Adriana has been a member of the Green Acres community for four years. She has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Bishop???s University in Lennoxville, Quebec and a Master of Arts in Peace, Development, and International Conflict Management from the Universitat Jaume I in Castellon, Spain. She coordinates the Service Learning Program and teaches 7th and 8th grade students.

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Today you each understand a great deal more about who you are as a person and as a student, and today you have even more to offer your families, your future school communities, and the greater global community than you did when you arrived, whether in Pre-K or as a 5th grader. The catch is that now that you have these gifts, you have a responsibility to share them, and to develop them further, to the absolute best of your abilities.

The gifts that I hope that you will most take with you have to do with habits ??? the behaviors and inclinations that you will lean upon time and again for success in high school, in college, and as an adult. My guess is that you already know what these habits are, since you???ve been practicing them every day at Green Acres. They???ve been reinforced each time you???ve encountered a new assignment or dealt with a new challenge, whether in the science lab, on this stage, on the playground, or even climbing up Old Rag Mountain, as you did a few weeks ago. These are the habits of the people whom we all admire, whether it???s your mom or dad, your grandparent, your best friend, your teachers, your coaches, your Sunday school teacher, or someone in your community whom you have seen making a difference in the lives of others. They are also the habits that the wider world is now beginning to see as the critical ones that schools specifically need to inculcate and nurture daily in students.

At Green Acres, we have always known that:
Successful people, worthy of our admiration, are open to new ideas. They know what they know really well, but they???re also well aware of what they don???t know. They are confident enough to be truly humble. They are able to see an issue from another person???s perspective, whether in a political debate or in a disagreement with a friend or family member. They feel strongly about the opinions that they hold, but they are also curious and open to new information that could further inform, or even transform, that opinion. I urge you to think about the times in your careers at Green Acres when you listened so carefully to a teacher or classmate that your view was broadened and even reversed. As progressive educators, we are always seeking to open your minds, rather than simply to fill them with information.

I implore you, if you remember nothing else from my remarks, to hang on to your curiosity, your thirst for understanding, and your willingness to take the risks necessary to learn. Carol Dweck, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, writes in Mindset: The New Psychology of Success that our ability to embrace risks is at the heart of our success in school and in life overall. If our mindset is that we have unlimited potential for growth, then our focus is on that growth and not on our limitations. With a ???growth mindset,??? as Dweck puts it, we live lives open to new challenges, we seek out risks rather than sticking with what we already know we can do with ease, we rebound quickly from setbacks and view them as opportunities to learn, we seek out feedback and receive it without shame, and we feel most successful not when we???re doing something familiar flawlessly, but when we overcome a challenge. Graduates, don???t blame life???s disappointments on others, and don???t ever allow setbacks to define you. Keep your life???s focus not on how smart you are, but on how much you can continue to grow and learn. As I have written in my recent GASLine articles, if I can stretch my mind and body to begin to learn Martial Arts, each of you is capable of much more than imagined. Remember that it is your flexible, eager, and agile mind that will enable you to adapt and develop throughout your lives.

Carol Dweck would also remind you that your determination and your consistently high level of effort will lead to your achievement in high school, in college, and in life. In her book, she contrasts prodigies who never worked hard enough to live up to their early acclaim with individuals who transformed themselves and others through the power of effort. At Green Acres, we know that there is no getting around hard work. The people whom we admire and most respect work hard; it???s that plain and simple. I know that we, as a society, like to focus on intelligence and innate ability, but little of that matters unless someone applies himself or herself fully every day. This means paying attention to details, taking the initiative rather than waiting for someone to tell you what to do, meeting deadlines, following through on what you say you are going to do, being responsible, reliable, and generally someone others can trust. We admire those who are both thorough and precise, who volunteer to do their share???and usually more???and who ???come through??? when the group needs them most. Thomas Edison is famous for once writing, ???Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percept perspiration.??? You already know this, because you have lived it. You have experienced the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction from having worked hard on something that matters to you. Take this with you; it will serve you very well.

Those whom we respect the most are also capable communicators and collaborators. In fact, the Partnership for 21st Century Learning, an educational initiative, identified ???communication and collaboration??? near the top of its list of habits and skills that students need to ???master in order to succeed in work and life in the 21st Century.??? We admire those who speak clearly, who write persuasively, who listen carefully, and who, when conflicts arise, can ably distinguish between a difference of opinion and a conflict of personalities. These people often end up leading others because their communication and the thoughtfulness behind that communication, help groups to solve problems. We look up to those who can work with others effectively, and who can stand up for their beliefs while still being able to compromise when necessary.

