We have scholarships for the 2014-2015 school year!

An amazing new door has opened for our school as we enter our 27th year of educating students in Huntsville, Al. The recently passed Alabama Accountability Act and the resultant opening of Scholarship Granting Organizations has now given us the opportunity to offer a Country Day education to students we could not earlier serve. This exciting development allows us to finally recognize our original mission of offering a World Class education to all, regardless of ability to pay. It gives Country Day the true diversity we have always sought and brings new families into our community. We have chosen the Scholarships for Kids SGO to work with, as we believe they are truly seeking to help deserving children and our school obtain this goal. It is a group which shows true passion and is guided by a moral compass to make this program work and expand. Jeanie McCain,the SGO's leader, is a force to be reckoned with in her passionate insistence that children in our state deserve a World Class education, regardless of their circumstances. More information can be found on Scholarship for Kids at www.Alabamakids.net. Our school was chosen as a benchmark school by their leadership and was approved to participate in the scholarship program by the Ala. Dept. Of Revenue last year. We have several scholarship students already in attendance this school year. Next year we will select and admit 40 more eligible scholarship students. Once a scholarship is granted to a student, this will automatically be renewed every year thereafter. We applaud the state legislature for their wisdom and foresight in passing this landmark bill, and appreciate the opportunity it affords Country Day School to educate students who could not otherwise be served.

That's What It's All About

Bittersweet graduation Day....7 of our students head out into their highschool years. One student started at Country Day as a two year old. What an honor it has been to educate her and see her blossom into a capable and competent young woman. We feel a part of her family and she will always be part of the Country Day Family. Other grads have overcome obstacles along the way and matured into insightful and caring people. I could not be prouder of a group than the class of 2013......Godspeed, Good Luck and much love as you make your journey in life.

25th year is now drawing to a close

Just 20 more school days left in the 2012-2013 school year. Moving on to year 26! There has been so much growth and learning all over the school. We will miss our 7 graduates and wish them well in their highschool ventures and beyond. It certainly was a year to remember in so many ways.

I eat my words!

In an earlier post, I stated that school choice or charter schools would never come to our fair state of Alabama. Now I must eat these words, and boy, do they taste good. The Ala. Legislature just passed what is called the flexibility act which provides students from failing schools the ability to transfer to private schools with tax credits and/or scholarships. This is an incredible event in the educational options for Alabama children stuck in failing schools by their zip code. We applaud our brave legislators who somehow made this happen and our Govenor for taking a stand to give these kids a chance to meet their potentials. This bill will be a landmark for our state reaching for real educational reforms. bravo! Bravo!

2013 will be a very good year

The new year is here, and with it comes hopes for renewal and justice. We know what was meant for our harm will be turned for our good in this year. Our school family has stood strong and will continue to do so in 2013. Our guiding light has been and will always be providing the very best education and environment for our students. Parents are our partners in this process which strengthens our school. Happy New Year to All! God Bless us all.

Accreditation visit a success!

This past week three outside reviewers came to Country Day for our five year accreditation review. They observed in our classrooms, interviewed students, parents and teachers. They reviewed all of our self assessment plan and looked at artifacts to document this plan. At the end of the visit they gave us their thoughts and recommended us for re-accreditation for the next five years. they also commended our school for it's warm and caring environment and parental involvement. We are proud of the result!

NAEYC National Conference, Atlanta.

Just returned from several days at the National Assoiation of Educators of Young Children with several CDS teachers and administrators. It was a very stimulating few days of learning, discussion, and planning for future vision and projects. We spent many hours in sessions with presenters from around the world, and enjoyed the camadrie of colleagues who teach young children and are searching for better ways to do so. Our group sought out Reggio sessions which were plentiful and varied. We also explored sessions dealing with exposing Children to nature and natural playscapes. The topic of the Common Core curriculum was also explored in relation to CDS philosophy. We also spent time exploring the exhibits to find new materials to bring back to our students. Our group came home exhausted but pumped up to make our school even better for our students, and even more committed to learning as a lifelong adventure.

A Busy Fall

This Fall has flown by. It has presented many challenges and opportunities for me personally and for our school community. While these challenges are on-going, I have faith that the outcomes will be positive and that our school will continue to be blessed. This is our 25th year as our school was established in 1987 with just 7 students. It is also our year for our 5 year Accreditation review by Advanc-Ed, which used to be called SACS. The review team will be here Dec. 5-6 right before our Silver Bells 25th year Anniversary celebration. We appreciate all of the support our school has been shown by parents and community members.

We begin again....25th Year!

School opened again this week and we began our 25th year here at Country Day.  We had a great start and know this will be our best year ever. We will reflect upon our past, appreciate the present, and envision our future.  Stay tuned to the blog for stories about the history of the school!

Love a Rainy Day

What fun the Preschool and Primary Campers had yesterday playing outside in the rain in their swimsuits! It was the classic summer moment and gave all such joy. We need to appreciate the simple pleasures with kids, and make memories whenever we can.

In the good ole summertime

During the months of June and July The Country Day School transforms into The Camp at Country Day. It is such fun to have a slower pace and the luxury of allowing kids to just Be kids. We swim at Shewood pool, have the ice cream truck complete with music come by every week, go on long hikes in our forest, wade in our creek, find bugs and rocks, and enjoy each others company. This year we are re-discovering board and card games. The Preschool is studying Water in all it's properties, as well as farm animals. Our goats, Trouble and Kidd, play with them in the play yard several times a week. Older campers go to the old Playmor Lanes to bowl and to the dollar movie weekly. There are lots of crafts and cooking, make believe play and time to just enjoy.

Another School Year Draws to a Close......

