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How to Teach Boys & Girls Equitably

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Thu, 03/14/2013 - 9:22am
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Creating conditions where everyone flourishes

 From the Winter 2012-13 Caller

By Barbara Ostos & Lark P. Palma

A short history of equity in education

The education of boys and girls has been debated since the establishment of formal education in the United States. At the end of the 18th century, society’s established gender roles, cultural norms, and perceived futures for boys and girls resulted in boys being granted higher educational opportunities than girls, for the most part. Colonial expansion demanded more literacy of women who were often involved in family businesses, leading to increased equity for girls’ education—but this was often still segregated and not the same as that of the boys. America’s westward expansion led to more coeducational opportunities, because population was small and educating boys and girls together made financial sense. Depending on state and private or public school systems during this period, education became more accessible for both genders, but access did not necessarily mean equality.
 
The passage of Title IX in 1972 made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex in public schools in athletics, financial aid, career counseling, admission practices, and the treatment of students. Two years later, the Women’s Educational Equity Act provided support to schools to recruit girls for math, science, and athletic programs. Teachers received training to increase awareness of possible gender bias in the curriculum and their pedagogy. Twenty years later, the American Association of University Women commissioned a study, completed by the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, that challenged the common assumption that girls and boys were being treated equally in public schools. They reported that girls do not receive equitable amounts of teacher attention, are less apt to see themselves reflected in the materials they study, and often are not expected or encouraged to pursue higher-level math and science. This report, with its 40 recommendations, sparked a 20-year debate on how best to teach boys and girls and the nature of single-gender and coeducational schools.

What do we know now that’s different?

Because of advances in brain science and educational research since those days, we are now able to pose a question that could not have been asked or answered in the 1700s, 1972, 1992, or even 2002: What do we know about boys and girls that informs how they learn? Girls’ and boys’ brains are different, and these differences manifest themselves in how they learn. As a coeducational school, Catlin Gabel is committed to serving both genders well in an environment that allows them to thrive and enjoy each day of school.
 
For many years, debate over structural differences in the brain due to gender has been lively. Myriad theories have been posited, but what is broadly accepted is that different regions of the brain develop in a different sequence in the two genders. For instance, researchers reported at a recent National Association for Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE) conference that while the areas of the brain involved in language and fine motor skills mature earlier in girls than boys, the areas of the brain involved in targeting and spatial memory mature earlier in boys. As reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, this type of insight connects
 
Differences in how the two genders learn are most pronounced at the younger ages and transcend personality and cultural constructs. Girls tend to evaluate themselves more judgmentally than boys, hold themselves to a higher standard in the traditional classroom environment, and tend to outperform boys in school (as reported at NASSPE). Ironically, girls are more likely to be excessively critical of themselves and lack self-confidence, while boys demonstrate high estimates of their abilities and are more confident than girls. Not surprising, psychologists have found that motivation for boys and girls also tends to differ. Eva Pomerantz and Jill Saxton wrote in the journal Child Development that girls are more concerned than boys are with pleasing adults, while boys are motivated by material that interests them personally.

Strategies to guarantee success

Knowing these differences between the genders, what are some strategies coeducational schools can use to help guarantee the equitable success of both boys and girls? How does Catlin Gabel address this challenge for the benefit of all students?
 
The core values that guide teaching and learning at Catlin Gabel lay the best foundation for coeducational teaching: relationships, spirit of inquiry, community, critical and creative thinking, experiential learning, and integrity. Student confidence and success build on the relationships students develop with their teachers and each other. As described on Catlin Gabel’s website, “Students learn in a social context that colors their experience and impacts their learning. Teachers understand that relationships provide fertile ground for learning and strive to create the kind of classroom in which students are free to discuss, disagree, formulate ideas, and wonder.”
 
The spirit of inquiry at Catlin Gabel supports students’ confidence in asking questions, independent thinking, and respect for diverse views. The voices of boys and girls in the room enhance the learning environment and foster curiosity, openness to differing perspectives, and the desire to keep learning. Children learn to become competent, caring, respectful, contributing members of a community at school—just as in communities outside of school, where a diverse group of men and women work together. Sharing community from an early age at a school that gives credence to all student voices allows boys and girls to learn how to communicate and collaborate with one another.
 
We strive to create conditions that encourage students to know the power of their own ideas, develop new-to-them ways of doing things, be able to think inventively and reason well, and critically assess ideas and events. A school that encourages creativity, teaches critical thinking and analysis, and supports discussion with broad perspectives from both genders provides for the development of thoughtfulness and confidence for both girls and boys.
 
Experiential education means that students learn through real and direct exposure to places, events, and people. Active learning helps both boys and girls learn deeply and retain their experience and connections. Exploring beliefs and values in a setting where students listen to and begin to understand others’ points of view gives them the freedom to explore their own core beliefs, then test and revise them—all within the context of a supportive community. Helping students develop integrity and understand its value is an important goal at Catlin Gabel.
 
In addition to the school’s core approach to working with students, other aspects of Catlin Gabel’s philosophy lead to the success of a coeducational environment. Reading and discussing issues that connect to the real world, as well as to students’ lives, builds a foundation upon which students can have strong opinions and feelings. The curriculum strives to make connections for students and asks them to speak about their thoughts and feelings. The ability to confidently verbalize ideas is a lifelong skill that leads to success across disciplines for students. As a coeducational environment, when appropriate, we can separate boys and girls to address various issues or dynamics. For instance, during human sexuality and health classes when discussing sensitive issues, separation can provide a level of comfort for discussion. Students appreciate these divisions, but often comment that while they like it for a little while, they are glad to be reunited. While teaching pedagogy is at the core of creating an environment that balances the needs of boys and girls, perhaps the most important factor for successful coeducation is having teachers of both genders so students can see themselves reflected in their classroom leader. At Catlin Gabel we are fortunate that all divisions benefit from male and female teachers.
 
While the beginnings of education were androcentric, education in the U.S. has become accessible to both genders. Science has allowed us to better understand brain development of boys and girls, leading to thoughtful discourse on how to best serve students in a co– educational environment. Catlin Gabel’s progressive roots and our commitment to community and respect allow the school to feel confident in its service to both boys and girls now, and for many years to come.
 
Barbara Ostos has been Middle School head since 2011. She holds an EdD in educational leadership from the University of California, San Diego, an MA in nonprofit leadership & management from the University of San Diego, and a BA in government from Harvard University. Lark Palma has been Catlin Gabel’s head of school since 1995. She holds a PhD in English literature and an MEd from the University of South Carolina, and a BA in English from George Mason University.
 
Barbara Ostos completed her doctoral dissertation last year at the University of California, San Diego. Her work, Tapping on the Glass: The Intersection of Leadership and Gender in Independent School Administration, explored questions of transformational leadership— how heads of independent schools can provide vision, stability, and inspiration and lead teams of people in cooperative ways—as well as the relationship between leadership style and gender. Her study’s findings, supported by extensive research in the public sector, constitute a call to action for independent schools to develop policies and establish practices that resolve the gender disparity in independent school leadership. You may download her full study. 