As most of you know by now, at Green Acres we are celebrating our auspicious 75th anniversary. We were founded in 1934, at the height of the Depression, by a forward-thinking visionary named Alice Mendham Powell. As she looked around at the schools serving our nation???s youth at the time, she saw what many of us still unfortunately see in schools across the country:

• Students passively memorizing information, complying but generally not creating or questioning;
• Student???s ideas, development, prior experience, as well as their social and emotional well being, largely ignored; and
• A great disconnect between the work of school and the world at large.

Alice Mendham Powell believed, as we believe at Green Acres today, that school should prepare students not just to succeed in society, but to make society better. She understood, as we understand, that society can only move forward when citizens are able to:

• Take the initiative,
• Stand up for what they believe,
• Question, and maybe most importantly,
• See themselves as change agents who can make the world, or even a small part of it, a better place.

As Alice Mendham Powell succinctly explained to a reporter in 1941, ???training citizens begins in preschool.???

I urge you to take the academic and communication skills, the commitment to community, and the thoughtful intellectual and social habits that you have honed here at Green Acres with you to high school and beyond. Next year, be the 9th grader who asks the thoughtful question that takes the literature discussion in a new direction. Be the 9th grader who speaks up earnestly and with clarity when you witness something happening that you know isn???t right. And be the 9th grader who makes each of your classmates feel valued through your respectful, non-judgmental speaking and listening manner. Communicate confidence but also humility, remembering that no one ever has all of the answers, and no one likes working with someone who feels that they do, that???s for sure. You have the ability to inspire others, to coalesce groups behind important endeavors, and to find in yourselves much more than you may realize today.

Your teachers have given you the reading, writing, mathematical, scientific, artistic, and athletic tools that you need, but make no mistake that you have developed the habits of conviction, cooperation, open-mindedness, perseverance, service, empathy, and so much more. Take these habits with you, as well as the joy that comes from true accomplishment and lifelong learning.

We are all enormously proud of you, and it has been my personal privilege to watch each of you grow since I first met you in the fall of your 7th grade year. Congratulations!

Peter Braverman will now present to you the Green Acres 8th Grade Class of 2010. Thank you.

Mr. Mills, the talented Karate teacher some of you know from our Enrichment Program, reminds us in each class not to focus on what others are doing. He insists that what is important is that we are doing our best and thus making progress through each Karate skill level at our own individual rates. While child and adult participants alike tend to focus on attaining the next colored belt or stripe, Mr. Mills is all about the process of learning. His ???mindset??? is that we are all capable of ongoing growth, that we can all become black belts one day, and that the journey toward this goal is more important than the goal itself.

It???s a lesson I???ve been pondering as I conduct my weekly ???walkabouts??? through classrooms. While many adults may not seek out challenges on a daily basis, Green Acres students have no choice. In just one day, I witnessed risk taking of all shapes and sizes: 6th graders debating the merits of Athens versus Sparta, Kindergarteners trying out new consonant-vowel combinations through song, 2nd graders displaying golden family trees in Art class, 4th graders reading their rainforest stories to their classmates, 5th graders getting ready to present their L.A./Science Fusion Projects, 8th graders developing their memoirs, and Pre-Kindergarteners negotiating table manners in the Big Room.

Perhaps Mr. Mills has been reading Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck. As I wrote in my last Headline, Dweck argues that what most influences how well we embrace risks???and thus how much we ultimately learn and achieve throughout life???is our view of human potential, especially our own. She contrasts prodigies who ultimately failed because they feared exactly that, with individuals who transformed themselves through the power of effort. While our society tends to glorify those who seem to have effortlessly achieved fame, such as actors and athletes, Dweck suggests that we dramatically overlook and undervalue the determination and effort that led to these successes. She asks, ???What???s so heroic about having a gift? Effort is what ignites ability and turns it into accomplishment.??? Dweck cites countless examples of those whose ???growth mindset??? enabled them to overcome setbacks and obstacles, from Seabiscuit???s author, Laura Hillenbrand, to Michael Jordan. If we glorify effort, we accept what Benjamin Bloom concluded after over forty years studying the process of learning: ???What any person in the world can learn, almost all persons can learn, if provided with the appropriate prior and current conditions of learning.??? Yes, this may exclude the 3% to 5% of people at the extremes, but it is counting everyone else. Even Alfred Binet, most known for his work with intelligence testing, fervently believed that children???s minds could be transformed through effort.

