Week 9: Modeling

Where we are:

Model class complete! Last Tuesday, we had the fun and engaging opportunity to give our peers a glimpse into our educating philosophy. Though effective feedback highlighted some areas to tweak before our final presentation, the session was by-and-large a proof of concept.

Here are some of our notes from the model class:

-Research was an effective exercise. Students seized responsibility for the material exactly how we wanted them to. Better still, they enjoyed the experience of becoming an expert in a given era. 

-One practical consideration we need to make moving forward is that of time: even in a 75-minute class, the time required to research and then process all the information before dialogue proved longer than expected. Perhaps our final class model will involve students bringing in research they conducted outside of class. This way, time can be more effectively spent on making connections and asking questions with instructors in the room. 

Also, we've been productive in preparing for our meeting with administrators! We have more clarity on our administrative structure, which now includes executive and financial positions, grade deans that move up with a given class, one college counselor, and an advising staff. Advising in particular received a lot of attention in our dialogue today. On the whole, students will have very close relationships with their advisors. Ideally, there will be room for two types of academic advisors:

First, academic advisors who will help students navigate the catalog of interdisciplinary courses to grow scholarly interests into passions. This program will include regular face time with students and advisors to check up on classroom engagement and satisfaction.

Second, social advisors will fill the role of conventional human development instructors as well as steward students through the challenges of adolescence. Meetings with these advisors will be based in frankness and honesty in order to ensure that students are comfortable asking questions about growth that occurs outside the classroom. 

Finally, we established a framework for discipline within the school: a small judiciary committee will determine punishments for offenses before an administrator approves punishment. This system models that of Mr. Bracker's previous school.

Questions to consider moving forward:

What does life after an EdCo education look like? Is an EdCo education ever really over?

What does the college process look like for students in our school who don't want to attend our affiliate?

How will our preliminary presentation outline link our philosophy with its implementation?

Week 8: Definition, Description, Resolution

This was an exceptionally productive and fun week! After essentially completing the scaffolding of our school, the past seven days allowed our group to delve into creative work: we wrote course descriptions for ten hypothetical classes, we wrote the plan for our model class, and we were able to finally sort out some lingering financial questions with a new tuition model.

Course Descriptions

2. The History and Application of Modern Mathematics
1. Students grow to understand the evolution and implementation of modern mathematical concepts through the study of their discovery, use of period tools, and historical perspective on significant works.
3. The Philosophical Impact of Physics
1. At its furthest understanding, the study of Physics calls into question many of the fundamental intuitions humans have about the universe. This class examines the impact of physics on the world’s philosophies of meaning. By exploring discoveries, missteps, and misunderstandings in Western and Eastern science, students gain insight into the entangled world in which we live.
4. Mathematical Understanding in Music
1. This course examines the mathematical concepts behind music. Unlike a traditional music theory course, MUIM takes a broad view of the development of key musical instruments, artistic movements, and musical perception among audiences.
5. Art as Political Power: Key Movements in Asia, 1900-1945
1. Art History, writ large. Taking a specific view of the world of Eastern art before and during the World Wars, this course encourages students to observe and analyze the artistic commentary on the tumultuous half-century leading up to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
6. Starter great books program (interdisciplinary history)
1. This is a tie in with our university partnership–basically students will read classic books that define a given era and analyze their historical context. Perhaps taught all 4 years?
7. 150 Years Later: The Civil War and the American South
1. We’re in Virginia, right? Why not try some some in-depth study of the civil war using the rural equivalent of City of Angels’s Urban Labs? Students can visit battlefields and re-enact the carnage! Perhaps the farm/student labor can serve as a metaphor to teach the economics of slavery. We’ll also read later southern literature and get a sense of why the war is crucial in understanding modern American democracy.
8. An American in Paris: French Language and Culture
1. This course is an immersion experience where American art movements are examined in a french context. Literature topics can be centered on the Lost Generation, music classes can analyze France’s strong affinity for Jazz, and more! Basic principles of the french language are taught through a relatable cultural lens so as to make them more accessible.
9. The Dog as a Symbol (or should we call it “The Dog, A Dog, My Dog”?): 
1. Mainly a literature-based course with discussions of society and history, focused on how the dog is “man’s best friend” and what that means, etc. Also involves interacting with real dogs! !
10. Biology and Evolution of Weird Animals
1. Teaches basic biological knowledge through an interesting focus: really weird animals that you’d think wouldn’t exist.

Our Model Class

The model class will consist of an introduction, an independent research exercise, and group assembly/discussion. Our model course, entitled Theology & Philosophy in Agrarian America, 1492-1960 is an interdisciplinary American Studies/History class, though such a distinction is more technical than observable for the purposes of this class. All sorts of paths will be explored and all sorts of lenses will be used to approach a better understanding of the following question: "How does an individual's experience of theological and economic forces drive their political association with a larger community?"