REFERENCES AND CITATIONS 

Boyatzis, Chris, E. Chazan, & C. Z. Ting. “Preschool children's decoding of facial emotions.” Journal of Genetic Psychology, 154, 1993.
 
Costa, Paul, Antonio Terracciano, & Robert McCrae. "Gender differences in personality traits across cultures: robust and surprising findings." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, volume 81, number 2, 2001.
 
Feingold, Alan. "Gender differences in personality: a meta-analysis." Psychological Bulletin, volume 116, 1994.
 
Hanlon, Harriet, Robert Thatcher, & Marvin Cline. “Gender differences in the development of EEG coherence in normal children.” Developmental Neuropsychology, 16(3), 1999.
 
Higgins, E.T. “Development of self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes: costs, benefits, and trade-offs.” In Gunnar, Megan R. & L. Alan Sroufe, editors, Self Processes and Development, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991.
 
Labarthe, Jean Christophe. “Are boys better than girls at building a tower or a bridge at 2 years of age?” Archives of Diseases of Childhood, 77, 1997.
 
Madigan, Jennifer C. The education of girls and women in the United States: a historical perspective. Montgomery Center for Research in Child & Adolescent Development, Advances in Gender and Education, 1, 2009.
 
NIH/NIMH. "Sexual dimorphism of brain developmental trajectories during childhood and adolescence." NeuroImage, volume 36, number 4, 2007.
 
Pomerantz, Eva, Ellen Altermatt, & Jill Saxon. “Making the grade but feeling distressed: gender differences in academic performance and internal distress.” Journal of Educational Psychology, volume 94, number 2, 2002.
 
Pomerantz, Eva, & Jill Saxon. "Conceptions of ability as stable and self-evaluative processes: a longitudinal examination." Child Development, volume 72, 2001.
 
Riordan, Cornelius. Girls and boys in school: Together or separate? New York: Teachers College Press, 1990.
 

 

 

Of Leading and Learning

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 10:21am
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By Lark P. Palma, PhD, Head of School

In January I was heartbroken to learn of the death of former headmaster Manvel “Schauff” Schauffler, one of the school’smost distinctive and important leaders. He established many practices that continue to this day, about caring for and respecting one other and the school, and about learning through experience. When teachers load students into a bus to go learn firsthand about their community and the world around them—that’s Schauff. I have heard so many stories about the many ways he supported students, moved them towards an understanding of how to act gracefully and compassionately, and made them feel like useful members of the community.
 
Schauff did that for me, too. He would write me unexpected and encouraging letters about leading Catlin Gabel, knowing that we shared many of the same joys and challenges. I’ve saved all those letters, which are a treasure to me. I hope that we all strive to be as generous as he was, and learn how to make others believe in themselves the way he did.
 
Ruth Catlin, one of Catlin Gabel’s founders, established her school with the intent “to contribute to the community and its schools an educational laboratory, free to utilize the knowledge and wisdom of leading educators.” This issue of the Caller celebrates Ruth Catlin’s devotion to continued education, and examination of what it means to teach and learn, by featuring the educational research of some of our faculty members and division heads.
 
Catlin Gabel’s philosophy and practices emphasize equipping educators with the tools they need to provide the best possible education for our students. In practical terms, this means that we offer professional development funds for every teacher and staff member. With this freedom, they can immerse themselves in the latest thinking about their chosen field, learn about best practices in independent schools, meet with their peers to learn how to put new concepts into use, and engage in their own research.
 
The articles that follow demonstrate the fruits of Catlin Gabel’s commitment to teaching and learning, for both adults and children, and the quest to discover more about how education works best in an independent school. From gender to mathematics to technology, you’ll read about just a very few of the current issues in education that will continue to evolve.  
 


 

Breaking News: Lark Palma to Leave Catlin Gabel Next Year

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Thu, 11/15/2012 - 2:53pm
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From the Autumn 2012 Caller

 

Lark Palma has announced her intention to leave Catlin Gabel at the end of the 2013–14 school year, after 18 years as head of school. Lark has been Catlin Gabel’s longest-serving head, and she will leave a strong and enduring legacy.

Board chair Steve Gordon said, “In providing us ample time for a thorough search, Lark Palma graces Catlin Gabel once again. This will be an inclusive process with involvement from the whole community.” He says that the board will appoint a search committee and hire a search consultancy firm as soon as possible, to begin the nationwide search for a new head of school. The board expects a new head to be in place by the fall of 2014.
 
Lark will continue her ambitious charge in this year and next as head of school. “In addition to my ongoing commitment to outstanding academic and co-curricular programs, my top priorities are obtaining our continued accreditation with flying colors, and advancing the Campaign for Arts and Minds,” she says.
 
“I am confident we will finish the campaign in the next two years. I continue to meet with prospective donors, tell our story, and encourage their commitment to Catlin Gabel’s future,” she says. “Many others who appreciate the opportunity to make a difference in the life of our school share my passion for this place.”
 
A visionary leader, Lark has overseen great advancements in curriculum and fundraising, and enhanced the campus. She brought the Knight Family Scholars program to Catlin Gabel. She has led the charge to review the curriculum across the divisions to create a seamless educational experience for our students in all disciplines. She has revitalized global, outdoor education, and urban studies programs, all of which teach children through experience how to successfully make their way in the world. She has fostered interdisciplinary classes, most recently in environmental science and policy.
 
Lark says that “buildings are curriculum,” and under her leadership the school built a world-class track and field, remodeled the Beginning School, and built the Upper School library and buildings for math, science, modern languages, and humanities. Construction has begun this fall on a new Creative Arts Center for Middle and Upper School.
 
Although Catlin Gabel is a small independent school, Lark Palma has earned the stature in our region equivalent to that of a leader in higher education. She has inspired others to join her in this vision for a strong and vital school that adapts to changing times while staying true to its philosophy and mission.
 
Please check Catlin Gabel’s website for updates on the process as it unfolds. 

 

The Consummate Professionals

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Mon, 11/12/2012 - 4:08pm
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 From the Autumn 2012 Caller

By Lark P. Palma, PhD, Head of School

 

No matter what study you reference about school reform, the most important element of successful schools is the excellence and effectiveness of the teacher. Teaching involves an intricate, complex, and challenging set of skills. Teachers may make as many as a thousand choices within one school day, including making quick and nuanced adaptations of the lesson plan, figuring out how to communicate best with each individual student (verbally? through body language?), when to pause effectively, and how to pace the lesson and shape activities to sustain the students’ attention.
Given the complexity of teaching and the solitary nature of a classroom, where a regular feedback loop is not available daily, teachers need and seek feedback on their teaching from peers and supervisors. I ponder the reluctance of teachers nationally to trust evaluation systems that are designed to improve their practice, not to weed them out. Their reluctance is complex – and there may be reasons to be distrustful – but, like any other respected profession, teachers undergo yearly reviews. I am saddened by the teacher-bashing that is the substance of much political discourse, but how can we gain stature as a profession if we resist constructively critical commentary?
 