Of course I am not arguing that I am necessarily transforming my brain, or even my body, through Martial Arts. However, I find Dweck???s formula persuasive. With a ???growth mindset,??? we see successes as a sign of effort, and we view failures as opportunities to learn rather than as permanent marks against our ability; we embrace the risks necessary for learning, and this leads to accomplishment throughout life. It???s a simple but powerful construct that should be understood by any educator, parent, or coach. I will write more in future Headlines about the ways in which Dweck???s ideas dovetail with Green Acres??? progressive educational approach, and I encourage you to add Mindset to your summer reading list.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

By mindset, I???m referring to the way that we think about human potential, including our own. Do we see people as having essentially fixed abilities? For example (just for the sake of it), “Neal may be a good singer, but it doesn???t seem that he???ll ever be much of an artist.” Or do we view individuals, most importantly ourselves, as ever-growing and capable of much more than meets the eye? Carol Dweck of Stanford University writes in Mindset: The New Psychology of Success that the key to success is simply this???a mindset based on growth. If we believe that what is important is our ongoing ability to learn, rather than our fixed assets or limitations, then we live a life open to new ideas and new challenges. We then see failure as an opportunity to learn rather than a stain against our innate ability; we seek out risks rather than sticking with what we know we already can do with ease; we accept constructive feedback without shame, and we feel “smartest” not when we???re doing something familiar flawlessly, but when we overcome a challenge. We stop trying to prove how smart we are, we refuse to allow our disappointments to define us, and we understand both that effort trumps genius and that trying hard and even failing beats not trying, any day.

As educators, Dweck???s “growth mindset” enables us to see and communicate unlimited potential in every student. We stop ranking children in our minds and in our actions, we emphasize hard work as the key to growth and achievement, we prize the act of learning for learning???s sake, and we focus not on how “smart” our students are but on what they have achieved and can achieve. Jaime Escalante, of Stand and Deliver fame, didn???t ask whether he could teach calculus to his inner-city, poorly prepared students. He focused instead on how his students would learn best, and this mindset led to some of the most impressive Advanced Placement calculus scores of any school ??? public, private, suburban ??? across the country. Similarly, Dweck shows how even the self-described “least artistic” of us can learn to draw ??? demonstrating that “there???s a lot of intelligence out there being wasted by underestimating students’ potential to develop.” I will write more in future Headlines about the ways in which Dweck???s ideas dovetail with Green Acres’ progressive educational approach, and I encourage you to add Mindset to your reading list. Its messages are perhaps even more vital for the complex art of parenting than educating.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

We had a tremendous amount of student achievement to celebrate leading up to spring break. Join me in congratulating Kara Combs and the sixth graders for organizing a school-wide penny drive to support earthquake victims in Haiti. Under the sixth graders??? leadership, students in the Lower School learned about Haiti, and as a school we raised $2,500 for H??pital Albert Schweitzer, one of the few intact hospitals near Port au Prince. I am also proud to share that our 7/8 Mathcounts team participated in last month???s state competition at Johns Hopkins after having qualified with a 5th place finish at the regional competition this winter. Students are also actively participating in Team Greener, a staff/parent/student committee taking important steps toward a more sustainable Green Acres. As a first step, students in the fifth grade will collect baseline measurements of our energy use and trash and recycling collection. It???s hard to imagine a more authentic and meaningful student learning opportunity than this.

At the Corporation Meeting on April 21, I will offer comments about the ???state of the school.??? It is important to me that all members of the community take stock of what we do well and understand the steps that we are taking to build on these strengths and to create new ones. Equally important is that we are all familiar with the strategic vision that underpins all of our initiatives. I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Finally, I???d like to draw your attention to a new initiative that we are leading to build collaboration among a cluster of local progressive schools. Working most closely with the leaders of Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Friends Community School, and Lowell School, we are launching cross-school visits this spring. Plans to invite additional progressive schools are in the works. This cross-school collaboration builds on my prior experience in the Coalition of Essential Schools and on our experience as host of the PEN Conference last fall. As a leader among local and national progressive schools, we find ourselves becoming more of a destination for those looking to learn more about the progressive approach. Last month, we hosted a team of educators from a charter ???start up??? school from Baltimore. In January, a group from the Park School of Baltimore visited campus. This exposure lends further credibility to Green Acres and provides invaluable opportunities for reflection and professional growth.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

For those of you who were unable to attend, the following guiding principles about homework at Green Acres may be helpful.

