8/9 Our Wildwood/Summer 2013 The Year in Focusin often critical to the schools we work with. wide range of settings is invaluable for us Wildwood at and The exchange of ideas with many so educators from such a from us. dozens more came to Angeles Los to observe and learn made trips year this to these and other schools, while development to their teacher corps around advisory. We help strengthen their programs by providing professional Wildwood in common: year, This the schools turned to us to places, serving very different populations. But they have competitive skiers in the High Sierra, are very different Sugar and Bowl Academy,neighborhood educating L Outreach Center is clear: The Wildwood approach works. What we are learning from the growing reach of our spread across 15 states and scattered around the world. leaders from nearly schools, 60 both public and private, offered training, insights, and consultancy to teachers and justIn the past year, the Wildwood Outreach Center has by Steve Barrett, wildwood ACH R R School Singapore American School Deputy Principal, —Tico Oms, Middle and your assessments.” H connections between the to advisory, andyour especially your approach about ourfuture school— influential inourthinking Wildwood hasbeenvery including afew inFinland. twenty schools last year, “Our school visited over andmark High School High andmark abits of Mindand e e sonance
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Norden, Calif. WORKSHOPS At this school for high school students AT WILDWOOD who are also competitive skiers, academics and advisory are often Never Too Young: compressed because the ski season Engaging Elementary-Age Social Activism is long and the school year is shorter Wildwood 2nd grade teacher Monique Marshall, a highly sought-after than what’s typical. But the very speaker on student activism and multiculturalism, presented this unusual students at this school—some workshop she developed to more than a dozen public and private boarders and some day students— elementary educators in early May. The daylong session is founded know how to concentrate and get on Wildwood’s philosophy that adults need to be in touch with their the job done. The level of intensity own multicultural identities before they can skillfully lead students to at Sugar Bowl is palpable. Because investigate their own. students need to squeeze a lot in and Using creative tools, including the “doll stories” (see page 3) she work very efficiently, often from the developed, Monique shows educators how they can help their students road, they focus. They do their work access and discuss their feelings on a wide array of topics, from and stay in touch with their teachers, multiculturalism in society to social conflicts in the classroom. coaches, and advisors using school This unique, interactive workshop builds on Monique’s years of iPads. Given the enormous amount of experience engaging young students in meaningful, socially conscious time kids spend training, it’s critical conversations and actions. that teachers and coaches act as Public school participation at Monique’s workshop was advisors at Sugar Bowl to ensure complemented by some of Los Angeles’ other independent schools, that the students aren’t caught in the including Brentwood School, Campbell Hall, Crossroads School, and middle of competing demands for The Buckley School. their time. Sugar Bowl’s challenges are somewhat unique but point at the Chalk Talk: fundamental value of advisory. In this A silent conversation setting, staying connected is even investigating identity. more critical because students are so often away from their instructors and peers. Sugar Bowl is especially interested in Wildwood’s model that puts an advisor at the center of each student’s academic and social/ emotional experience, which they see as acutely important for kids who are high achievers, often away from home. Because of our consulting work, Sugar Bowl is not only strengthening its advisory program, but it also will be building in more advisory time when students are on campus and showcasing advisory as a key component of their students’ success when talking with prospective families.
Beyond the Final Exam: Participants from Sugar Student Gateways and Exhibitions Bowl Academy generating The practice of students presenting and defending their learning and advisory goals. growth through Gateways and Exhibitions is integral to the Wildwood Landmark High School in the experience. It’s also gradually gaining traction as many educators begin Bayard Rustin Educational to sincerely question the value of traditional tests on paper as the Complex. only measure of student learning. In May, the Outreach Center hosted 10/11 Our Wildwood/Summer 2013 t c pr oppor surv and alr w and Santa Clarita Valley B A a W T t abilit as what N s w our f Mar Ánimo priv educators or o eachers ample. onstructive.
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W ilDWOOD Outreach Campbell Hall, Los Angeles Center Client List Center for Early Education, West Hollywood, Calif. June 2012-Present Crossroads School, Santa Monica, Calif. Crystal Springs Uplands School, Hillsborough, Calif. Eagle Rock School, Estes Park, Colo. Public Schools The Emery/Weiner School, Houston Adams Elementary School, Eugene, Ore. Francis Parker School, San Diego Ánimo Inglewood Charter High School, Inglewood, Calif. Harvard-Westlake School, Los Angeles Bancroft Middle School, San Leandro, Calif. Hillbrook School, Los Gatos, Calif. Banning Academies of Creative and Innovative Sciences, Wilmington, Calif. The John Thomas Dye School, Los Angeles Boston Latin School Laurel School, Shaker Heights, Ohio Camino Nuevo High School, Los Angeles Lycée Français de New York, New York City Central High School, Philadelphia Marin Primary & Middle School, Larkspur, Calif. Citizens of the World Charter School, Mar Vista, Calif. The Mirman School, Los Angeles The City School, Los Angeles New Canaan Country School, New Canaan, Conn. Crater Renaissance Academy, Central Point, Ore. The Oaks School, Los Angeles Da Vinci Innovation Academy, Hawthorne, Calif. Oakwood School, North Hollywood, Calif. Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy, Flagstaff, Ariz. Potomac School, McLean, Va. Goethe International Charter School, Los Angeles PS-1, Santa Monica, Calif. Landmark High School, New York City Presidio Hill School, San Francisco Los Angeles County Office of Education Sage Hill School, Newport Coast, Calif. NEW Academy, Canoga Park, Calif. Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif. Odyssey Charter School, Altadena, Calif. Sugar Bowl Academy, Norden, Calif. Orange County Department of Education in California Tesseract School, Phoenix Santa Clarita Valley International Charter School, Castaic, Calif. UCLA Lab School, Los Angeles Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Thurston High School, Redford, Mich.. Viewpoint School, El Segundo, Calif. Tulsa Public Schools in Oklahoma Westerly School, Long Beach, Calif. UCLA Community School, Los Angeles William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia Independent Schools International Schools American Jewish University, Los Angeles The American School Foundation of Mexico City Blue Oak School, Napa, Calif. High Scope Schools, Jakarta, Indonesia Brentwood School, Los Angeles Lily Academy Schools, Mito-Shi, Japan The Buckley School, Los Angeles Singapore American School
PROFESSIONAL Critical Friends Group (CFG) Multicultural DEVELOPMENT New Coaches Training Summer Institute SEMINARS In each of the past three summers, the Using Wildwood’s kindergarten to Outreach Center has hosted dozens 12th grade multicultural work as a Right Question Institute (RQI) of public and private school educators model, the Outreach Center launched Wildwood initiated a West Coast from around the country for this this four-day institute in June. Led partnership with this Boston-based five-day training program. The goal is by Rasheda Carroll, members of micro-democracy organization, to help participants develop in-depth Wildwood’s Multicultural Leadership hosting a teacher training in October facilitation skills to use in leading their Team, along with other nationally and July. RQI’s book, Make Just peers to ensure student achievement. known facilitators, worked with One Change: Teach Students to Ask In June, the Outreach Center educators from across the country . Their Own Questions, is published by trained a wide range of professionals to help participants develop and Harvard Education Press. from a mix of Los Angeles public and sustain multicultural practices in . private schools to a team of district their schools. WW administrators in the Tulsa, Okla., public schools who are dedicated to leading their city’s ongoing school reform efforts.