Catlin Gabel’s professional growth system, instituted in the late nineties, adopted the work of Charlotte Danielson, an economist, teacher, curriculum specialist, and supervisor in schools for many years. When she was charged to help develop a system for professional growth, she conducted a study of thousands of teachers to identify characteristics of the most successful teachers. The result was Enhancing Professional Practice (Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 1996). The elements of highly effective teaching were divided into planning and preparation, class environment, instruction, and professional responsibility. Under each characteristic are numerous behaviors that the teacher and the supervisor reflect on and observe on a continuum, combined with classroom visits and immediate feedback. We adopted her model because the process was sensitive to the diversity of teaching styles, respectful of the complexity of the teaching-learning process, and easily adapted to the mission of our school and our bedrock belief in student-centered, experiential learning. Our goal is to make sure that every teacher at Catlin Gabel is evaluated using this process. The system empowers teachers, in whatever stage in their career, in whatever subject, to move from good to great; great to greater.
 
We look for teachers from robust national and international candidate pools who have demonstrated the attributes inherent in our professional model. We observe how they teach classes here to our own students, their recommendations from current employers, and through individual reference phone calls. We watch their interactions with our own students very carefully and ask for written evaluations from a committee of older students. They are the best judges. All candidates we select for daylong interviews are experts in their disciplines or grade levels; they are the ones who we can see are magic with students.
We create a superb faculty by starting with superb employees. We give them instructional materials and technology, fund innovation and new team summer planning, and give them freedom and unbridled support to execute innovative ideas. Most importantly, we give these professionals ongoing support at perfecting the art and the craft of teaching.
 
This issue presents snapshots of teachers who started at Catlin Gabel in four different decades. They share their career development and why they are teachers. They ARE the consummate professionals.

 

Use it Up, Wear it Out, Eat it All

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 11:34am
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From the Summer 2012 Caller

By Lark P. Palma PhD, Head of School

Over the sink in our South Carolina home hung a small green sign that embodied one of my mother’s strongest beliefs: “Use it up, wear it out, eat it all!”
 
We had fresh free-range eggs and chickens, an old-fashioned ice box on the back porch filled with local fruits and vegetables, bushels of blue crab claws, flounder, and bass that we gathered ourselves or that were given to my physician father as payment for medical services. For some people these gifts were the only way they had to pay the doctor, so we happily accepted the fishermen’s and farmers’ bounty.
 
My childhood shaped my attitudes about food. It should be enjoyed with lots of people. It should take some time to prepare. It should be as delicious as possible and be provided from the closest sources that the season provides. Because of my early exposure to good food, my life habits were set.
 
In this issue you will read many examples of curricular depth in interdisciplinary and experiential studies of food and nutrition, from social science, to health and PE, to science, math, the humanities, and languages. Our students study food as culture in modern languages, and read Jared Diamond’s Collapse in 9th grade history. As the students get older their learning circle expands to particular communities in this state (Oregon is one of the hungriest states in the country), other states with similar statistics, and countries all over the world for whom food insecurity is a chronic problem. The effects of famine, soil erosion, deforestation, and political control of food to subdue or exterminate groups of people create debilitating diseases and high childhood mortality. We acknowledge that if we teach our students to understand their relationship with food, they will be better be able to study and understand the conditions of people in communities not like ours.
 
Our students come to recognize these disparities, and with compassion and resolve volunteer with local agencies that work against hunger. We have the good fortune to have 60 acres in which our students run and play, participate in athletics, and develop their own personal fitness goals, allowing them to develop healthy habits from the earliest age.
 
The way the school supports, reflects on, and models the way we should think about food lends complexity to something that might seem simple at first. And should you come to Catlin Gabel’s campus, be sure to stop by our Barn, the center of our food service, and see how that has changed, with its emphasis on fresh, local, and healthful foods. It’s a representation of our seriousness about nutrition, health, sustainability, and global awareness. In recognition of wider realities, we really do “use it up, wear it out, and eat it all.”  

 

What Makes a School Resilient?

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Mon, 03/19/2012 - 3:24pm
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Catlin Gabel sees change as opportunity

By Lark P. Palma, Head of School

Resiliency is an important character trait that we nurture in our students at Catlin Gabel from their earliest years. During their time in school—both in class and in their home lives—students will encounter difficult situations and what may appear to be insurmountable obstacles. Our charge is to support them as they navigate the shoals, fostering in them the ability to get through these situations with positivity, to think creatively about how to approach and solve them, and in the end to learn from these challenges, building the skills to get back on their feet, smarter and stronger. When the next hard situation presents itself, our students will have built confidence in their ability to do what needs to be done and bounce back.
 
The same dynamic applies to institutions. Catlin Gabel serves as an example of a resilient school, one that has come through hard times to emerge healthier and hardier. Catlin Gabel itself grew out of crisis. Both the Catlin and Gabel schools were undergoing hard times that threatened their continued existence. The visionaries who saw the wisdom in merging the two schools created a positive solution that—although it seemed risky at the time—forged a school that benefited from the philosophies, practices, people, and long, noble histories of both the Catlin and Gabel schools. Our school today as we know it turned out healthier from this union than its founders might have imagined.
 
Catlin Gabel has also weathered recent crises, a case in point being the economic downturn that began in 2008. The hard times hit our families, resulting in a 38% increase in new requests for financial aid for the 2008–09 school year. That could have been a devastating moment for Catlin Gabel. Instead, we all took a deep collective breath and thought hard about how to weather this situation well. I took some tough and necessary steps to intensify our fiscal prudence, including mandatory budget cuts. I suspended our capital fundraising campaign, taking stock of how financial conditions had changed for our families and allowing our endowment the time it needed to rebound. Retaining our students and keeping our community intact was my biggest goal through this crisis.
 
And we did prevail. Today Catlin Gabel is stronger than it’s ever been. I believe that that recovery is due in part to the character of this school. As a school that’s always seen itself as a laboratory for new concepts, we are wired to see change as an opportunity, not as an obstacle. We are predisposed to changing with intention, always analyzing how we can learn and grow from the inevitable challenges of being a school that must move with the times, a school made of people who are affected by the winds that move the world.

You’ll read in this Caller about how our students, counselors, teachers, alumni, and families build resiliency in and out of the classroom. These stories speak to how we stay strong as an institution, and how, along with our families, we help create the conditions that are necessary for our students’ education, growth, and well-being.

Video: Why come to Catlin Gabel?