Our New Tuition Model

This is a small change, but we're switching to a pay-if-you-can model with regard to room & board. Everyone will be offered full tuition scholarships, and families that are able to pay for their child's accommodations will be asked to do so.

Week 7: Curriculum

We started the week by setting our group's own progress check.
Where we are: Pamphlet
Where we want to be: Rough weekly schedule, Course ideas, Big focuses in curriculum, Extracurriculars
How we will get there: class/google doc

First, we nailed down some basic details we've been discussing for a while. The student body will total around 100 students (25 per grade), and we will be a boarding school. The decision regarding tuition and room and board charges is still up in the air, but we will do our best to provide financial aid and be need-blind in admissions.

Regarding the schedule, we decided that school will meet 5 days a week and students will take 4 classes at a time. Wednesdays will be lighter days: field trips instead of classes, more project time, etc.
Extracurriculars have yet to be fully explored. For traditional sports teams, we will have to send students to nearby schools as we don't have the size or the resources to spare for varsity sports.

We had a lengthy dialogue about the focus of our curriculum and overall program at our school. The four-year high school program has a progression from collaboration and collective responsibility to individual growth and independence. This sequence manifests through year-long projects, where younger students work in larger groups with more teacher guidance and eventually transition to designing and carrying out completely individual projects as seniors. It manifests through work on our campus farm, another main aspect of the curriculum. The farm will have useful animals and crops that provide food for the dining hall (since we are a boarding school). Students are required to work on the farm all four years, and farm chores break up the academic days. Older students are able to specialize and help train younger students. The progression is also represented very concretely in our desk system: desks, which are fixed in classrooms and take the place of students' study spaces at home (since dorms are for relaxation, not homework), are shared in 9th and 10th grade and individual in 11th and 12th grade.

We also wrote out several possible courses that EdCo would offer and brief descriptions of each course. In practice, courses will be always changing and designed by the teachers who will teach them. Our courses are interdisciplinary, and we emphasize finding interesting takes on traditional material in order to make it more engaging for students. Classes also include hands-on learning to avoid the monotony of classroom studying.

All in all, it was a productive week!

Financial Details and Paraphernalia

Where we are:

Over the past week, we have continued the dialogue with an emphasis on reconciling the financial feasibility of our school with our educational philosophy. Although we had initially settled on a full scholarship for all members of our student body, in recent discussions we have begun to consider opening room and boarding fees to be payable based on each family's financial situation. We do want to maintain free tuition for all students to ensure a level playing field and eliminate any sense of hierarchy in the student body. We believe this will greatly benefit the social and academic dynamic of our school. Our group has synthesized the pertinent information for students and parents of applicants to Virginia EdCo in the form of a flyer. The flyer includes our Mission Statement, a section describing the main features and facilities of our campus, the core principles of our curriculum, a Q&A section, admissions policies, our natural education programs, flat figures (by the numbers- student-teacher ratio, size, etc.), and our mentorship opportunities. 

Notes on my meeting with Keith Huyssoon if they interest anyone, some financial obstacles...Feel free to comment with questions and I will gladly clarify. 

tiered tuition 1,000 5,000

Fundraising - annual funding, appeal to all families (average gift recommended) 

Endowment-invested for the long term, corpus principle, lead donors

Expenses by Type: Total Cost approx. 30 million

Financial Aid 12.5%

Facilities/Operations 11.9% 

Instructional 7.8%

Administrative 4.95%

Salaries/Benefits 62.9%

Poly Upper School: 55 faculty/admin. to 375 students includes performing arts, outdoor education, not athletics

market startup 

donors, blend endowment supports 10% cost of school, annual fund 10% cost of school, 80% charge tuition, find donors, build endowment 

10 people about .. 

Outdoor educational programs, athletics, and arts  psychologists, support, 

credentials 

60,000-90,000

Facilities and operations, 

8-10 adults with broad skills, backed by one leader, professor, possible tuition cost if we admitted 6/7 students per grade, about 25 students in high school after 4 years, $65,000, 75-90,000 each or if you have zero to start $150,000, graduate students + 25,000 additional annually for outsourced, facilities leased from university??? 

210,000 + if university supports program, 30,000/year professors x 3 professors, 2 admin at 80,000, 100,000 additional costs, 

350,000 (6 students) with significant support university, and professors

500,000 annual cost (25 students) → 20,000 tuition to fully cover WITHOUT any initial funds 

coming in… 

seed money up front, donors, transition costs, stability, fundraise 

Theoretical endowments: 

10 million dollars at 5% 500,000 year 

2 million dollars, invest at 5%  

Where we are going:

In the coming weeks, we will structure the daily schedule within the parameters of our educational philosophy. We will also write and outline course descriptions, and specify the extracurricular opportunities available to our students. 

How we will get there: 

We will continue collaborating and communicating via the GoogleDoc. Our editing process entailing an email chain has been rather successful thus far, and we intend to continue implementing this method.