A State of Constant Iteration and Creativity
Although the start to the 2020–21 school year has been unlike any other in my tenure at Ellis, there are facets of the experience that remain unchanged: the excitement of students seeing each other after a long break, the refresh in campus spaces as we prepare to welcome those students back, and the faculty collaborating on pedagogy and curricula. As we learned this past spring, what brings us together as an Ellis community is much more than our physical campus. It is, however, so wonderful for us to be back together in person, even though it looks different than it has in the past.
The closing of the 2019–20 school year ended a chapter of my Ellis career as Head of the Upper School. As I have transitioned into the role of Director of Teaching and Learning, I have been reaching across networks to gather resources about what it means to teach and learn in a socially distanced, hybrid learning environment. Our faculty is joining with educators around the world in learning how to teach in new ways, including working with both remote and in-person students concurrently. One Schoolhouse, our online partner school through which many of our students take supplemental courses, has been a leader in remote and hybrid education. Their Head of School, Brad Rathgeber, articulates, “We’re in a state of constant iteration. Trial, failure, another failure, marginal success, more failure, more success.” Our veteran teachers feel like they are starting again as they look at their courses through new eyes, and creatively approach a new way of teaching. As lifelong learners, Ellis faculty have always been strong role models for our students. In this unprecedented year, they are demonstrating that more than ever as they learn alongside their peers and their students, seeking and providing feedback on what it means to be in school in 2020.
Although much of our attention is currently focused on new ways of teaching, we also continue to examine our curricula. Beginning in 2018, we implemented a rotating curricular review process for each department so that faculty can look closely at their curriculum at least once every seven years. Through this process, each department identifies key issues, reviews their scope and sequence, and examines their content through a culturally responsive framework. In doing so, they determine their strengths and opportunities, and they create an action plan to continue the work. Our English department has just concluded this work together, and our Mathematics and History departments are looking forward to launching the process this fall.
Last spring, I wrote to Upper School families sharing my hope that we would return to school with a new lens through which to celebrate the things that we have taken for granted in the past. I have witnessed, through all of our students, a new appreciation for the routines that school provides and gratitude for the time they are able to spend together. I am thankful to be working with my colleagues in a new role, even as we grapple with challenges that are new to all of us. I am confident in our ability to approach this year with creativity, flexibility, and good humor, all of which are hallmarks of the Ellis community.
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Although much of our attention is currently focused on new ways of teaching, we also continue to examine our curricula. Beginning in 2018, we implemented a rotating curricular review process for each department so that faculty can look closely at their curriculum at least once every seven years. Through this process, each department identifies key issues, reviews their scope and sequence, and examines their content through a culturally responsive framework. In doing so, they determine their strengths and opportunities, and they create an action plan to continue the work. Our English department has just concluded this work together, and our Mathematics and History departments are looking forward to launching the process this fall.
Last spring, I wrote to Upper School families sharing my hope that we would return to school with a new lens through which to celebrate the things that we have taken for granted in the past. I have witnessed, through all of our students, a new appreciation for the routines that school provides and gratitude for the time they are able to spend together. I am thankful to be working with my colleagues in a new role, even as we grapple with challenges that are new to all of us. I am confident in our ability to approach this year with creativity, flexibility, and good humor, all of which are hallmarks of the Ellis community.