Submitted by Karen Katz on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 5:04pm
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Student body president interviews head of school

Spend a minute-and-a-half with James and Lark to find out
why you should come to Catlin Gabel

Catlin Gabel Video Conversations #4

Submitted by Karen Katz on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 4:49pm
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Lark Palma asks James Furnary '12 about the college counseling support he's received at Catlin Gabel

Catlin Gabel video conversations #3

Submitted by Karen Katz on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 3:00pm
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Lark Palma asks James Furnary '12 about the leadership skills he has honed at Catlin Gabel in this one-minute segment.

Financial Aid Creates a Stronger School

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Fri, 11/18/2011 - 3:05pm
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By Lark P. Palma, head of school

From the Fall 2011 Caller

Catlin Gabel’s long-term plan states that developing diversity of all kinds, including economic diversity, is an imperative.  Our school has long been committed to financial aid, but now we are deepening that commitment in many ways, including the campaign to raise significant support for financial aid. Accessibility is the dream we pursue.
 
The pages of this magazine are brimming with evidence of why different perspectives enrich learning and how we are attempting to capture a whole new universe of students through new financial aid and scholarship programs.
 
This year 26% of our students receive some amount of financial assistance. We would like to do more. Sometimes, we cannot offer enough; sometimes, families don’t apply because they think the school is beyond their financial reach. Our school community has come to a greater awareness of the importance of attracting students from all over the local area who will contribute to our community intellectually, emotionally, socially, artistically, and athletically.
 
Independent schools have certainly learned from colleges, which award generous financial assistance. But in independent schools, usually only about ten percent of students awarded aid need full financial assistance—which means that their students come from an incomplete continuum of life experiences. I think of so many students whose families thought Catlin Gabel was out of reach until they were coaxed to take a second look, or those who worked through family hardships to attend. Catlin Gabel must have the resources to matriculate any student—regardless of resources—who demonstrates a match with the values of our school and our goals for every student.
 
As teachers and parents, we want our students to feel like part of our communities, and by extension, the rest of the world. This is why we strive to build a culture where everyone from every part of town, with various talents, and from varying economic and social backgrounds, can come for a great education. In an atmosphere of community, relationships, and respect, all students can find their space for growth.
 
We have the fertile soil for this garden to grow. We are succeeding as much as we can, with the resources we have, in bringing phenomenal students from every corner of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and Clark Counties and beyond. But we want to do more. We need to do more.
 
A student once said to me, “I feel completely at home here because I have access to what every other student has. I have a laptop, I can go on a trip, I can have my textbooks, a choir dress, and bus tickets. I don’t feel left out or discouraged by my family’s economics. I have the same opportunities as all the other students. I know I will succeed.”
 
Her words, and the successes I see in our students and alumni, continue to inspire me as I lead this charge. Through funds for financial aid and thoughtful admission practices, which you’ll read about in this issue, we forge a stronger Catlin Gabel. With focus and determination we continually create and re-create a learning community of the brightest minds, who bring character, diversity, and substance to their classes and enhance all our lives.

 

 

Catlin Gabel Video Conversations #2

Submitted by Karen Katz on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:23pm
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Lark Palma and James Furnary '12 talk about supporting our school

Catlin Gabel Video Conversations #1

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Lark Palma and James Furnary '12 talk about 2011-12 priorities

A New Creative Arts Center– Now is the Time

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Thu, 07/21/2011 - 11:06am
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By Lark P. Palma, head of school

From the Summer 2011 Caller

Our alumni will tell you: Catlin Gabel taught them habits of thinking and new ways to question their world—and new ways to practice and develop their innate creativity. These skills of thinking and creating serve them well as the basis for fulfilling careers and satisfying lives. And in fact these days, as the world quickly changes, creativity is fast becoming the skill that colleges, graduate schools, and employers look for first. In a time of rapid change, those who adapt and flourish best are those flexible thinkers who are not afraid of innovation.
 
There is no discipline better than the arts to encourage and develop creativity. Our classes in music, theater, visual art, media art, and woodshop call upon our students to stretch themselves, take enormous leaps, and learn to express themselves through mediums that are often unfamiliar, and scary at times. A blank canvas, a role in a play, an assignment to make a music video, an instrument they’ve never played before—all demand courage and a connection between brain, hand, and heart.
 
We’ve done amazingly well at Catlin Gabel over the years in providing places for creativity to take hold. But we can do better. You’ll read in this issue about our plans to build a new creative arts center. And I couldn’t be more thrilled to present these plans to you. I believe that this is what Catlin Gabel needs most right now, and I hope that my conviction and enthusiasm for this project will grab you, too.
 
As you walk our campus, you see students of all ages benefiting from the facilities we’ve built, such as our light-filled Miller Library, our Warren Middle School with its wonderful gathering space, the well-loved Lower School Art Barn, and Upper School science labs where authentic, original research is taking place. But our Middle and Upper School arts programs sorely lack the facilities they need to best help our students expand their creative skills.
 
We all gladly do what we can with what we have on campus. But it makes my heart sink to see our Middle Schoolers performing in the tiny, dilapidated Chipmunk Hollow, or watch Upper School students painting, printmaking, and drawing in a room that can’t accommodate a large work of art. It’s time for us to provide something more in keeping with our ambitions for our students.
 
By providing a center for creativity, we will send our students out in the world prepared to navigate a new landscape. Last year Newsweek published a feature story about the creativity crisis, noting that the U.S. is losing its status as the nation of ideas that others imitate. Fortune 500 companies must know it, because many now administer creativity tests to future employees. Colleges and universities realize this: among others, Princeton, Brown, Pomona, and Stanford are also building creative arts centers. Important discoveries in science, exceptional business models, and successes of all kinds are born from the wellspring of creativity—the new, the great idea.
 
In our new creative arts center, the free flow of thought, creative energy, and mixture of all the arts in true collaboration will help forge the kinds of minds that generate big ideas. Our students will build on those habits of creativity and confidence to be poised for innovation—in fields that include science, math, technology, and engineering. We have to make sure that our children can create jobs for themselves that don’t even exist yet, and that they have the fire and drive, fueled by creative thinking, to make a difference in this world. Let’s give our students the creative boost they need to succeed.

 

 

Mission and Vision: The Cornerstones of Tradition and Change

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Thu, 03/31/2011 - 3:14pm
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By Lark P. Palma, PhD, Head of School

From the Winter 2010-11 Caller

When you think about your experiences in school, what do you remember best? It’s probably not what happened in class, but the long-held traditions: the plays, the picnics, commencement, the dances and banquets, the times when a school felt like a community. We have many wonderful traditions at Catlin Gabel, some of which you’ll read about in this issue of the Caller. And although we love our traditions, we also feel free to innovate and change.
 
The strong, resilient visions of Ruth Catlin and Priscilla Gabel underlie our philosophy. With our mission as our rock, we are able to embrace both change and tradition. Like the Constitution, our mission is an anchor—not a blueprint. It gives us the confidence to interpret that mission as we move from decade to decade.
 
