From the Head of School For 65 years, Fontbonne has been educating and inspiring remarkable girls who are equipped to take on the challenges they face as adults. Our deeply centered faith-based education has provided our alumnae with a moral compass and a spiritual foundation that is their guide throughout their lives. As we move through the 21st century at Fontbonne, it is valuable to advance the education of women to not only include college readiness but to increase college affordability and success. Our history is our foundation and our advancement as an Early College is our future. As a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, our mission is centered on relationships and responding to the needs in our community. In January 2019, Fontbonne became the Early College of Boston. This category defines the education we provide a girl to become a remarkable Fontbonne women. As we took a deep look into our education, we recognized that throughout the past decade, we have been innovative in our classrooms, in our co-curricular activities and in the student experience we offer our girls. Our student-centered, project-based and interdisciplinary learning initiatives define the education of a Fontbonne girl and describe an Early College curriculum and classroom. A Fontbonne education provides a young girl with the Early College experiences in school culture and academics which allows her to create her own future. We are not just preparing a student for college, we are offering her college courses here at Fontbonne while attending high school. Our students are supported through our faculty and staff, finding success in our collegiate classrooms, which allows them to have the confidence to make the transition to college campus life that much easier. Our faith-based education gives them the self awareness to grow as children of God. This empowerment and preparedness is what makes our women of courage ready to create the future. This experience is what makes a Fontbonne woman so successful in her future. This education is a unique gift and one we hope to offer every young girl who wishes to attend. Many alumnae often ask us if we are planning on opening a 7th and 8th grade. After assessing the needs in the community, we knew we needed to look forward into our future in building an Early College. This, however, does not mean that we aren’t addressing the needs of middle school girls. In response to this need, we established an Admit 6 program. Students apply to Fontbonne in grade 6. Then for two years, we offer them programming based on the social emotional health of girls. We recognize the need for middle school aged girls to have strong mentors, to connect with our students, to be part of a community of girls where they can grow in their leadership skills and self confidence. We have run this program for the past three years and each year more and more students are enrolling early into Fontbonne for this experience. Now more than ever, our world needs the strength, courage and integrity of Fontbonne women. We are proud of the work we have done in advancing our mission and in creating an environment where all may be one and unity and reconciliation prevail. We are so grateful to all of our supporters. It is because of each one of you that we are able to offer the young women today a Fontbonne education centered on our Catholic values and growing women into prominent ethical leaders. Fontbonne is thriving! There are so many wonderful and impactful things happening on campus every single day. This past summer we installed a new Media Center. The room is outfitted with the latest technology. It was funded by the parent giftof the Class of 2019. We also renovated Room 212 thanks in part to the parent gift from the Class of 2018. We are truly grateful for the support of our alumnae and would love to have you return to campus. Please come back, visit us and share your talents with the next generation. We hope you enjoy this latest edition of The Fountain. With gratitude, Maura Spignesi Head of School At the start of 2019 our school relaunched as Fontbonne, The Early College of Boston. Many of you may be asking what does that mean? Early College is the category of school that best fits the impactful learning taking place on our campus. The Gospel values of respect, responsibility, reconciliation and reverence will continue to influence every course, every action and every student at Fontbonne. Our main goal continues to be to empower girls to use their voices, to understand the value in their ideas and to teach them the skills they need to be successful leaders. Early College means that we are intentionally designing and sustaining a student-centered learning environment that is collegiate. It is a four tiered program infused with support systems which guide the girls to grow into women of courage. The four tiers are curriculum, pedagogy, culture, and student life experience. The program presents our girls with several exciting opportunities inside and outside the classroom. The discourse in our classes allows students to openly share their viewpoints, critically analyze situations and problem solve together. This higher level thinking and the depth of our curriculum allows Regis College to approve our courses for transferable college credit. Right now our partnership with Regis gives students the chance to earn transferable college credits when they take eight of our classes. One of our approved courses is Theology 4. All of our seniors take this class, engaging in college level seminar discussions and producing a culminating senior capstone project. We believe every single girl at Fontbonne is capable of this level of work. Each department provides learning opportunities that are not only interdisciplinary, but also intentional in how they challenge our students to engage in critical thinking and expose them to the interconnectedness in learning. At Fontbonne, students are the architects of their own learning, supported and guided by the skilled educators who work with them every day. When students start in 9th and 10th grade, we provide a foundational curriculum that will prepare them for success in the 11th and 12th early college program. One hallmark of the support we offer is our Academic Success Program. This program is designed to support our 9th students as they build the skills they need to be successful at Fontbonne. In this program, our students work directly with the program coordinator and subject teachers to develop and enhance their organizational and academic skills. Our students take ownership of this process and graduates of the program become mentors to the next cohort. At Fontbonne, we understand that a strong curriculum is not enough. There is so much more to educating young women on how to be ready to take on challenges they face as adults. This is why we believe so strongly in the culture of support and advocacy skills we teach our students. Beyond our walls, we encourage students to attend programs at colleges and universities across the Commonwealth. Workshops like MIT Women in Science, the Harvard Leadership Symposium, the Boston College Experience and Notre Dame summer programs. Our STEM club works closely with a professor from Wentworth. We have a Babson Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. We take our students to financial literacy trainings with First Republic Bank. These types of events provide our girls with the opportunity to meet with professionals, potential mentors in fields they may be interested. Fontbonne takes advantage of every outside opportunity that will help our girls create their future. Early College is a category of school that clearly articulates what is happening inside Fontbonne. It is the vision that will guide our future for years to come! Like Academy, College Preparatory or Country Day, Early College is a category of school. At Fontbonne we are intentionally designing and sustaining a student-centered learning environment What is Early College? that is collegiate in curriculum, pedagogy, culture and student life experience. Curriculum Our curriculum in 9th and 10th grades focuses on building the foundational skills we have identified as necessary for success in our accelerated academic program. In grades 11 and 12, students will begin to take advantage of our pioneering dual enrollment relationships and college-level courses. Our Early College emphasis will enable Fontbonne to maximize the student’s ability to attain transferable college credit while cultivating those distinct characteristics, attributes, and skills she would nothave acquired until her first years in college. Pedagogy Pedagogy is the act of teaching; the relationship and interactions between a student and teacher. Our faculty work exclusively with each student to set specifically designed learning goals. Utilizing strategies such as project-based learning and interdepartmental curriculum development, they empower our students to be the architects of their own learning. One example is the Science Seminar offered at the Junior/Senior level. It provides students with an opportunity to explore current topics in science while working independently in small, cooperative groups. These groups later share research results with their peers in a seminar-style environment. Culture The basis of our culture at Fontbonne is inclusion, a core value of our founding Sisters of Saint Joseph and the Gospel message that “all may be one.” Fontbonne embraces diversity in many forms. Through the values of respect, responsibility, reconciliation and reverence, Fontbonne promotes growth in spirituality, scholarship, and leadership of young women in our changing world. We teach our young women the importance of seeing others for who they are individually and engage in courageous conversations to grow as women of the world.