Practical Theory - SLA

New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:56:24 -0700

Things I'm really excited about as we move into the new year... in no real order:

Seeing who we are without the first class in the building. That's how you start to really see what you become... did the culture stick? Just listening to three juniors in my office today talk to some visitors... watching the upperclassmen teach the incoming 9th graders... I think we're in very, very good shape. I'm going to miss the graduates, and it has been a blast to see so many of them this week, but I am also excited to see how the Class of 2011 leaves their mark. A bunch of seniors confessed that they are staking out their claims to the various seats in my office.

We built a much larger committee structure at the end of last year, and we're already seeing dividends. We've got enough teachers that we don't need to be "all hands on deck" all the time. For our week of PD next week, I'm running next to nothing... and the people who are running all the sessions are doing it because it is in their established sphere of interest and influence. That feels awesome. The whole concept is to institutionalize the distributed leadership at SLA by letting people pick the pieces of the puzzle they want to work on. I think, given how many committees we created, that we will figure out which ones have use and legs and which ones were a better idea in theory than in practice, but overall, we are already seeing committee chairs take ownership and work with other teachers to get things done. So very good.

We get to really try to get good at everything this year. That's our focus. Document all the UbDs... publish more to the community... institutionalize things we've done by the seat of our pants. We've done everything at least once now, and while we'll do new things this year, the major pieces of the school are in place. Now we can cast a critical eye on all of them and work on doing them better. I'm excited to see how Roz and the Capstone committee revise our process. I am excited to see how Josh and Zac move us forward with our PLCs. And I'm excited to see us really work on our curriculum and on publishing it so that we can make our practice more and more transparent.

We want to establish an active and empowered alumni network. I read Radical Equations this summer and one of my take-aways was how the alumni of the Algebra Project formed the Young People's Project, and I would love to see something similar for SLA. I think our alumni are proud of their high school, so it is incumbent on us to find meaningful, powerful ways for the graduates to stay involved.

We want to find more ways to involve and engage parents. We have a wonderful Home and School board who are excited to build on the work of the founding parents, and I think we are going to do some great work this year. The board and I are doing a book study with "Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family/School Partnerships" (Anne T. Henderson, Vivian Johnson, Karen L. Mapp, Don Davies), and I am hoping that it gives us a powerful vision of new ways to strengthen the Home - School relationship.

We are rolling out a new web-site in the next week. I'd say more, but I'm sworn to secrecy. Suffice to say, it is going to be awesome.

What are you looking forward to this school year? What are your goals?

SLA Named One of the Ten Most Amazing Schools in US (and other news!)

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:14:08 -0700

Some very cool notes for a warm August night!

The Science Leadership Academy was named one of the Ten Most Amazing Schools in the US by the Ladies Home Journal! We are honored and humbled to be listed alongside such incredibly innovative and interesting schools!
I was on Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane last week. Dr. Anne Gardiner of Bodine HS and I were talking about small schools in Philadelphia. It was a really fun hour, and it is archived as a podcast if you want to listen in.
I have submitted a proposal for SXSW (South by Southwest) - one of the premier interactive / new media / social networking / new culture conferences in the world. Crowdsourcing makes up 30% of the approval process, so if you like the kind of ideas I write about here on the blog, please considering registering at SXSW and voting for my proposal - Building School 2.0 - Creating the Schools We Need. And while you're there, consider voting for the panel I'm on, too! Voting ends August 29th.

As always, thanks for reading!

Video of Graduation: My Speech and the Diplomas

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 11:07:51 -0700

Here is the video of the graduation speech and the diplomas being given out. As always, Doug Herman and the Rough Cut production crew did an incredible job. The entire graduation ceremony will be up very soon. Thanks to Rough Cut, and congrats again to all the graduates!

The Speech

SLA Graduation Chris Lehmann- Principal Address from dfherman on Vimeo.

The Diplomas Being Handed Out

SLA Graduation 2010 Diplomas from dfherman on Vimeo.

Speech to the Class of 2010

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:49:12 -0700

[This was the speech I gave tonight at graduation. There aren't many moments these days where I feel like I need to write out my speeches word for word beforehand. My preferred mode is to have an outline and then work the room. There was no way, with the emotions of the night, that I was going to be able to do that, so this speech is written pretty much as spoken. These kids mean the world to me, and I hope that comes through in the words on the page.]

What a day... what a celebration... what an incredible four years.

Four years and one month ago, many of us gathered in a room one floor below where we are now. It was the first time we gathered together as a community. It was a scary and exciting time, as we began the process of getting to know one another. In so many ways, that seems like yesterday and yet it also seems so long ago. There was so much hope... so much nervousness... For me, I will always remember the leap of faith you all made in coming to SLA. For the past four years, I have thought of that day many times, and I have thought of what it must have felt like to have been a parent in that room.... to have been a student in that room. To be willing to take a chance on a school that wasn’t even sure it would have a building ready for opening day. To the parents assembled, I can ask you now... what were you thinking?