Traditions connect the generations together, while change never ceases. Every year we welcome new students, new parents, new faculty, and new staff. Each year our world is challenged by conflicts, competition, and complexity. We cherish our beloved traditions in the context of the changing world, and the passion that helps us create traditions helps us change them. Our mission tells us who we are—but it doesn’t tell us what to do next.
 
Versed in our mission and the traditions, our creative, ambitious, and dedicated faculty and staff have the courage to welcome innovation. Innovation keeps the educational experience fresh and relevant for our students, as it was for students back in Ruth Catlin’s day.
 
We’re seeing change throughout the school, and it’s all steeped in our deepest tenets. Our urban studies and leadership program, PLACE (Planning and Leadership Across City Environments), has expanded our commitment to experiential education and service to others. Our school has had a tradition of reaching out to communities around Portland; now we serve the children of Hispanic migrant families in a homework club in Hillsboro. Global programs have begun to include significant service elements, from Costa Rica to Martinique, to Botswana and Senegal. We have had a long tradition of helping students connect with their learning styles and best approaches to learning. Starting this fall, professional development and learning services for children will be linked in our re-visioned teaching and learning center led by the dynamic Paul Andrichuk, who will be moving there from his post as Middle School head. We’ve always taught art with verve and respect for the powers of creativity; now students create that art in film and video, computer graphics, photography, and other new media.
 
The school has long sought mission-appropriate students who can bring their unique talents to this unique community. You will read in this issue about the new Knight Family Scholars Program, which will help us bring outstanding students to Catlin Gabel from a variety of communities. The program will expand our Upper School curriculum with innovative seminars and intensive off-campus experiences. The Knight Family gift is extremely generous, but it does not mean that it’s a time for us to rest. Resources for financial aid continue to be a longstanding, urgent need. Having sufficient funds for aid will allow our school to develop a diverse student body, in all senses of that word, and ensure that we are able to offer admission to our top student candidates, regardless of their financial situation. We are grateful to the Knight Family for setting a high bar for us—and there is so much more to be done.
 
The Knight Family Scholars program, our new Service Corps volunteer program, and our curricular innovations represent the best of what change can bring to a school. Our hearts are big enough to enjoy the traditions that define us, change with time, and build the best future we can for our students.

 

Arts campaign update

Submitted by Karen Katz on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 3:39pm
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Interview with Lark Palma, head of school

by Karen Katz '74, communications director

Catlin Gabel plans to build a new Middle and Upper School arts facility, something the school has needed for a long time. So far architect Brad Cloepfil and his Allied Works team have developed preliminary designs, and we are in the leadership stage of fundraising. Here Lark answers some important questions about the project.

Why we are building an arts center

What are the educational benefits of studying art, especially if you aren’t an artsy person?
Beginning School parent, noted artist, and Rhode Island School of Design alumnus Michael Lazarus explained it beautifully when he said, “We are developing one of the most important tools: a creative, problem-solving mind. The process of art making is great practice for life!”

We know that art education strengthens overall academic achievement and school success. Studies show that young people who participate in the arts are:

  • Four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
  • Four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
  • Four times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem

And, compared with their peers who do not take art classes they:

  • Read for pleasure nearly twice as often
  •  Perform community service more than four times as often

In a still challenging economy, can we afford to invest resources in the arts?
One hallmark of a Catlin Gabel education is innovation. Another is our dedication to a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences curriculum. The arts are central to innovation and a well-rounded education. We cannot afford to ignore the arts. Can you imagine Stanford or MIT neglecting the arts? That would be unthinkable! In fact, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Pomona are raising money for arts facilities. We’re in fine company. Don’t think of this as investing in a building; we’re investing in our students.

What are the arts requirements at Catlin Gabel?
The arts are integral to our program schoolwide. Creative study is central to our mission. We require all students to be involved in the arts throughout their time at the school. Beginning and Lower School students take art, music, and woodshop. Middle School students rotate through a full complement of arts classes in drama, music, woodshop, fine art, and media arts. Upper School students are required to take at least two years of art — many take three or four years — and choose from a wide array of classes.

What does the future of the arts look like at Catlin Gabel?
Lower School head Vicki Roscoe is leading a two-year curriculum review of the arts. Arts teachers are working with Vicki to investigate best practice in arts education, examine the role of technology in the arts, and explore the role arts play in cross-disciplinary studies. We are excited that the curriculum review coincides with the arts center project, because it allows our teachers to think big.

Project nuts and bolts

I thought the arts center was going to be built two years ago. Why was the project delayed?
The economy! While a handful of generous families stepped forward, the downturn in the economy delayed the larger fundraising effort.

Where are we in the process?
We have selected an architect, approved a preliminary schematic design, formed a volunteer campaign committee, and secured some important lead gifts. Fundraising is one of my top priorities this year.

When will shovels go in the ground?
The board of trustees determined that we would only break ground when 80 percent of the funds are raised. The facility will cost $6.9 million total. We need about $4.1 million more to proceed. We hope to break ground next year; construction will take about 15 months.

Tell us more about the architect.
Brad Cloepfil and his team at Allied Works Architecture are known nationwide and are becoming internationally known for designing facilities that fuel creativity. An early local project example is the Wieden + Kennedy Agency headquarters in Portland. Current parent Renny Gleeson, global director of digital strategies at Wieden + Kennedy, describes their building as a spa for the soul. Allied Works also designed the Seattle Art Museum expansion, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.

Brad Cloepfil studied with Thomas Hacker, who created Catlin Gabel’s master plan in 1996, designed most of the Upper School buildings and grounds, and remodeled the Beginning School. It is fitting that Tom and Brad’s teacher-student relationship will be reflected on our campus.

How would you describe the early schematic design?
Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works has sketched out an elegant yet simple, open facility that will attract spectators, art dabblers, and serious artists alike. We’ve joked about naming the building the Magnet! The design includes an outdoor courtyard that mirrors the Upper School quad and an indoor gallery, both of which will serve as community gathering spots.

What will the new arts center house?
Middle and Upper School classrooms, including fine arts and media arts studios, vocal and instrumental classrooms, a computer music lab and music rehearsal rooms, a gallery, and an intimate black box theater with a spring floor for classes, rehearsals, and performances. The facility will be a great venue for interdisciplinary studies, collaborative project work, and independent study.

How will the building accommodate changes in the arts curriculum?
Allied Works is especially thoughtful about how arts education has changed and will change in ways we cannot even predict. Their design emphasizes flexibility so that different disciplines can be accommodated. The plans call for raw studio space that is like an artists’ retreat. The students and teachers who use the spaces will influence how they are used. A studio might house a filmmaking class one year and a painting class the next. The black box will be a haven for drama, dance, and music. For the first time students will be able to collaborate across disciplines on a single project, in the same space.