• Homework should not be ???busy work,??? but rather should be thoughtfully assigned to build skills and understanding???and to give students time for reflection.
• We want students to understand explicitly the reasons behind their assignments. Homework should help students to develop the habits of organization and responsibility; students should develop an increasing sense of ownership.
• Homework should be developmentally appropriate, both in amount and in what it demands, and this should differ by grade level.
• We recognize that there???s a tipping point. Homework can become counterproductive to learning and to helping children develop their understanding. We strive to find the right balance of challenge and responsibility, without overload or unnecessary stress.
• We recognize that kids differ as well, and that how they and you approach this process can be quite unique to families.
• We want to work in partnership with families. There are many steps families can take to support our efforts to help their children find success with homework. Parents who have concerns about homework should discuss them with their children???s teachers.

This week, Maryland???s State Superintendent of Schools granted to all non-public schools a waiver of the requirement to make up school days missed due to the extensive snow storms this winter, provided that the schools have a minimum of 165 days in session. Because we scheduled extra school days in our calendar, Green Acres exceeds the State???s requirement. Accordingly, we will not make further adjustments to the Green Acres calendar for this year.

In reaching this decision, I considered not only the State???s waiver, but additional factors, including the likely educational impact of additional instructional days in June, the tight transition from School to Camp, our ongoing commitment to produce thorough and individualized progress reports at the end of the year, families??? vacation plans, and decisions made by my peers at other AIMS schools.

As a staff, we value all of our instructional time, and teachers have worked hard to minimize the impact of the lost time. Overall, we will have two fewer days of school this year than last. I look forward to the remaining days of school???with the excitement of outdoor education trips, field trips, performances, service projects, the sports picnic, Olympics, and of course, Graduation. I also look forward to next week???s spring break and hope it is a time of rest and relaxation for everyone, as we prepare for the busy months ahead.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,

Neal

For our youngest students, the benefits of our Pre-K to 8th grade model are equally notable. The relationships that they form with their Middle School counterparts are meaningful???helping them to see older kids as friends rather than foes, and offering them an exciting glimpse into the experiences and opportunities that they can anticipate as they grow older and move through the grades. In my own home, with two Lower School students, I hear a great deal about “when I get to compete in the Olympics,” “when I get to go on an outdoor education trip,” and “when I get to join the basketball team,” etc. They see in their older friends a future that is exciting and comforting at the same time.

Also critical to a discussion about our Pre-K to 8th grade model is the educational foundation that students receive here as they prepare for high school and beyond. The most recent issue of Independent School magazine, published by the National Association of Independent Schools, focuses on precisely the kinds of authentic, progressive teaching practices that we have long espoused. At long last, the independent school establishment urges schools to teach academic content not as an end but as a means to larger, more relevant ends: communication, problem-solving, collaboration, time management, decision-making, technological skill, civic responsibility, tenacity, creativity, precision, and thoughtfulness, to name a few. Of course Green Acres needs no urging!

Our students leave 8th grade with the requisite academic skills and so much more. As they enter high school, our graduates exude a joy for learning, a deep sense of curiosity, a respect for themselves and others, the ability to work collaboratively and independently, a sense of responsibility to others and to the community, openness to new ideas and experiences, and the perseverance and diligence needed to succeed. Most importantly, they have had the opportunity to develop a strong sense of confidence and an accurate degree of self-knowledge, nourished by leadership opportunities available to them as the oldest students in the school. These may be the greatest gifts that we offer our children in our Pre-K to 8th grade school.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

Roger and his maintenance crew of Alvaro, Amadeo, Maria, Rafael, Silvia, Wilbur, and Yusbanky, worked tirelessly, often late into the night and through the weekends, to clear our driveways and walkways. Derek trudged through the snow to turn off the water, David came in to fix our email server, and Sean and Maggie saved as many of our animals and fish as possible. Cecily from our Business Office spent that first Saturday night dealing with an alarm call, and she even had the courage to wake me so that I could meet with firefighters to make sure that everything was okay. (Note to self: buy snow boots and refrain from wearing pajama pants in public.) And this week, as we continue to teach without our gymnasium, all of our staff, and particularly our PE department members, are modeling flexibility and creativity under unusual circumstances. Two days ago I witnessed Matt building a magnificent snow fort with kindergartners, and this morning???s 1st grade scooter hockey game in the AP Room was a thing of beauty. We also applaud our parents??? patience as they waited for delayed buses and in long carpool lines???the result of snow-narrowed streets.