But you did choose Science Leadership Academy... you chose to join us in taking a vision of what school can be and building it into reality... and we were and remain humbled by that decision. I can tell you that - every day - we have strived to be worthy of the choice you made. And it is my sincerest hope that today - of all days - you all feel that the choice was worth it.

And of course, there was that first day. Who needed door handles... floor tiles... o.k., bathrooms would have been nice. But we persevered. We refused to let anything stand in our way. This was our school... and we had the chance to make it into something, and - much like that first day - while it sometimes challenging, you took a pioneering spirit to everything you did in your four years at SLA, and you have succeeded gloriously, beyond our wildest expectations.

And today, as we celebrate all of your successes, we have to recognize that we rarely do it alone. And it is important, before we list the litany of your achievements, that we honor all of the people who have helped us get to this moment in time. So seniors, if you would please take a moment to recognize your parents, your families, your teachers... all the people who have helped you reach this milestone in your life by clapping for them, thus giving them the ovation they so richly deserve.

And now, think of all that you have accomplished over the past four years.

You have collectively spent over 500,000 hours inside SLA, and you’ve even spent some of that time in class.

You have gone to Advisory over 25,000 times.

You have spent over 7,000 hours in The Franklin Institute.

You have learned the difference between Moodle and Drupal, and you don’t even worry about sounding silly when you say those words anymore.

You have started ten varsity sports, and you have won divisions, competed at States, played in playoff games, and practiced and played at courts and fields all over the city, often at insanely early hours of the day.

You have run miles and miles through Students Run Philly Style -- and through the halls of SLA in phys-ed class.

You have written original plays, produced and directed movies and constructed the most unique Do It Yourself black box theater the world has ever seen.

You have built engineering projects that have consistently pushed the limits of what people believe high school students are capable of.

You captured the stories of the City of Philadelphia on Election Day, 2008, and shared those stories with the world.

You have travelled to England and Costa Rica and you have rafted down the San Juan River... and on each of those trips you crossed cultural boundaries and spread your joy and energy and ideas to others.

Together, you have completed over 8,000 benchmark projects, and you complained about most of them.

You have completed ILPs at over 100 sites all over the city.

You have conducted over 2,000 interviews of prospective students.

You have done over 15,000 science labs.

You have written over 50,000 pages of homework and essays and lab write-ups and blog posts and wikis.

You have completed senior capstones that were documentaries, engineering projects, personal histories, original plays, science research papers and community activism. And in all of them, you have taken the core values of the school and you have made them your own.

You’ve also received over 10,000 extensions on papers and projects that your teachers swore they wouldn’t accept late but did anyway because they wanted to see you succeed. And you thought we weren’t keeping track.

You received over 300 acceptance letters to over 120 different colleges.

You have given hundreds of tours to thousands of educators from all over the world.

You have met scientists like Dr. Squyres, innovators such as Jeff Han and scholars like Dr. Cornell West... and some guy named Bill Gates. And you have shown them all what learning can be.

You have proven, over and over again, that students are capable of greatness when given the tools and guidance and respect they need. You have served as a model for teachers, students and schools all over the world with what you have done.

In short, you have built a school... a school that matters. Milly wrote in my yearbook, “SLA is only what we make it, and we have made it something great.” I could not agree more. That is your legacy. This is what you leave behind.

You have done all this in the face of innumerable obstacles. High school is a incredible time in a person’s life... all we had to do was look at the pictures on the paper plate awards yesterday to see how much you have changed in four years, but more than that, you accomplished so much in the face of personal loss, in the most challenging economic times our country has known in over seventy-five years. You have faced the nights when you had three and four benchmark projects due the next day, and of course, as our first class, you have done this as the group that had to help us figure out who we were and what so many of our ideas meant in reality.

But you did all this all in the name of a shared belief that school could be about more than textbooks and quizzes, more than the aggregate sum of a bunch of classes. You breathed life into a dream... into a dream I had. For all that SLA has given you, you have given us that. And let me say, more personally, you have given me that. You -- and the teachers and parents who have walked this walk with you -- have taken a dream I had and made it real, and in doing so, made it so much greater than I ever could have imagined. Your energy, your effort, your belief, your sacrifices... you have done this all in service of a dream that the name “Science Leadership Academy” should mean something. And now, thanks to you, it does.

I have been awed and humbled, time and time again, by what you have done... by how you have shared this dream with me, and for that, I stand before you and I say, simply, humbly, thank you.

It’s a funny thing about dreams... we can hold onto them. We can keep them inside as our private stories, or we can share them with the world. I can tell you from what you have given me, share your dreams. Let them live and be changed by those around you. Let your dreams inspire others to dream themselves. Yes, there will always be those who will tell you that “it can’t be done,” who try to tell you that you cannot... you will not... that it is just not possible. All of you know how many people said that about us.