The Cabell Center is in great shape. Why do we need a black box theater?
The Cabell Center is in high demand for performances, classes, lectures, formal presentations, meetings, assemblies, rehearsals, and community events. It doesn’t accommodate our needs the way it did when it was built in 1973. For example, the Cabell Center is not available for the 19 performances produced by Middle School students each year. They make do in Chipmunk Hollow, a cramped and inadequate “temporary” building that was put up 42 years ago. The Middle School drama program will move to classrooms in the new arts center. Upper School students will also take classes in the new classrooms. Students in grades 6 – 12 will perform in the black box. The intimate size and flexibility of a black box is something we’ve needed for a long time, and will open up possibilities in our theater curriculum.

What is the location for the new arts center?
The building site is west of the Dant House and adjacent to the Middle and Upper School areas of campus. The building will link the Middle and Upper Schools, benefiting older and younger students academically, artistically, and socially. For the first time, Catlin Gabel will have a building that allows the arts faculty to work together in a central location. (Scroll down to see PDF of current arts facilities across campus.)

Will the new building free up space for other programs?
Most immediately, our computer science classes will no longer share space with media arts classes in the lower level of the library. It’s premature to make plans for the other 4,200 square feet of classroom space that will be vacated. We need to carefully consider what the greatest needs are before determining what programs move into current spaces such as Chipmunk Hollow, the Middle School art classroom, and the choir room.

Are we going to increase the size of the school when the arts center is built?
No, we are not planning to increase enrollment.

Funding the arts center

Is the new arts center a real need or a luxury?
Upper School students cannot paint on large canvases or do large three-dimensional works, because the art studio is too small. Film editors and composers collaborating on a project, for one example, must work separately in classrooms that are across campus from each other. Bringing the arts together in one facility will provide proximity, stimulating collaboration and increasing creativity.

During the past 17 years, the school has grown, but the square footage per student that is dedicated to the arts has decreased. The lack of adequate space for teaching the arts has been singled out in our last two accreditation reports as an important area for improvement. This project is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. We owe it to our students.

Have we secured any lead gifts?
Being in the leadership phase of fundraising means we are seeking families who are willing to be the first, and in some cases the largest, donors to the project. I am happy to say that several donors have stepped up with lead gifts. Campaign volunteers, trustees, the development team, and I are working hard to secure the 80 percent of funding we need to break ground.

Will everyone be asked to give?
In due course, we will ask all parents, alumni, faculty-staff, and friends to participate in supporting the arts campaign. I love how campaign co-chair Craig Hartzman talks about the responsibility shared by all community members to invest in our school’s future, just as others have done before us. People who cared about the future funded every building on this campus. That is what community responsibility is all about.

Does this mean the Annual Fund and the Gambol auction will ease up?
Absolutely not. Our first priority is to fund the operating budget, which includes $1.5 million in essential annual gifts. Historically, capital campaigns strengthen overall giving to programs like the Annual Fund and the auction.

Find out more

How can people see for themselves what our arts program is about?
The arts faculty welcomes drop-in visitors. They are very proud of the program and are eager for parents and friends to see why our students deserve better facilities. We want parents, especially of younger students, to see the amazing array of talent and artistic pursuit in our upper grades. Please e-mail or call arts department chair Laurie Carlyon-Ward to arrange for a tour, carlyon-wardl@catlin.edu or 503-297-1894 ext. 402.

A lot of information about the arts program is available on our website, including an overview and the Upper School course catalog, which is a great resource for class descriptions.

Can you share the architect’s schematics?
We are not posting the current schematic design on the website because it is a preliminary plan, and building plans tend to evolve. We don’t want people to become wedded to something that could change significantly. But we are presenting the designs at a Lower School coffee on Monday, March 7, at 8:30 a.m.; at a Beginning School coffee on Friday, March 18, at 9:15 after Friday Sing; and at a yet-to-be-scheduled PFA meeting in the spring. Join us!

application/pdf iconArts classrooms across campus

The Unlimited World of Readers

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 3:49pm
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By Lark P. Palma, PhD, Head of School

From the Autumn 2010 Caller

When I hear teachers talk about the breakthroughs—the aha! moments—when a child makes the leap to linking the sound and letter of a word to its meaning, I am a bit envious. When I worked as a middle and upper school teacher, my job was to solidify and enhance what my students had learned, helping them become more sophisticated readers. What I learned about secondary reading is sound advice: spend almost as much time preparing the student for reading as for the reading itself. My work seeking the hooks on which to hang the reading, finding the deeper meanings and leading my students to discover those meanings for themselves, helped them become analytical readers who came to comprehend texts with depth and insight.
 
However great that was, I never had the opportunity to teach a young child to read. Despite all the methods, the science, and the research, the moment when a child recognizes a word and its meaning still seems magical to me. Recently I discovered a picture of my 5-year-old self in footie pajamas reading the comics. It brought back memories of figuring out from the illustrations what Brenda Starr or Prince Valiant was saying. Eventually, I could pair the repeated words with what I thought was going on. But although I don’t remember much about the moment I learned to read, I was fortunate that someone took an interest in me as a young reader and put wonderful books in my hands.
 
Dick and Jane, Tag, and Through the Garden Gate—the books we were all supposed to read—bored me beyond words. We lived on a tiny coastal island, and the library was the size of a small living room. But the unforgettable Miss Chastain was there, and she kept handing me books to read that she knew would spark my interest: The Five Little Peppers, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Secret Garden, Misty of Chincoteague, The Arabian Nights, Treasure Island, and many others. Her gesture implied “You will love this.” When no one else was there (which was often), she would let me read adult fiction. I gulped down great historical novels by Anya Seton and others, with their thrilling battles and momentous events. I felt like I was right there in the throes of the Puritan Revolution, the Great Plague, the building of cathedrals, and the Viking invasion of Britain. (The truly transformative books came later: the existentialists, Richard Brautigan, John Barth, Walker Percy, John Fowles, Kurt Vonnegut, D. H. Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf.)
 
Just as I had passed my books on to my brothers, so did I dole out the special books to my cousins and friends. The tradition continues today through two more generations. If you have someone in your life who sets the table and joyously offers you a smorgasbord of books, you will partake with gusto and pleasure.
 
I am so proud to be part of a school whose teachers make the world of reading come alive for their students. They place the right books in their hands, just as Miss Chastain did for me. Our teachers understand how to reach readers of all types of learning styles, so that they too can take part in absorbing and thrilling experiences with just the turns of a few pages. This issue of the Caller is full of stories of the transformative acts of both reading and writing, another area that we teach extraordinarily well. Please enjoy these stories, and don’t hesitate to share a much-loved book with me.

 

 

Communitas: The Gift of Coming Together

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 3:06pm
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By Lark P. Palma, PhD, Head of School

From the Spring 2010 Caller

What is a community? It’s undoubtedly different for every person, and each of us may have many different intersecting or distinct communities in our lives. A school community, like the one we have here at Catlin Gabel, distinguishes itself because in the process of education we explicitly teach children how to become good members of their society and their world, and we model behavior constantly for them. We show our students that we are always there for them, and that they are surrounded by caring adults who are ready to catch them if they fall, both literally and metaphorically. Students who have been at Catlin Gabel for any length of time feel that this school community, in which they have been immersed for hours every weekday, and maybe even evenings and weekends, is an enormous part of their lives.

