RENBROOK SCHOOL WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT HEAD OF SCHOOL START DATE: JULY 2019 WWW.RENBROOK.ORG Mission Statement Fueled by a tradition of innovation, self-discovery, and the pursuit of excellence, Renbrook School places students at the center of their learning. We educate and inspire students to develop the character, knowledge, and creativity to lead in an increasingly global and inclusive world. In a nurturing community, Renbrook students gain the skills and dispositions of engaged, life-long learners. Value Statement Renbrook School prizes respect, integrity, empathy, tenacity, and service to others. We believe in the power of a supportive community to effectively instill these values in our students. OVERVIEW Founded in 1935, Renbrook School provides students in Preschool through Grade 8 with a robust and purposeful educational experience of the highest caliber. Located on an exceptionally beautiful and resourced campus, small classes in an intimate community of supportive and caring teachers allow for an individualized approach to learning, enabling each child to learn to take appropriate risks and identify and cultivate his or her own strengths. Renbrook knows how impactful a child’s early education experience is on his or her life trajectory, and therefore strives to lay the foundation for its students to become active citizens, stewards of diversity, and life-long learners. Renbrook seeks a Head of School (to begin in July 2019) who will reinforce the integrity of Renbrook’s current programming, as well as extend its mission to reach new students and their families. SCHOOL HISTORY Renbrook School began with a conversation in the living room of Mr. and Mrs. John Lee of Farmington, Connecticut. Then and there, the Lees and seven like-minded families decided to establish a progressive, learn-by-doing school on the model established by educator John Dewey. Founded in 1935, the Tunxis School—named in recognition of the Native American tribe that was local to the Connecticut River Valley—was housed in an aged Victorian home at 2431 Albany Avenue in West Hartford. Within months, an increase in enrollment forced the small school to change location. The new institution enrolled 39 students and was renamed Junior School. With three teachers and 17 students aged three to nine, the school grew under the guidance of Florence Greene, who would The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 1 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com Fast Facts Students currently enrolled: 333 Faculty members: 54 Percentage of faculty holding an advanced degree: 54% Lower School (PK-5) class size range: 12-17 Upper School (6-8) class size range: 10-16 Average student-teacher ratio: 6:1 Percentage of student body that receives some degree of financial aid: 30% Percentage of student body that is students of color: 36% Annual operating budget for current school year: $9.3M Endowment: $17M serve as the headmistress for 32 years. Two years later, enrollment had reached 69 and Junior School purchased a building lot at 950 Trout Brook Road. The move was made during spring vacation in 1938, after teachers had painted all their mismatched furniture the same shade of blue you can see on campus today. By 1956, Junior School was bursting at the seams. When the estate of Frederick B. Rentschler, co-founder of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, announced it would lease its family home to a worthy not-for- profit institution, Junior School applied for the opportunity. Selected first among 18 applicants, the school was awarded the rental of the Albany Avenue home at $1.00 annually. In appreciation, the Junior School renamed itself ‘Renbrook,’ the original name of the Rentschler estate. In January of 1958, the school moved to its new location at 2865 Albany Avenue. In 1996, when the Faye Belden Rentschler Foundation merged with Renbrook School, Inc., it inaugurated a new era for the school. THE SCHOOL Today, Renbrook enrolls 330 students from more than 35 cities and towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts and celebrated its 80th anniversary in the academic year 2015-16. Diversity is of the utmost importance at Renbrook; the community encourages diversity that spans racial, religious, national, ethnic, socio-economic, and other lines, emphasizing the differences woven into the fabric of our increasingly global culture. Accordingly, Renbrook values the diversity of its own students, families, faculty, and staff because this diversity helps Renbrook students be successful in The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 2 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com today’s world—and prepares them for the future that awaits them. Renbrook is a founding member of SPHERE, an independent school consortium that supports the better understanding of race, diversity, and multicultural issues. Traditions like the daily Morning Meeting are uniquely Renbrook, kindling a collective sense of community while providing daily occasions for individual growth. In these meetings, students come to the podium to share news about school teams, clubs, and accomplishments. These daily experiences strengthen public speaking skills, peer recognition, and leadership development. Technology is another essential facet of culture and curriculum at Renbrook. Mac laptops are used across campus, and Apple TVs coupled with projectors and wireless mobile labs enrich the teaching and learning experience. Students regularly use The Geometer’s Sketchpad, graphing calculators, and other advanced educational software. Finally, learning for at Renbrook is not limited to the classroom. With a ropes course, woods, trails, sports fields, and cultivated gardens, the Renbrook campus is a safe, varied, and beautiful outdoor classroom and learning laboratory. Not surprisingly, working with others to accomplish shared goals is an essential part of a Renbrook education. Community work can range from buddy class with other grades to social service projects on and off campus, that benefit area agencies, shelters, hospitals, and soup kitchens. Renbrook School is accredited by the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), is approved as a non-public school by the Connecticut State Department of Education and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools. The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 3 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com ACADEMICS Renbrook’s model of 21st-century education builds upon traditional pedagogies of learning and recasts them to fit the emerging needs of today and tomorrow’s learners. A leader in the implementation of project-based learning, the ultimate goal of all of Renbrook’s rich and challenging coursework is to foster the ability for students to stretch themselves intellectually and develop a lifelong love of learning. Renbrook graduates enter secondary school knowing how to think critically, to speak and write clearly, and how to conduct themselves with poise and confidence in leadership roles. Lower School Because many crucial skills children need to be life-long learners are established during the earliest years of school, Renbrook strives to promote positive learning dispositions such as creativity, curiosity, perseverance, resilience, and initiative. Across Renbrook’s Lower School curriculum, teachers incorporate the Responsive Classroom approach into instruction, emphasizing social, emotional, and academic growth within a strong school community. Renbrook’s full-day approach to Kindergarten provides children and teachers with the opportunity to extend and elaborate on projects and class work. Kindergarten relies on themes and projects to integrate thinking skills, promote positive social interaction, and enhance the development of cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills. Children gain knowledge from direct teaching, research, field trips, and play activities. In Grades 1-5, students continue to leverage the Responsive Classroom model but spend the bulk of their day immersed in a rigorous, balanced curriculum. This curriculum includes a language and literacy program that builds reading proficiency and fosters a love of literature; writing in a The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 4 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com Secondary School Placement Renbrook’s student acceptance rate for Secondary School placement is over 90% for eighth- grade graduates. The following is a selection of schools to which students were accepted from 2016- 2018: Andover (Phillips Academy) Avon Old Farms Brewster Academy Brooks School Canterbury School Choate Rosemary Hall Dana Hall School Deerfield Academy Ethel Walker School Groton School Hopkins School Hotchkiss School Interlochen workshop-style approach; mathematics using Singapore Kingswood Oxford Math; STEAM, an integrated, cross-discipline approach Lawrenceville linking science, technology, engineering, the arts, and Loomis Chaffee School mathematics; social studies; Spanish; instrumental and Madeira choral music; visual art; and physical education. Master’s School, Dobbs Ferry Middlesex School Upper School Miss Porter’s School At the heart of a Renbrook education is the meaningful Northfield Mount Hermon relationship that takes place between the accomplished Phillips Exeter Academy and deeply committed faculty and the inspired and engaged Pomfret School student body. Upper School students (Grades 6-8) have St. Paul’s School faculty advisors with whom they meet individually or in a Stoneleigh Burnham School small-group setting weekly. The average advisee to advisor Suffield