Related to the snowfall is my pending decision about whether to add additional instructional time to this year???s school calendar. Each year, as we design the calendar, we build in extra days to account for weather and other school cancellations. This year we allotted three additional days, and we have used six thus far. As I wrote on Monday, given the extent of the storms, the State may decide to waive the required number of days for non-public schools. I am told by Ron Goldblatt, Executive Director of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS), that the Maryland State Board of Education is meeting this coming Tuesday to discuss this issue. I want to be clear that we will not take any days from the upcoming spring vacation week, although I may opt to add in a day or half-day on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and/or to add instructional days at the end of the school year in June. I will consider many factors, including the State???s requirement and the impact on student learning, and I will keep you posted. Of course, while I hate to write this, winter isn???t over, so additional snow cancellations could be in our future and thus could influence this decision as well.

As we look forward to winter???s end, we can plan for an exceptional way to celebrate the beginning of spring???attending the single greatest annual Green Acres social and fund raising event ??? the Auction! This year???s 75th Anniversary Auction & Jubilee on Saturday, March 20 should be the best ever. I hope to see nearly every one of you there for this special community evening.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

The past few weeks have been a particularly exciting time for student performances, including the 5th grade plays, the 5/6 guitar and handbells concert, the 2nd grade weaving assembly, the 8th grade service learning expo, the upcoming 4th grade world???s fair already presented to students, the 3rd grade chimes assembly, and the 7th and 8th grades??? Future Cities Expo. We were excited that one of our ???future city??? teams placed third at the regional competition. Additionally, the Peruvian exchange is concluding this weekend (though our four students from Lima would love to stay longer) and we enjoyed an inspiring visit from the Bokomaso Dance Troupe from South Africa. Hearing them sing their national anthem at the conclusion of the Lower School Assembly last week took my breath away. We also were pleased that some of our 7th and 8th graders participated in a regional student diversity conference a few weeks ago.

This is also the time of year when we gear up for the single greatest annual Green Acres social and fund raising event ??? the Auction. This year???s 75th Anniversary Auction & Jubilee on Saturday, March 20 should be the best ever. This is not only an opportunity to celebrate together as an adult community but is our most critical fund raising event. Every level of participation is important to the success of our Auction, and I hope to see as many of you there as possible. Having participated in auctions at my former schools, I was overwhelmed last year by the joyful feelings of community and purpose at my first Green Acres Auction last spring. It is an event not to be missed!

Although the ???Early Bird??? reservation deadline for the Auction is today, given the snowstorm, we will continue to accept ???Early Bird??? reservations until the end of the first day back to school, whether Monday or Tuesday.

As a New Englander, I should be used to this kind of weather, but even I have been impressed with what we???re hearing about our incoming storm. Stay safe and enjoy the snow.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

Green Acres students presented a Future City Expo on Friday, January 22. Two teams from Green Acres presented their projects on Saturday, January 23 at a DC regional National Engineers Week Future City Competition. Green Acres’ Cloud 9 team came in third place.

One way that we make sure that we know our children at Green Acres is through the additional support offered by Learning Specialist Kate Cohen, Middle School Counselor Ann Kappell Danner, and Lower School Counselor Leathia West. Kate works directly with students, especially those who sometimes need extra support to get all that they can from our academic program. She also collaborates with teachers and with families to help each child benefit from what we offer in ways that are best for that child and for that family. Her work as the liaison between outside tutors and teachers also ensures that the team of adults working with any child is functioning as a true team. As professionally trained and credentialed counselors and experienced teachers, Ann and Leathia bring complementary skills to help students and their families navigate social-emotional challenges. Ann and Leathia maintain confidential relationships with students and families, and they also serve as liaisons between outside therapists and the School. Kate, Ann, and Leathia also are resources for you as parents???particularly when you are looking for support, guidance, or just straight information about your child or adolescent. All three also work collaboratively with Jari, Peter, and me on our Student Support Committee to review student issues on a weekly basis. Our goal as a committee is to close the cracks through which students might otherwise fall by developing and following through on plans to address any and all issues. Our meetings are full of passion for students, shared expertise, and creative problem-solving. Of the many committee meetings that I attend, these may be the most important.

