One of the most extraordinary things about teaching in a progressive school, and at PHS particularly, is the freedom and privilege that I as a teacher have to empower students and to invest them fully in their own learning. Some of my most rewarding days as an educator are the ones where I am not up at the whiteboard teaching, but instead looking around my classroom and seeing the kids learning on their own .

About this time each year, our class finishes its unit on pre-colonial Africa and the slave trade. After a (very popular) field trip to Massawa, an East African restaurant, and a (less popular) quiz on the Africa unit, I turn to the class and say, “Okay, I’ve taught you everything I wanted to. I’ve decided what we were going to study for most of the year. Now it’s your turn, as a class, to tell me what you want to learn about.”

Many might see this as a recipe for chaos in a room of eleven and twelve-year-olds. And for a short while, it is. Voices ring out with replies of “Candy! Nuclear Physics! The Rolling Stones!” But this is also a perfect moment for a lesson in collaborative decision-making, and over the next day or two I lead the class in brainstorming, multi-voting, and finally deciding on a topic to spend the next few weeks studying.

This year’s sixth grade concluded that “Sports” was what they wanted most to learn about. Thinking, “Okay, I can run with this. . . “ I presented them the next day with a two-week group project, wherein each group had to create a new sports franchise from the ground up, including biographies of players, an ad campaign, plans for a facility, and a budget. They then would have to present this plan to a group of investors—teachers other than myself—and ask for funding for their new franchise.

The amount of work that the kids put into this project was no less than stunning. And while they were having a tremendous amount of fun, they were also learning group management, task delegation, and persuasive writing and speaking—not to mention the challenge of presenting all this information in a unified, organized structure. Students gravitated to jobs within groups contingent upon what they knew their own strengths were. And while there were bumps along the road, as there always are, I relished the opportunity I had to facilitate the solving of each group’s challenges, rather than merely stepping in and fixing things for them.

Needless to say, the presentations on Tuesday to groups of teacher “venture capitalists” were a success. Students were prepared, articulate, and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to showcase the fusion of their creative and reasoned thinking. In this moment, at least, the students had grown beyond me and were advocating for themselves and their work in sure, confident voices. This was a wonderful experience for me as a teacher because I knew that I could sit in the next room with complete confidence in these students’ efforts and their suc cessful results. This is one of the true defining aspects of a PHS education, and I feel honored to be able to help your students attain it.

As we approach next month’s Spring Corporation Meeting (Tuesday, May 18th), it’s a good time for an update on some key board activities that will bethe focus of the business portion of that evening.

As we’ve mentioned in earlier board updates, completing a Strategic Plan to guide PHS during the next 3-5 years is the board’s most important goal this year. Staff and parent task forces have been working all year on plans in three primary areas—program excellence, financial security and community engagement. This planning process is still on track to be completed by the Corporation Meeting.The Strategic Planning Committee recently held its final working meeting with staff, parents and outside educators on the program excellence section of the plan, the last of the three areas to be drafted. This week and next, the committee will revise the entire draft plan in preparation for two community meetings later this month. During these meetings — to be held at PHS on Wednesday, April 28th from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. and Thursday, April 29th from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.— the draft plan will be presented and parents and staff will be asked for one last round of feedback before the committee finalizes the plan. Please mark your calendars--all community members are invited and encouraged to attend at least one of these meetings. We’d like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has participated in the strategic planning process to date and those who will continue to provide time and input until the plan is complete. This process has required an enormous amount of time and thoughtfulness on the part of both staff and parents, to whom we’re very grateful.

The PHS community is remarkable for its parent volunteers. Parents contribute to the school in a variety of capacities, one of which is through service on the board of trustees. In January the board’s Trustee Committee circulated a letter throughout the community asking for names of potential nominees to the board.The response was tremendous. Over 40 parents’ names were collected, giving the Trustee Committee a rich pool of candidates for consideration in both the near and long term. Finding parents who are willing to volunteer their time for board and committee meetings, who have areas of expertise that the board needs, and who together contribute to a balanced board profile (in terms of gender, cultural/ethnic background, children’s grade level, etc.) is a complex process. Committee members interviewed prospective candidates in March and April, and the board has approved the nomination of several excellent candidates who will come before the Corporation Meeting next month.Please look for a packet of information about these candidates to be sentin the next few weeks by the Trustees Committee.

This year, the board also hasbeen actively involved with the Steering Committee of the soon-to-be launched PHS Parent Association, andstrongly supports the Parent Association goal of strengthening community engagement at PHS. The Parent Association plans to work closely with the Development Office to foster parent leadership and volunteerism and with the Director, Deans and Admissions Office to welcome new families and host informational events such as coffee talks and parent-to-parent forums. It also plans to publish a newsletter and possibly a web-site for PHS parents. Monthly meetings of the Steering Committee are open to all, and help is welcome. The remaining meetingsthis year will be held on May 13th and June 6th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. In the meantime, look for the Parent Associations’ inaugural newsletter coming soon. If you have questions or would like more information about the Steering Committee or the Parent Association, please contact Susan Byrd, Noel Kaufman, Rita Fahrner or Leticia Alcantar.

Finally, Joninna Simpson and the Executive Committee of the board continue to meet frequently with Ann Meissner to provide the support she needs asActing Director. Ann and Carey are in regular communication aboutimportant school issues including teacher contracts and hiring decisions, as well as some day-to-day operations. Uncertainty about the timing of Carey’s return will continue for the next couple of months, until she is nearer the end of her chemotherapy treatment. However, the board will continue to stay on top of the situation and do whatever is necessary to ensure that the school’s leadership remains strong.

As always, if you have questions about any board activities, please contact any board member for more information.

This week’s column marks the transition from information for 8th grade families to information for 7th grade families. Parents of 7th graders are invited (and basically required!) to attend an information night about the high school admissions process and high school counseling at PHS. We really need representation from each family, since this is the only group meeting we will have on this topic, and it is a crucial starting point. Come to PHS on Tuesday, May 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. I promise this meeting will make you feel better, not worse, about the entire process, over the next year.

The Strategic Planning Committee invites everyone to participate in the final community meetings concerning the Strategic Plan. Community participation to date has been wonderful. We have had thoughtful and enthusiastic input into the process. After over a year of work, the plan is nearly complete. Please attend one of these sessions so we can update you on our progress and get final input from the community :

Wednesday evening, April 28th from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
(Child care will be provided. RSVP with Deb at x130.)

Thursday morning, April 29th from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m.
This will be the last opportunity for community members to share their thoughts on the proposed plan before it is submitted to the Board for approval.

We look forward to seeing you there.