 
We are fortunate to have the sense of connectedness and formation of social networks here at Catlin Gabel that we do. Grade-level friendships among parents and children, sports team affiliations, interactions among divisions of the school, and extracurricular and other groups help weave the complex whole that is our school. So many different kinds of people make up this entity—from facilities workers to fundraisers, to teachers and students of all ages, and families of all backgrounds— that building community takes time, empathy, and trust.
 
Scott Peck, in his work The Different Drum, offers some useful ideas on how to think about community. He asserts that when people are able to move beyond fear of controversy or revealing of strong opinions and talk frankly with each other, greater community can occur. Sometimes these processes are difficult, even painful, but, as Peck says, at the end of the process true community can exist.
 
True community comes to fruition when we are each able to speak our truth about our feelings and ideas, when we are able to listen to and appreciate one another, and are able to subsume our own personal desires to the higher, social good. We endeavor to teach our students to be humane and open to others’ needs, that sometimes the needs of a few spotlight important issues that need to be addressed, that any community needs to order itself through its guidelines, and that often the needs of the community must trump the needs of the individual. That is why the notion of community is so complex and elusive. Good community is like good communication: you know it when you really have it, but sometimes the journey to that point is long and uneasy.
 
We struggle along on that journey together, for good and bad, old and young, and share our deepest selves in the process. All of the stories in this issue of the Caller explore this notion of community and offer wonderful examples of how we try to live true community every day. How can we not be successful with all of this effort?
 
Enjoy this issue of the Caller, and please accept an opportunity to come to one of the many events that secure true community here. It’s wonderful to join together and see how our children learn to be part of a greater whole.

 

External validation affirms our values

Submitted by Karen Katz on Wed, 03/31/2010 - 4:00pm
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April 2010 "Headlines" by Lark Palma, head of school

Shortly before spring break, I traveled to the National Association of Independent Schools conference in San Francisco, then to Lakeside School in Seattle as a member of their PNAIS accreditation team. Both trips gave me the opportunity to look at Catlin Gabel from the outside and to gain external validation that what we do at our school is right and good.

I came away from conversations with school heads from other progressive schools, teachers at Lakeside, and CG alumni at a gathering in San Francisco with a renewed commitment to Catlin Gabel’s basic values of progressive, constructivist education.

In the elusive search for the perfect marketing hook, we sometimes shy away from these tenets because the words progressive and constructivist are unfamiliar to most prospective parents and students. In a culture of shrinking attention spans and a proliferation of information, we find it difficult to quickly explain what we all come to understand after we bear personal witness to Catlin Gabel’s essential qualities. The important educational ideals we must communicate, celebrate, and expand upon are:

• Education without emphasis on grades and tests

• Engagement as the number one factor in student success

• Excellent teaching and great student-teacher relationships

• Embracing students with diverse interests, learning styles, intellectual capacities, and social demeanors

• Flexibility to allow student interests to shape the curriculum and co-curriculum

• Giving students voice and trusting their wisdom—limited rules and regulations, judicial councils composed of students and teachers, and no hall passes.

• Commitment to our size: small enough for genuine community building and large enough to accommodate student interests and co-curriculars such as newspapers, robotics, athletics, and an array of social and activity groups

Many schools, including notable East Coast prep schools, are backing off from their traditional messages about prestigious college acceptance rates. Instead, they are focusing on messages about graduating students who know how to plan, self-evaluate, solve complex problems, and nourish their curiosity — the skills needed to succeed in college and career. I learned during my travels that thriving schools across the country are true to their missions. Schools trying to reconstruct themselves for market gain suffer from lack of identity and principle.

It has been good for me to get away from our little corner, join the national conversation, and renew my commitment to our basic values. I am heartened by Catlin Gabel’s commitment to progressive education–even if it is hard to describe in a 30-second “elevator speech.” We are in the enviable position of being a school that others look to for how to do it right. I couldn’t be more delighted.

This article first appeared in the April 2010 All-School News

Follow Your Passions!

Submitted by Nadine Fiedler on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 4:52pm
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By Lark P. Palma, PhD, Head of School

From the Winter 2010 Caller

Five o’clock on a South Carolina summer morning. My rounds started early, for a young girl. First I took care of my horse, Cricket—feeding, mucking, a ride on the beach, then out to pasture. Then I attended to my 35 rabbits, gathered eggs from the six red hens that scratched around the house, and released the ducks to the creek. Finally I wrangled Thistle the collie and Ginger the lamb for walks on their leashes.

Animals were my first great passion—and my parents allowed me to have them if I cared for them well and showed responsibility. I was filled with the same passion when I first played school in my room, lining up all of my stuffed animals and dolls, assigning arbitrary grades from A to F and relegating some to smart status, some not so smart. At school I watched with rapt attention how my teachers would teach us. At home I would either try to do it the same way or try to modify the techniques that didn’t work for my little class.

It was not until I became a teacher myself that I understood that, as someone with a passion for teaching, I could go beyond what’s expected and work with students to realize their own personal goals and passions. I finally saw that the very best model for teaching and learning centers on the relationship between the student and the teacher. What happens collectively as a class is important, but the one-on-one time a student and teacher have together is the most critical element.

It was a breakthrough for me when I realized that and learned—thanks to Roland Barthes, John Dewey, and others—that children are not receptacles for knowledge from adults, but teeming petri dishes of their own ideas and imaginations. How little my teachers in the fifties and sixties understood that—although teachers in Ruth Catlin and Priscilla Gabel’s schools certainly did get it.

Catlin Gabel is a school where teachers are drawn to teach, and we select them to do so, because they understand how children’s minds work, and they want to be surrounded by colleagues who feel the same.

This Caller is filled with stories of alumni and students who have pursued interests, passions, and yes, even obsessions. Graduates who fall into this category are legion, and the students and alumni represented here are just a small sample. Why would a school of this size produce so many people who lead with their passions and know themselves well enough to do that?

For one, Catlin Gabel provides an unfettered, free-ranging approach to solving problems, approaching assignments, and celebrating process over product. I learned to be a good rider because I studied my horse, paying heed to her temperament and the look in her eye, and treating her in a way that reflects that knowledge. In the same way, the students profiled here, whether involved in a sport, an academic pursuit, or an art, learn the value of deep concentration and focused attention. For example, visual artists, like the ones you’ll read about, see relationships among all disciplines, in color and in shapes, and takes those elements to create an original. But mostly, we at Catlin Gabel encourage students fully and unabashedly to follow their passions. And of course, there is the child herself, who has the gift inside. Parents, teachers, and the overarching ethos of the school only undergird those passions.

Alumnus, alumna, or current student, their uniqueness binds us all together and makes for a very, very interesting place to teach. Enjoy these stories.