But know that those who would try to keep you from your dreams often times only do so because your willingness to share, your desire to try, to believe, to succeed - only shines a light on what they could not -- or would not -- do. The world is filled with those who settle for what is, rather than what could be. But that is not how we make a better world. That is not how honor the spirit of inquiry. We gather today in a building that honors those who have dreamed and those who shared their dream with the world. Our dream of school was born jointly with the dreams of the people in this building, and as you leave us, you take this dream -- co-mingled with your own dreams -- with you wherever you go.

And now that you leave us, many of you have talked about how you will miss SLA or that you are not ready to leave. And while we -- I -- will miss you all, let me say that you are all ready to go. We would not have done our job if you weren’t. And if you will miss the community that is SLA, then my challenge to you is this -- build one. Each of you carry the best of us within you now. It is my hope that the spirit of this community is not only contained within the walls of 55 N. 22nd St, but that it is a state of mind that is not just about how we build a school, but is about how we build our lives. All of you know the work that is necessary to create communities of meaning and care. And all of you know the benefit of being part of such a community.... and how badly we need more.

So where you have learned to question deeply, teach others the spirit of true inquiry.

Where you have learned to seek out complexity, teach others to never settle for easy answers, because we have learned that easy answers rarely hold the value we think they do.

Where you have learned to collaborate, teach others to value the ideas of others. Show people that we can argue to learn, not just argue to win, and that the synthesis of our ideas often creates something much greater than the sum of its parts.

Where you have learned to present across so many media, continue to let your voices sing out, but remember to teach other the value and power and meaning of their voices, and remember that every presentation needs an audience that will listen and interact and take action.

Where you have learned the value of the quiet moment of reflection, teach others to look past the obvious lessons of a moment, to question themselves, their actions, and to always seek to grow wiser in their journey.

And where you have spent four years within a community that strives to believe in the ethic of care, pay that forward in the lives you lead. All of us in the room have had moments in the past four years where others showed us compassion, showed us care... where a teacher treated you as a person, not just as a student or where you took the time to ask a teacher -- or even a principal -- if they were o.k., and cared enough to listen to the answer. Teach others the value of that. Teach others to listen deeply with an open heart. Teach others that the moment it takes to care about another is paid back tenfold... that care begets care in ways that are immeasurable. If you do, there will be no end to the impact of the lives you lead.

For years now, I have been asked the question, “How will you measure SLA’s success?” I think people were looking for hard numbers. Test scores and attendance rates and college acceptances. And yeah, you did that too... but that was never what mattered most to me. I have long said that what I hoped for SLA students was that they grow up to be thoughtful, wise, passionate and kind. And today, as I look out upon you now, I know that you are that and so much more.

You have all learned more than we could have ever hoped... you have all created artifacts of learning that we could have never imagined... and now, as you graduate from SLA and leave our walls, the time has come for you to lead.

Congratulations to the Science Leadership Academy Class of 2010, good luck, and from the bottom of all our hearts, thank you.

One Week Away

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:14:06 -0700

One week from today, the first class of the Science Leadership Academy will walk across the stage at The Franklin Institute as our first graduates. For the kids, it represents an incredible rite of passage into adulthood and all they will accomplish once they leave our walls. Tonight, I want to try to unpack how I feel about all this. I'm not sure I can.

I've said the following words a lot -- "How can anyone transform the life of a child if they are unwilling to be transformed themselves?"

Being the principal of SLA has been -- and I'm sure will continue to be -- the most challenging and exciting and difficult thing I have done in my professional life so far. And my life has been so profoundly impacted by the time I have spent with the students and faculty of SLA. The hardest, most profoundly humbling thing about every day is trying to live up to the vision of myself that I see reflected back at me by the students. There are so many pieces of the puzzle of the last four years of my life that have demanded the best version of myself... and days when I felt like that wouldn't be good enough. But mostly, it has been an incredible ride to share a vision with teachers and students and parents and staff and see that vision come to life and change and grow as others breathed life into it.

Sharing a dream is a scary, thrilling thing, because the only way it comes to life is to share it. But of course, the dream is changed when it is shared. That's a good thing, because synthesis is good. But it requires giving up being the only keeper of the dream. It means understanding that the flawed and wonderful reality is better than the unrealized dream. It means being willing to try and fail and risk and risk again. It means trying to anticipate so many different outcomes and then having enough Zen inside you to roll with all the moments that you never saw coming.