Switching focus, the dire situation in Haiti demands our attention and action. Like you, I have been thinking about what I can do individually, and within the Green Acres community. Our staff has joined me in considering ways in which our school can make a difference. Adriana Murphy, our Service Learning Coordinator, has written to you in this week???s blog about initial steps that we have taken both to serve and to educate. Our support of the H??pital Albert Schweitzer, one of the few intact medical facilities near Port-Au-Prince, offers a tangible and immediate way for our staff to contribute to the relief effort, and for students to learn and to act. Sixth graders, who in Language Arts class read Taste of Salt ??? a novel set in Haiti ??? will lead students in a school-wide penny drive to benefit this hospital. Staff members also are helping students understand the situation within our flexible curriculum. This week, for example, 6th grade students investigated the effect of block size and weight on a structure???s ability to withstand shaking as a complement to their environmental studies unit in science class, and Peter provided an overview of Haiti at the Middle School Assembly. We also are looking for ways to capitalize on students??? service ideas, because few experiences are more educationally powerful for a child than initiating and organizing a project to benefit others. Adriana???s blog also discusses ways in which we can talk to children of different ages about the upsetting stories from Haiti, and our staff will continue to engage students in age-appropriate ways. We will update you about how we are responding???not just to Haiti???s immediate needs, but also to the long term implications of this natural disaster.

I think I speak for all of my colleagues when I say that it is a privilege to spend each day with your children. Yesterday I watched one of our science teachers delicately inform her students about the hamster???s death; I sat with 4th graders immersed in their world celebrations research papers; I participated in the 5th graders??? blind ???smell test??? in science class to see if I could distinguish dark from milk chocolate, and later I attended the 5/6 musical concert???both an impressive concert and an opportunity for me to let students know the level of behavior we expect of them .This week I also enjoyed 2nd graders??? singing and original choreography at their Weaving Assembly, and the 5th grade???s drama productions. The week ended with an impressive display of 7/8 students??? knowledge, creativity, and engineering achievements as they demonstrated their model cities of the future.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

Perhaps most importantly, the point that Dr. Giedd, who has studied this topic since the 1980s, could make with certainty is that the brain’s development is a long journey spanning many years. By age six, most of the brain???s mass is in place, yet important changes continue. Dr. Giedd referred to ages 7 to 11 as a “sculpting time” when children develop in many ways, including improved dexterity and fine motor skills. The most advanced parts of the brain are developed on average for girls at age 11 ??, and for boys a year later, yet critical “pruning” of the brain???where it builds and strengthens its connections???continues throughout adolescence. In short, as children turn into teens and then into adults, their brains don’t get bigger as much as they get better. Dr. Giedd emphasized the teen years in particular as a period of immense sensitivity and malleability. Adolescent brains change rapidly when exposed to meaningful stimuli and adult (and other) modeling. This is a time when their experiences quite literally shape the connections in their brains. The quality of those experiences, then, seems paramount.

As luck would have it for our adult readers, the brain continues to get better, and as the prefrontal cortex develops, so does one’s executive functioning, decision-making, organization, and ability to make long term plans???the very skills many teens find relatively lacking compared to adults in their mid-twenties and beyond. One can also take heart to note that the brain’s ability to change continues and is high throughout most of life.

What this all means for educators is still a vastly open, interesting question. Clearly we are on the right track by creating a stimulating a learning environment with hands-on teaching methods, teaching in small classes, and, because of the salience of adult modeling on brain development, emphasizing adult-student relationships. Furthermore, our understanding that learning is a journey and not a race, and that being first doesn’t mean being best, is consistent with Dr. Giedd’s research showing that when a brain peaks says little about where it ends up in terms of overall development. Our interest in finding joy in learning and limiting stress also matches Dr. Giedd’s findings on the inverse relationship between stress and memory.

Other questions remain, however. For example, would it make sense for Green Acres to introduce world language earlier? Dr. Giedd’s research suggests that studying any world language at a young age contributes to brain development. Might we consider teaching Geometry before Algebra? Should we do more regular testing of students? Should we continue to emphasize a well-rounded set of skills in our Middle School program, or perhaps help children to specialize, given the selective pruning that is occurring naturally in the adolescent brain?