 

Comparing Catlin Gabel to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Programs

Submitted by Site Administrator on Fri, 01/01/2010 - 2:00pm
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Q&A with Lark Palma, head of school

Edited from a longer piece published in the December 2008 All-School News newsletter.

Students and parents frequently ask me about the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs and how they compare with each other and with Catlin Gabel. Prospective students and their parents ask Traci Jernigan Rossi ’83 and Marsha Trump in the admission office about these programs, too. To help explain to our readers, Karen Katz ’74, communications director, interviewed me about the programs.

What is the history of the AP and IB programs?

In the 1950s educators identified a widening gap between student achievement in high school and college expectations. The AP program was developed to offer college-level curricula and assessment to students in high school. The International Baccalaureate Programme was created in the 1960s at the International School of Geneva to develop consistent curricula at schools in different countries for students whose families moved around the world.

Can you describe the AP and IB programs?

The programs are quite different from each other. One commonality, however, is that both programs establish a point of comparison for students in different schools. AP and IB are offered in a mix of small and large private, public, and international schools.

Advanced Placement is a registered program sponsored by the College Board, which also administers SATs. The AP classes are promoted as college level courses, and some colleges give college credit to students who do well on AP exams. You don’t have to take AP classes to take the AP exams. In fact, we do not offer AP classes, but many Catlin Gabel students take the AP exams and routinely score 4s and 5s (the range is 1 to 5). Paradoxically, we were recently identified by the College Board as having one of the best student success rates in AP math, science, and technology in Oregon and were nominated for the Siemens AP High School Award. However, it turns out we cannot receive the award because Catlin Gabel does not offer AP classes.

The International Baccalaureate Programme offers programs at three age levels: a primary program for students ages 3 to 12, a middle years program for students ages 11 to 16, and a two-year “Diploma Programme” for students aged 16 to 19. In the Portland area only the Beaverton International School offers the middle program. No local schools offer the primary program, although a couple of schools are applying for certification. I will focus on the Diploma Programme, which is offered to juniors and seniors in the United States.

Let’s get back to AP and college credits. How does that work?

Individual colleges decide whether or not they recognize AP credits; some do and some do not. There are ways to advance in college without taking AP tests. Colleges offer their own placement exams, particularly for languages and math. The downside of AP is that you can test out of freshman and sophomore classes that are beneficial building blocks for future academic work. I am a good example of this because I tested into junior English when I entered college. But I feel like I missed the boat by not taking freshman and sophomore classes. I had to learn the hard way about critical writing and constructing a solid research paper. When I entered graduate school I had some catching up to do.

Are Catlin Gabel students at a disadvantage because we don’t offer AP classes?

No. We offer college level courses that allow students to enter higher-level classes in college if they choose. If you are wondering if our students are at a disadvantage in terms of college admission, they are not. College admission offices look at high school profiles to ascertain graduation requirements, grade distributions, college acceptance records, and most relevantly for this conversation, what classes and extras are available to students. If the high school offers an AP program then naturally the colleges seek applicants who have stepped up to the challenge. But if you don’t offer AP classes—and many of the finest schools in the nation do not—then the students are not in jeopardy.

How does the core curriculum for AP differ from Catlin Gabel’s curriculum?

That’s an important question because that’s how Catlin Gabel really distinguishes itself from AP. Students in AP classes are evaluated based on their test scores, pure and simple, so the curriculum is geared toward the test. AP classes emphasize absorbing knowledge and memorizing facts that will appear on the tests. At Catlin Gabel we emphasize depth of understanding, constructing knowledge, and making discoveries. The facts are put into context. In truth, and I am not embarrassed to say this, our students do not do as well on the AP history exams as they do on the math, science, and technology exams because the history test questions are so fact oriented. Our students are accustomed to writing, questioning, discussing, reasoning, and putting history into context — not just memorizing what the teacher or textbook tells them happened on such and such a date.

How does the core curriculum for IB differ from Catlin Gabel’s curriculum?

IB is more akin to what we do at Catlin Gabel. The program is progressive in its approach to learning with an emphasis on critical thinking and providing a liberal arts foundation.

Sounds like you are pretty impressed with IB. Convince me that Catlin Gabel is a better choice.

First of all, I congratulate schools that raise expectations for student achievement. That is vital to turning around education in this country. During rough economic times, I applaud public schools that have figured out how to challenge their brightest students through either the AP or IB programs.

To answer your question, the IB program is impressive, but there are several shortcomings compared to our program. The IB diploma requirements are standardized, and students are, for the most part, locked into a prescribed set of courses. At Catlin Gabel we offer a more individualized approach. For example, a student who is passionate about a subject area can take classes beyond the requirements. Remember, the Diploma Programme is only a two-year program for juniors and seniors. Many students in the IB track are not accepted into the Diploma Programme or fail to meet the criteria for earning the IB diploma, which can be a mark against them in applying to colleges.

One of the capstones of the IB diploma is an extended essay the students write at the end of their senior year. Our students write extended essays in ninth grade and even earlier if they attend our lower grades. IB classes cannot go into as much depth as we can because they have to follow a rigid curriculum. They have set scoring on their tests and projects so their teaching is more standardized. To earn the IB degree, students submit exams and papers to graders in a country other than their own. That means feedback on work is delayed, which is a real detriment to learning. Our students receive feedback quickly through post-test reviews, one-on-one conferences with teachers, and peer edits. Swift reinforcement and critiquing is so important. The IB program and how it is implemented varies tremendously from school to school based on the caliber of the students and the teachers. The local school board, parents, and students have no input into the IB curriculum. To put it in business terms, Catlin Gabel is much more accountable to our clientele

Who is admitted into AP and IB programs in public schools?

The AP and IB programs develop their own selection criteria that differ from school to school. It’s not uncommon for the programs to skim for the highest achieving students, which is fine for those kids, but what about everyone else? At Catlin Gabel we provide equal opportunity for every student to rise to his or her highest ability. One thing I love about Catlin Gabel is that students who excel or struggle in different areas are not segregated from each other. Students who are motivated to take advanced chemistry and biology as seniors hang out with students who finish the three-year science requirement and turn their focus to English and creative writing. We stay connected as a community and students value each other for whatever talents and interests they have.

How is teaching different at Catlin Gabel compared with AP and IB?

Our teachers can shape the curriculum to meet the interests of the students. They can shift the content of a lesson to make it meaningful and relevant to students by letting the students lead the conversation, try the experiment a different way, or present findings unconventionally. Of course, we have an end goal of what we want the students to learn, but getting there can take twists and turns that engage and excite. We allow our teachers the autonomy to teach what they are passionate about. That is the key to inspiring students. We depend on highly skilled, excellent teachers because they create the curriculum and are expected to teach to each student’s learning style and ability. Our teachers’ educations, our mission, small class sizes, student-teacher relationships, and the intellectual risk-taking we encourage generate the learning bonanza that makes Catlin Gabel exceptional.