The School is contemplating a renovation of its three Townhouses on 16th Street, as well as an addition to Hunter Hall. This is the final piece of a campus master plan that was created about ten years ago and has led to the Library, Gallery, new Lower School classrooms and the renovation of the cafeteria — among other projects.
When will this project start?
We hope that everything will be in place to begin in June 2015.
Is there phasing? If so, what will that look like?
The plan is to first add two additional floors to Hunter Hall to accommodate the academic programs that are now situated in the Townhouses. (This is an exciting development because it will allow the school community to stay on campus together. It will also help us avoid expensive temporary relocation expenses.) When the Hunter Hall addition is completed, everything in the Townhouses will be moved to Hunter Hall and renovation of the Townhouses will begin. In all, this will probably be a three-year project.
Why are we doing this?
There are many reasons, but here are a few: to gain larger and more flexible classrooms that are appropriate for collaborative teaching; to have science, math and technology programs in contiguous spaces; to make the campus nearly 100% accessible to all; to decrease our carbon footprint by replacing outdated and redundant systems with new, greener technologies; to create spaces that will support a true hands-on sustainability curriculum; and finally, to acknowledge the importance of our Upper School program, its students and its faculty by creating spaces appropriate for higher-level teaching and learning.
How disruptive will all this be?
First, we are excited that the plan allows for all students to remain on campus during the project. Dispersing to temporary classrooms or rented spaces near by would be, we think, more disruptive. But yes, there will be noise, there will be parts of the campus that are off-limits and there will be distractions. Our first commitment is to the safety of community members. There will be a campus safety plan put in place. In addition, there will be a lot of planning around noise abatement. We will also seek to involve students at all ages in the excitement of the project through tours, curriculum and planning. Our Upper School architecture students are already busy helping to design a rooftop greenhouse!
Is the student body going to grow as a result of this project?
No, that is not the plan. Rather, we look forward to having a bit more space into which our 750 students and nearly 200 employees can exhale and flourish.
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In developing a new schedule, a committee of faculty and administrators sought to create a schedule that would bring simplicity to student life, liberate the creative expertise of our faculty, and allow our program to flourish with new opportunities. In short, we wanted our schedule to be dictated by the goals and vision of our program, rather than our program being constrained by the schedule. Our new schedule (beginning in the September 2015) will be an 8-day cycle with 60-minute class periods in the Middle School, 70-minute periods in Upper School, longer, less-interrupted homeroom time in Lower School, and more flexible time throughout the day for spontaneous collaborations. In adopting this schedule we feel that our students will finally have the time they deserve to dig deeper, reflect more on the big picture, and find the joy in school that helps them get so much more out of their time here.
How will teachers prepare for the new schedule?
Nearly all research on longer class periods finds that student success depends on teacher approach. Supporting our faculty with time and resources to make the most out of the opportunities of the new schedule was the major reason for waiting until September 2015 to implement the new schedule. Our teachers will have three major tasks as we prepare for longer periods: 1.) spend time with current research on how students learn best in each discipline and what methodologies can result in the most student engagement and most powerful learning; 2.) examine course syllabi for any necessary scope adjustments with emphasis on depth vs. breadth; and 3.) work collaboratively with departmental team members on sample unit plans in order to calibrate and bolster the department’s methodologies. Most professional development for faculty this year will focus on teaching within the new schedule.
Will the new schedule include a change in teaching methods?
The new schedule will not include a specific prescription for teaching methodology. It does, however, make possible many types of engaging and immersive experiences that can’t be fit in a 44-minute period. Friends Seminary has always aimed for the most engaging and dynamic curriculum and teaching methods and many existing methods will continue to flourish and expand within the new schedule. Where we can stand to be more engaging, the new schedule will only help to highlight the need. For example, a tolerable but dry 44-minute lecture won’t work in a 70-minute format and will need to be rethought under the new schedule.
A common question worth addressing has been, “does the new schedule mean Friends is switching to a ‘flipped classroom’ model of teaching?” The short answer to this is ‘no.’ A number of teachers have been incorporating aspects of the flipped model into their courses for several years and will continue to practice aspects of this powerful method where it proves effective for our students. The new schedule, however, will neither inhibit nor necessitate this method.
For math and language, isn’t frequency more important than longer periods?
For math and language, drilling and repeating is an important part of instruction and many types of skills and knowledge are best mastered through this type of instruction. But other types of understanding are best achieved under longer, more immersive, and engaging instructional methods. We believe our new schedule can allow more of this second type of learning while not prohibiting the first.
How will we measure success?
Many of our hoped for outcomes are notoriously difficult to measure, but we will endeavor to assess them nonetheless. The goals of our new schedule are to reduce student stress, unleash program opportunities, generate authentic student engagement and inspiration. We will return to these goals as we evaluate the success of the new schedule. We will rely on formal surveys of students, parents, and faculty as well as intensive listening and observance of the student experience. Furthermore, we will set up a regular pattern of evaluation with consideration to modifications and adjustments that will improve our use of time.
Will the new schedule mean a less rigorous curriculum?
rigor: noun \’ri-ger\
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difficult or unpleasant condition or experience associated with something.
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the quality or state of being very careful, exact, or strict.
When describing education, the term rigor has come to represent many different things for different people and as such has lost some usefulness as a descriptor of academic programming. To the extent that rigor represents exhausting, stressful, demoralizing workloads and daily life, then we expect our new schedule to drastically reduce rigor. Where rigor represents high expectations for learning outcomes, quality intellectual pursuit, and opportunities for inspiration and independent pursuits, we strongly believe our new schedule will bring progress, growth, and yes, rigor.
Is our new schedule a departure from conventional scheduling wisdom? What other schools have a schedule with longer periods?
No. We feel it represents academic scheduling at its most aspirational. In making this change, we've taken a year to study it. Other schools that now have a similar schedule are Spence, Allen-Stevenson and Grace Church — just to name a few.
