.2 7.1 -9.1

42 Louisville, KY/IN 24.7 15.2 -9.5

Size/Rank City %City %PS Fac Difference

Migration?

Leaving the City for the Schools, and Regretting It

By Winnie Hu, The New York Times (from November 13, 2006)

“…many New Yorkers with the means to do so flee the city when they have children, seeing the suburbs as a way to stay committed to public education without compromising their standards for safety and academics.

Yet a small but growing number of such parents are abandoning even some of the top-performing public schools in the region. In school districts like Scarsdale, N.Y., and Montclair, N.J., where high test scores and college admission rates have built national reputations and propelled real estate prices upward, these demanding families say they were disappointed by classes that were too crowded, bare-bones arts and sports programs, and an emphasis on standardized testing rather than creative teaching.”

Independent vs. Privileged Suburban Public Schools

• Greater than 70% high school students attend high school with more than 1000 enrollment (Ed Week, 10/20/01)

• Parents choice of peer group (i.e. school) is the most decisive decision in child’s development. ~John Seal, UVA• Greatest persistence factor (graduating with a B.A.) is the academic intensity of one’s school. ~Adelman, OERI• Participation: 73% quit childhood sports by age 13 (Chicago Tribune, 3/30/00). Girls who play afterschool sports far

less likely to have had any sexual partners. (American Demographics 9/98)

Sources: Lessons of Privilege ~Art Powell; THL11/98 ~John Seel review of JD Harris’ The Nurture Assumption; American

Demographics 9/98

0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%

Independent

SuburbanPublic

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Richard Light’s Making the Most Out of College

Based on decade worth of analysis of the undergraduate experience at Harvard and other colleges.

Tools you need to succeed in college: knowing how to manage your time and having a disciplined work ethic, balancing academics with true interest and commitment in other areas particularly the arts, being comfortable engaging in class and approaching professors outside of class, being comfortable working in groups, and having the ability to think analytically.

Most powerful classes in college that reads like an independent school curriculum guide: small classes, where teachers get to know the students and use techniques that would not work in large groups, where students do much of the work of the course (presenting material, engaging in discussion, summarizing a reading) and where there is a lot of individual attention to writing.

Richard Light’s Making the Most Out of College Diversity in high school, at least as reported by Harvard

undergraduates, is not working well at all. First, the numbers. Of the 120 undergraduates interviewed, 44 reported little or no ethnic diversity in their high schools. So for this group, “how well it is working” was a moot point. 

For the other 76 undergraduates, a clear pattern emerged. – Of the 22 who attended private or independent high schools, 19

ranked their personal experience with fellow students from ethnic groups other than their own as either “positive” or “highly positive.”  

– The 54 students who attended public high schools presented a very different picture: 38, or more than two-thirds, characterized their personal experience as “negative” and “disappointing.”

– American public schools, at least those attended by the undergraduates in the study, make remarkably little effort to build a sense of community or shared culture. This is in sharp contrast to reports from graduates from independent schools.

The Seven Laws of Salem (1930)~Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound

1. Give children the opportunity for self-discovery.

2. Make the children meet with triumph and defeat.

3. Give the children the opportunity of self-effacement in the common cause.

4. Provide periods of silence.

5. Train the imagination.

6. Make games important but not predominant.

7. Free the sons of the wealthy and powerful from the enervating sense of privilege.

By what measure should we judge school systems?

“America once had one of the most educated workforces in the world, but today only 40 percent of young adults have a college degree – a lower percentage than eleven other countries and no higher than a generation ago.” Secretary of Education Arnie. Duncan 8/9/10 (“Restoring America’s Leadership in Higher Education”)

Note: Less than 40% of 18 year olds get to college; under 20% graduate within six years; only 27% of US jobs require a college degree (28% by 2012—US Bureau of Labor)

Country % in College % Graduate

Korea 48 18

Greece 43 <15

Finland 37 <15

Belgium 37 <15

US 35 17

Ireland 35 21

Poland 34 17

Australia 31 23

France 31 20

Hungary 31 16

% of 18-24 Year Olds in College vs. % Who Graduate

Spain 30 17

New Zealand 29 21

Netherlands 27 16

Norway 25 <15

Portugal 25 25

Sweden 24 18

Czech Republic 24 15

Germany 23 <15

Austria 23 <15

Denmark 20 23

US toward the top in college participation, towards the bottom in college completion. Source: EdWeek 09/13/06

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Amherst 58 41 Northwestern 78 22

Bowdoin 51 49 Pomona 64 35

Brown 58 39 Princeton 61 39

Columbia 57 43 Stanford 67 33

Cornell 69 23 Swarthmore 63 29

Dartmouth 66 34 UC-Berkeley 87 13

Duke 68 32 Univ of CHI 64 29

Georgetown 49 51 Univ of PA 52 48

Middlebury 53 47 Yale 54 46

MIT 69 21

College %Public %PrivateThe Path to Highly Selective Colleges

Source: WSJ, Oct. 2006 & CAPE Outlook, Nov. 2006

Note: Private schools in general educate around 10% of students; in that group, independent schools are about 1%.