Dr. Giedd conceded that the answers may not be found right away; however, he and his colleagues in the scientific community are learning more about the brain each day. At its simplest level, to me the take home message is that the brain???s growth is ongoing and subject to its environment. If we can stimulate children and truly engage them to use their minds well each and every day, we???re providing that necessary environment.

I want to thank Dr. Giedd, as well as the Development Office and Ginta Remeikis, our wonderful parent volunteer, for organizing this edifying evening. As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

Jay Giedd, M.D., a renowned researcher at National Institute of Mental Health, is speaking at Green Acres on how and when the brain grows in young children and adolescents.

For more information about Dr. Giedd???s exciting research, visit:

• Frontline: Inside the Teenage Brain
• What Makes Teens Tick
• EarthSky Interview: Jay Giedd explores nature versus nurture and other mysteries of the brain
• EarthSky Interview: Jay Giedd on whether humans use only part of the brain

This event is free. Reservations required: speakerseries@greenacres.org

Now it seems that you may be able to enjoy both. While we too care much more about how you and our students experience what we offer each day, it’s been rewarding to see the degree to which Green Acres has garnered attention over the past two months. We’re not quite up there with Tiger Woods or Sarah Palin, but consider the following media coverage of late:

• Potomac Almanac article on 4th grade collaboration with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 7
• Washington Post article on our school blog, Oct. 29 (also in the Gazette)
• Gazette article on being named one of four local schools by the EPA for wind power, Nov. 4
• Gazette article on the 75th Anniversary weekend, Nov. 11 (also in the Post)
• NBC Channel 4 News feature on the Walk for Homelessness, Nov. 13 Gazette article on the Day of Service, Nov. 25
• (upcoming) Montgomery Life Magazine profile on Green Acres and its progressive philosophy, January Issue

This exposure???combined with added visibility from hosting PEN’s national conference, the Quilt Show, the Speaker Series, and the Dan Zanes concert???augments our profile locally and nationally. So the next time someone asks you where your child or children go to school, you could simply reply, “Green Acres, the school where Dan Zanes, the Grammy Award winning performer, sang last month,” or “Green Acres, the school that was recently recognized for its service initiatives,” or “Green Acres, the school that hosted a national conference for progressive educators in October.” Or you could simply say, “Green Acres, a school where my child is known well and is engaged in exciting, meaningful learning every day.” Either way, you have a choice that feels new and exciting.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

If you are interested in purchasing quilt postcards, you may download an order form, or order online. All proceeds from the postcard sales go to the Green Acres Scholarship Endowment Fund.

We must recognize the herculean efforts of Joanie, Sue, and Aimee in our Development Office. Together with many staff members, student helpers, and parent volunteers, they made Saturday’s very full day a reality. The alumni luncheon, family games for all ages (complete with 500 cupcakes), the concert by Grammy Award winner Dan Zanes (accompanied by our own Green Acres student singers), and a dinner full of memories???all really did take place in one day! And in this process, we reconnected with old friends, celebrated our continuity as a community and institution, and reaffirmed our commitment to the very ideals upon which Green Acres was founded. As an alumna in the Class of ‘75 aptly wrote to Joan Adler following the weekend, “It was great to remember what we are made of ???. After 34 years since my occupancy, Green Acres still has the vibrancy of children learning and exploring, and the engagement of caring teachers. Green Acres remains true to its mission.”

Please join me as we continue to celebrate our 75th with this weekend’s Quilt Show, our Speaker Series events in January and April, and our annual Auction with an anniversary theme on March 20.

I look forward to our traditional Thanksgiving luncheon on November 24, and I wish all of you time with family and friends over the holiday. As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

There will be approximately 75 quilts on display, including the bereavement quilts made in honor of Ginny and Mike Spevak.

The show will be open Saturday, November 21, 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday, November 22, 11 AM to 4 PM at Green Acres School.

A Quilt Show flyer is available here.

