Carlthorp School Head of School
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CARLTHORP SCHOOL Santa Monica, California HEAD OF SCHOOL Start Date: July 1, 2021 carlthorp.org Mission Carlthorp School provides a strong academic foundation in a diverse and nurturing school community that emphasizes respectful values, responsible work habits, and excellence in order to prepare students to achieve their highest potential in education and life. OVERVIEW Carlthorp School, established in 1939, is the oldest independent school in Santa Monica, California. While expanding its curriculum in recent years, this coeducational, Kindergarten through 6th grade school has remained committed to its mission: providing a strong academic foundation in a diverse and nurturing community that emphasizes respectful values, responsible work habits, and excellence. With 280 students and a student/teacher ratio of 6:1, Carlthorp has a reputation for both academic excellence and inclusion. Equally important to academics is the school’s focus on character development and instilling gratitude. The overall result is a highly engaging learning community where students thrive and are prepared to face the rigors and challenges of high school and beyond. Carlthorp School seeks a dynamic leader as its next head of school starting July 1, 2021. Currently, Steve Springer is serving as Interim Head of School, having served as Associate Head of School and Principal at Carlthorp for the past two years. The successful head of school candidate will be an experienced educational leader devoted to the school’s mission and program. He or she will have oversight of all organizational activities and will serve as the school’s academic leader, fostering a climate of excellence and ethical growth among students, faculty, and staff. This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a highly rated independent school with an unwavering commitment to student success. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 2 Fast Facts Founded: 1939 Grades: K-6 Total students: 280 Total faculty: 80 Faculty with advanced degrees: 70% Student/teacher ratio: 6:1 Students of color: 54% Faculty of color: 29% Financial aid budget: $530,000 Students receiving financial aid: 9.6% Endowment: $25 million SCHOOL HISTORY Carlthorp School was founded in 1939 by Mercedes Thorp and Ann Carlson Granstrom. Their intention was to provide an academically rigorous education, enhanced by good study habits, courtesy, self- discipline, and positive self-esteem — with an overall goal of preparing each child to meet the challenges of higher education and life. The school was founded as a proprietary institution but became a nonprofit in 1982. In 1983, Dee Menzies, a former Carlthorp School student herself, assumed the role of Head of School. During her 33-year tenure (ending in 2016), Carlthorp expanded its physical space and grew enrollment from 180 students to 280. The school’s academic foundation was also further solidified and complemented by an emphasis on service. In 2020, Carlthorp School is celebrating its 80th anniversary. It is the oldest independent school in Santa Monica. THE SCHOOL Carlthorp School, located in a quiet neighborhood in Santa Monica, began as a one-room school in 1939. Over the years, it has grown into a thriving elementary school that has held to its founding principles of academic excellence and student engagement while evolving into an impressive 21st- century learning community. Though the breadth of the curriculum has expanded significantly in the last seven decades, the school’s basic philosophy remains the same; it focuses on the child as a whole, helping each student to grow academically, socially, emotionally, and ethically, all within the framework of a traditionally academic school. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 3 “Students can do it all at Carlthorp.” -Parent Through its Code of Conduct, the Carlthorp School community embraces the importance of kindness, respect, citizenship, care for others, and care for self. As a result of this focus on personal and social responsibility, Carlthorp graduates are well prepared for the rigors of secondary school and the challenges of life beyond. The school is committed to creating an inclusive environment for families, one that honors diverse perspectives and is composed of faculty, students, administrators, trustees, parents, guardians, and alumni of diverse ethnic, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The school continues to focus on its K-6 DEI curriculum that is centered around inclusivity and building bridges and connections while also celebrating perceived differences. Carlthorp is currently pursuing strategic priorities that include a deeper commitment to DEI; strengthening the 21st-century curriculum; recruiting and retaining talented teachers; and updating the school facilities through a Master Plan that is currently underway. Carlthorp School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It is a member of the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). CARNEYSANDOE.COM 4 Secondary School Placement Historically, 97% of Carlthorp students matriculate to the secondary school of their first choice. Students most often matriculate to the following schools: Brentwood School Campbell Hall School Crossroads School Harvard-Westlake School Lincoln Middle School Marlborough School Milken Community School New Roads School Oaks Christian School Paul Revere Middle School St. Matthew’s Parish School The Archer School for Girls The Geffen Academy at UCLA The Mirman School Viewpoint School Wildwood School ACADEMICS Windward School Forward thinking and academically rigorous, Carlthorp School’s curriculum encourages students to discover themselves and the world around them. Teachers help students strive for excellence, emphasizing the importance of risk-taking and a growth mindset. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to strike a meaningful balance of academic rigor, character development, and fostering a joy for learning. The core curriculum includes language arts, mathematics, science, Spanish, library, music, art, and physical education. Beginning in Kindergarten, the faculty places an emphasis on teaching students that striving for excellence does not mean striving for perfection, but rather a commitment to doing one’s best and embracing challenges. The overall goal is to help students build a strong academic base and develop essential life skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. Twenty-first-century elements of the curriculum include experiential education, thematic learning, and CGI (cognitively guided instruction) in the early years. Service learning is a central part of the curriculum, which culminates in the sixth grade with a focus on student-driven projects. Carlthorp also encourages its students to develop their public speaking skills over the course of their seven years at the school, beginning with age-appropriate presentations in the lower grades, progressing to student-led tours for prospective families in the upper grades, and culminating in debate and other speaking opportunities in the sixth grade. As with every aspect of student life at Carlthorp, students are supported and nurtured as they develop these important life skills, so that they build their confidence to succeed. The school uses a 1:1 laptop program in Grades 3-6. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 5 SCIENCE Carlthorp’s STEM program is robust and innovative. The cutting-edge Science Lab and Innovation Hub are places where students’ natural curiosity fuels inquiry. In the primary grades, students gain an introduction to the wonders of the natural world and the power of the scientific method in a laboratory that teems with live animals and hands-on experiences. They practice asking questions, making observations, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and engineering solutions on topics that span the biological, physical, and earth sciences. In the intermediate grades, student work shifts to formalizing an understanding of the scientific inquiry and design processes foundational to engineering, computer science, and game development. Students build bridges, design alarms, code games, construct golf courses, and myriad other activities that embed the iterative design process. Additionally, starting in the fourth grade, students begin physical computing. That work focuses on meeting design requirements, block-based coding, and robot construction. As students advance, they learn the basic principles of the programming language Python and how to use 3D printing technology to solve problems. SPANISH Carlthorp’s Spanish program gives students a general exposure to the language and culture of Spanish- speaking countries. The program appeals to different students’ learning styles within the framework of a structured curriculum. Working closely with the Director of Curriculum and Instruction as well as Carlthorp’s reading teachers, the Spanish teachers implement reading workshop strategies into their curriculum throughout the year. Every spring, they help organize a “Fiesta Latina” that celebrates the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 6 THE ARTS In addition to classroom art projects, Carlthorp students receive special instruction in the fine arts. They learn specific art techniques in a variety of media and become aware of different styles of art and corresponding time periods. The arts program culminates in an arts show exhibiting one piece from each student in the school. Every third year, the school also celebrates ArtSmart, a day devoted