The 2011-12 school year ends next week. How fast it did fly by. Next year Country Day celebrates 25 years of enjoying educating students. We have grown from our original 7 students, but we still believe the same things about educating students and joining as partners with their parents on this amazing journey. While some things change, technology is the best example, others do not. Kids still love to play in the creek and explore the woods, teachers still are thrilled to see a child reach a new learning milestone, and parents are still our partners in this awesome process. We will enter our next 25 years with a renewed commitment to honor our beliefs into the future, and grow with our students. Have a Happy fun filled summer!

Young Thespians

Our Elementary students have a tradition of presenting class plays every Spring. After the two excellent Productions in the past two weeks, I have been pondering the growth which takes place in students as they prepare for their roles and develop confidence and poise during the many practices. On the final night their excitement is palpable. They are a team and all must give 100% to make it the best it can be. Not unlike a sports team, the plays give students opportunities for self actualization and confidence building. I am glad that these Are a part of the traditions of Country Day School.

A Tapestry of Nations

Yesterday was our annual International Festival at Country Day. There were a total of 25 nations represented by the families of CDS. As you entered the building, you were treated to a blending of sights, sounds and smells all of which drew you from country to country to experience many new cultures in a variety of ways. It was a delight to see children and parents in native dress, all sharing their uniqueness with pride. The lively performances had us all clapping along. It was a wonderful morning which fulfilled a vision we have had for our school since it was founded in 1987, now almost 25 years ago. We are a tapestry of nations!

A beautiful poem

What a nice surprise I received today with the application of a prospective CDS fifth grade student. He had come to visit the class recently and had really enjoyed his day at our school. His parents asked him to write a note to include with his application stating why he wanted to be admitted to Country Day. He decided to write a poem/song which truly touched my heart. From his perspective, Country Day gave him the key to his future. Of course, we granted his request to join our student body and know he will be a great addition...maybe the new CDS poet laureate!

Creativity

I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of giving kids the time, space and materials to exercise their creative minds on a daily basis. Since much of the influence in my undergraduate work was by association with Dr. E Paul Torrance, who was a professor at UGA in the 60's, creativity has always been of great importance to our practices here at Country Day School. Dr. Torrance did much of the groundbreaking work in this field and is called the father of creative giftedness. I was just at the right place at the right time to be fortunate enough to be influenced by his genius. There is now a international center for the study creativity at UGA which continues his work and research.
We think immediately of the creativity observed during children's work with art and the multitude of materials available to express themselves visually. But there arealso so many other opportunities during the school day to allow kids the time, space and material to exercise their creative muscles. On the playground Preschoolers simply need some sheets to turn a piece of climbing equipment into a castle and set the scene for a creative and elaborate story to be acted out. A mud hole on the yard provides a space for creative play for many kids to think thru scenarios with some very creative and collaborative ideas. The nature studio presents many bits and pieces to make houses for imaginary fairies or to design constructions out of natural items in the sand table. All it really takes is time, space and materials, and the willingness of teachers to understand the value of letting children be creative in many ways. To be continued.....

Great Turnout for screening of August to June, Bringing Life to School

About 100 people met at UAH to view the educational documentary last Thursday. A lively discussion followed the screening with audience participation. The audience was a mix of parents, teachers and education students. Several grads of Country Day shared their thoughts about the influence they felt our kind of individualized education had made on their lives. The roundtable consisted of Dr. pat Kuby, professor at Athens State, Dr. Pam Patrick and Dr. Phillip Kovack, professors, from UAH,and Deborah Baker from the Village of Promise. Each expressed their own concerns and opinions that our current public schools are pushing academics and developmentally inappropriate learning downward into Kindergaten and the Pre-K programs and several spoke of this as a form of educational child abuse. They felt that the joy of learning was being extinguished by third grade. All decried the current emphasis on testing and teaching isolated skills. All felt that more emphasis should be placed upon whole child development which was displayed in the film. We hope to find other films to bring to our community in the future to keep awareness and dialogue going.

Audio Recording (1): August to June Movie
Audio Recording (2): Roundtable Discussion
Audio Recording (3): Roundtable Discussion Ending
Video Recording: Some short clips during Roundtable Discussion

State waivers granted to exempt from No Child Left Behind!

Today the Obama administration has granted ten states a waiver to exempt them from the hated No Child Left Behind federal law. This is wonderful news for the schools, teachers, and students in these states. Without the pressure to constantly "teach the test" teachers will be freed to educate children to their fullest potentials. This law, while well intended, has done great harm to our countries educational system in the past ten years. I am hopeful ALL states will soon be waived and that we can get back to the important business of really educating our nations youth, instead of just trying to jump through federally mandated hoops!

Legislature will consider charter schools

I have previously written about Charter schools, public schools which are freed from much of the problematic central regulation which makes it so difficult for good teachers to educate kids beyond test taking skills. I have said that I did not think Alabama would ever have the opportunity to try them. I may have been wrong. There is a new bill coming in front of the legislature in two weeks that has Gov. Bentley's support and the support of the republican held majority. Locally Phil Williams is behind this bill. The AEA and the superintendents are against it. It will be very interesting to see what will happen. I am told that it will only be for a certain population of students and that Birmingham and Montgomery are the favorites to get a nod to try some pilot schools. Politics come to bear in all things. Of course, my personal preference has always been that parents get vouchers to send their child to whatever school they feel will educate them best....public or private. This was a serious consideration during Bush One and I can only wonder how much better off the state of American education would be right now if it that had been allowed to happen.

The future of the textbook

All I can say is Wow! The prototype of the new Apple textbooks are absolutely amazing. These mixed media experiences give students so much more information presented in so many different ways that they will drastically change the landscape of our classrooms in the next few years. I am so glad we have already integrated iPads into all our Elementary classes and cannot wait to see what our ever eager students will do with the new e texts.
iPAD eTexts