At the ripe old age of thirty-one, Ted was named the Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He went on to become Headmaster at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Later, while at Brown in the 1980s, Ted founded the Coalition of Essential Schools, a national organization dedicated to transforming schools into more engaging places for all students. Schools across the country adopted his ideas, and his books about a mythical teacher named Horace resonated deeply with teachers in schools in all settings. His pointed descriptions of schools showed them generally to be impersonal, passive places, lacking in engagement, intellectual rigor, and creativity. Calling upon and also reframing ideas of earlier thinkers such as John Dewey and Francis W. Parker, Ted offered a bold set of principles for remaking American education. In later years, Ted became the founding Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, the Acting Co-Principal (with Nancy) of the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School, and Professor at Harvard and Brandeis.

Ted believed that schools should be designed foremost to help students to use their minds well. He campaigned for smaller class sizes where students would be known well, for teaching depth over breadth of study, for a focus on the development of habits of mind over strict memorization of subject-specific facts, and for flexibility at the school level in the development of curricula and programs. Ted understood that students learn best through authentic teaching practices and can best demonstrate their learning through demonstrations or exhibitions, much like oral doctoral defenses. In recent years, Ted provided a strong counter voice to the No Child Left Behind legislation and the movement toward standardized testing. He did not believe that a single test could adequately represent a child’s learning; nor did he feel that a one-size-fits-all curriculum adequately accounted for differences among school communities and individual children. For Ted, schools were inherently idiosyncratic places and thus needed to be human in scale as well as intellectual and flexible in their approach to pedagogy.

Beyond Ted’s ideas was a man who deeply loved people, particularly students. Whenever Ted visited a school, he insisted on being shown around by a student; he wanted to see the school from the students’ perspective. Ted inspired others in a Kennedy-esque manner through his writing and speaking, but he was a terrific listener who valued everyone, famous or not. He was as much at home playing on the living room floor with my son as a toddler as he was speaking before a Senate Committee.

Ted’s passing is both a personal and professional loss; however, his legacy reminds me daily of why we hold so strongly to our progressive educational beliefs at Green Acres. In an email that I received from Nancy Sizer just two weeks ago, she relayed a message from Ted for us to “keep up the good work at Green Acres.” Ted knew that schools that listen to and respect children hold out great hope for them and for our future.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me and with all of us.

Best,
Neal

The Top 20 K-12 Schools List, which debuted on October 26, is one of ten Top Partner Lists that EPA releases quarterly, highlighting some of America’s largest green power purchasers. Green Acres School currently ranks No. 14 on EPA???s Top 20 K-12 Schools List. All of EPA???s Top Partner Lists are available at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/.

“As a school that is actively promoting in our students a sense of environmental stewardship, we are very pleased to be recognized in this way,” said Neal Brown, Head of School. “We realize, however, that we, like most institutions, have a long way to go to diminish our impact on the environment.”

Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. These resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions, while offering a superior environmental profile compared to traditional power generation sources. Green power purchases also support the development of new renewable energy generation sources nationwide.

“These schools get an A plus for their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA???s Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “By using green power, Green Acres School is teaching by example how to be green.”

According to the U.S. EPA, Green Acres School’s green power purchase of more than 700,000 kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of more than 100 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 100 average American homes annually.

Additional environmental initiatives at Green Acres School are abundant. Lower School science students are undertaking erosion control methods in the woods. Pre-k students are building water bars to prevent rain run-off from eroding the soil on the nature trails and carrying it into the creek. Green Acres sends students to the Global Youth Leadership Institute, celebrates Earth Day by participating in all-day environmental projects such as cleaning trash out of the creek that runs through the school???s property, and each classroom has access to the outdoors and uses natural lighting. Green Acres has taken a pledge to be a Climate Steward with the Green Schools Alliance???we???re going to calculate our carbon footprint to establish a baseline and then work to reduce it over time. We???ve also established Team Greener, a committee of staff, parents, and students, to examine ways we can reduce our carbon footprint and be greener on campus. We use recycled paper products, including paper towels and toilet paper. We use organic lawn care products. We purchase organic, fair trade coffee. We avoid the use of foam products. Food waste, coffee grounds, tea bags, paper towels, and more are collected for the school???s compost. Students volunteer as members of an Energy Patrol at their break time to make sure lights are off in empty classrooms.

About Clean Currents
Clean Currents is a licensed clean energy broker and aggregator in Maryland and also operates in the District of Columbia, Chicago, Texas, and other areas where there is a competitive electricity market. It was established in 2005 to promote solutions to today???s biggest environmental challenges ??? global warming and air pollution, and to assist businesses in taking a greater responsibility for protecting the environment while conducting their operations.

About EPA???s Green Power Partnership
The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,000 Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.