College %Public %Private

Of the private selective colleges, about 40% of the matriculants come from private schools.

1. “The Match” vs. “The Decal”2. Race to Nowhere & Getting In3. Harvard?

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Pedagogically Speaking: Teaching Outside Pandora's Box Deborah M. Roffman Independent School, Summer 2010

Five Core Nurturing Needs for K-12 Kids:1.Affirmation2.Information3.Clarity around Values4.Limit Setting5.Anticipatory Guidance

How Well-Intentioned Adults UndermineChildren’s Moral & Emotional Development

• Parents have most profound impact on morals.• Weissbourd’s research: Teens’ perception of

what they believe to be the most important value for them in their parents’ mind: 1. For you to be happy 2. Achieving a high level of income3. Having a high status job4. Being a good person who cares about others5. Gaining entrance into a selective college2/3rds public & private school kids thought #1 over #4. ½ of high income private school kids thought #5 over #4.

Weissbourd’s comment on academic “pressure”: 30-40% of Harvard’s undergrads on anti-depressants.

Dean Richard Light on Harvard Freshmen Return

Demonstrations of Learning: “What you do, not what you know, the ultimate test of education.” ~PFB Tweet

1. Conduct a fluent conversation in a foreign language about of piece of writing in that language. (Stanford University requirement)

2. Write a cogent and persuasive opinion piece on a matter of public importance.

3. Declaim with passion and from memory a passage that is meaningful, of one’s own or from the culture’s literature or history.

4. Demonstrate a commitment to creating a more sustainable and global future with means that are scalable

5. Invent a machine or program a robot capable of performing a difficult physical task.

Demonstrations of Learning

6. Exercise leadership in arena which you have passion and expertise.

7. Using statistics or forensics, assess if a statement by a public figure is demonstrably true.

8. Assess media coverage of a global event from various cultural/national perspectives. (“Arab Spring” & 6th grade US history unit on “causes of the revolution”)

9. Describe a breakthrough for a project-based team on which you participated in which you contributed to overcoming a human-created obstacle.

10. Produce or perform or stage or interpret a work of art.

The implied mission promise of a school with these outcomes?

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Challenge 20/20: Montessori School of Denver

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Rio Grande School (NM)

Grant Wood’s Victorian Survival

Smithsonian Podcast interpretation by Katy Waldman, Holton Arms School

http://americanart.si.edu/eyelevel/podcasts/podcast_victorian_survival.html

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Amherst 58 41 Northwestern 78 22

Bowdoin 51 49 Pomona 64 35

Brown 58 39 Princeton 61 39

Columbia 57 43 Stanford 67 33

Cornell 69 23 Swarthmore 63 29

Dartmouth 66 34 UC-Berkeley 87 13

Duke 68 32 Univ of CHI 64 29

Georgetown 49 51 Univ of PA 52 48

Middlebury 53 47 Yale 54 46

MIT 69 21 Avg = 35% from private schools

College %Public %Private

The Path to Highly Selective Colleges

Source: WSJ, Oct. 2006 & CAPE Outlook, Nov. 2006

Note: Private schools in general educate 10% of students; independent schools, 1%.

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Independent vs. Privileged Suburban Public Schools

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8th/F

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Girls/P

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Sports

Arts/S

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Independent

SuburbanPublic

• Greater than 70% high school students attend high school with more than 1000 enrollment (Ed Week, 10/20/01)

• Parents choice of peer group (i.e. school) is the most decisive decision in child’s development. ~John Seel, UVA• Greatest persistence factor (graduating with a B.A.) is the academic intensity of one’s school. ~Adelman, OERI• Participation: 73% quit childhood sports by age 13 (Chicago Tribune, 3/30/00). Girls who play afterschool sports far

less likely to have had any sexual partners. (American Demographics 9/98)

Sources: Lessons of Privilege ~Art Powell; THL11/98 ~John Seel review of JD Harris’ The Nurture Assumption; American

Demographics 9/98

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Falmouth Academy’s Submersible Robot

Creativity, Robotics, Teaming and STEM

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