Through it all, we've had our first class of students. They have demoed every idea, they have "broken in" new teachers. They have pushed and challenged and been pushed and challenged, and they have grown with us, always aware of their roles as the first class of the school. Now, they are graduating, and the school will change as all the new classes from this time forward will see is as a "school," and the onus is now on all the other students to continue the sense that SLA is different and needs nurturing and is a work in progress. I believe deeply that the legacy that the first class leaves will continue that mission, and I am proud of what I see from our younger students. (And I am sure that, while the rising seniors may miss the graduating seniors, they are ready to lead.)

We are one week away from our first graduation, and with that event comes the end of the first cycle of SLA's life as a school. We are still a relatively "new" school, and there is so much about us that must continue to improve. But we have come so far in the past four years, and I cannot wait to see -- and be a part of -- what happens next.

The Bill Gates Experience

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Sun, 02 May 2010 08:23:31 -0700

On April 29, 2010, Bill Gates came to speak at Science Leadership Academy. The students of Rough Cut Productions - the SLA film team - filmed and broadcast the event live via Vokle.com. Here is the event:

Bill Gates speaks at Science Leadership Academy from Chris Alfano on Vimeo.

Bill Gates to Speak at SLA

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 04:15:58 -0700

Please join us today at 2 pm EST as The Franklin Institute brings 2010 Bower Award Winner for Business Leadership, Bill Gates, speaks to the Students of Science Leadership Academy. If you wish to submit a question, the hash-tag is #slagates

Click to go directly to the Vokle site:

EduCon 2.2 First Reflection - The Kids

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:35:14 -0700

I'm trying to make sense of this weekend... and obviously, I'm incredibly close to EduCon (and more than a little tired), but I had to get at least this much out.

The weekend was incredible. On the most basic level, the best part of the conference was watching SLA students and parents run every logistical aspect the conference... not just 10 A students, but over 100 students working together to make the entire weekend amazing.

SLA students were presenters / facilitators in several sessions, and they were participants in many more. They worked tirelessly to make the live broadcast work. (And they were at school for hours after the sessions on Saturday rendering video.) They were docents for some of the panelists. And of course, they had the chance to have a personal session (or three) with Jeff Han as he worked with them on "the wall."

I admit, if part of TFA's strategy is to have their alumni go into policy, I hope that, no matter what fields SLA alumni go into some day, that they all somehow keep a hand in education, as active parents, as school board members, and some as teachers, I hope. It is amazing to me to see students start with pride in their school experience and use that as a springboard to care deeply and speak powerfully about education.

Thank you to all the SLA students. I am so proud and so humbled by your work.

Community

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:09:00 -0700

So last night, the Science Leadership Academy Home and School Association threw the first huge fundraising night in our history. In a true collaboration between home and school, the school had a silent auction last night which raised a sizable chunk of money, but just as importantly, brought over 150 parents, teachers and friends together for an evening to celebrate and support SLA.

It is on nights like last night when you can see the power of a school community. Our Home and School parents were incredible -- the auction was a monster. It took hours and hours and hours to pull together, and I know there were moments of trepidation and frustration as no one knew if we could really pull this off. And the teachers and students created some amazing Advisory baskets that added a great flair to the night. And the end result was incredible. Not only did we have a great financial night, but it was a great chance for teachers and parents (and grandparents) to talk to each other and celebrate all that we have accomplished in our time together. We also had a couple of tables of student work so parents could see what the money we were raising goes to, and it is amazing to compile a cross-curricular pile of work and really see the imaginative and powerful and thoughtful work that kids do at SLA.

And for senior parents, it was also a time to recognize that our time together is approaching an end... some students have already gotten into college, and we were able to celebrate that. Other (most) parents are still playing the waiting game, and we shared the anxiety of that whole process. But overall, what we shared is a sense of a four-year journey together. It's one of the joys of a small school -- you know the families... you've been with them... through good and bad... and therefore impending graduation is both a very happy and a little bit sad thought. We even had talk of an alumni association as several parents told me they weren't quite ready to let go of the school yet.

In the end, it was a wonderful night, and this blog post is in part a recognition of the amazing community of SLA teachers and families, and a huge thank you to everyone who made the night happen, and an even bigger thank you to everyone who has contributed to making SLA a place I look forward to going to every single day. It is a wonderful community, and I am privileged and thankful to be a part of it.

Visions of School -- The Student Perspective

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:28:00 -0700

So after reading E. D. Hirsch, Deborah Meier, Diane Ravich, Nel Noddings, President Obama's speech and Robert Pirsig, the students of Modern Educational Theory have written their first draft of their vision of what school should be. These are first passes at these ideas, and these are purpose statements that will evolve over the course of the year. Here was the structure of the assignment:

We, at this point, looked at several different views of education, from Deborah Meier's vision of democratic education, to Robert Pirsig's "Church of Reason," to Diane Ravitch and E. D. Hirsch's views of core knowledge, to Nel Nodding's ethic of care, to President Obama's speech on the first day of school.

Now, it is your time to take your stand.

You are to write a two page position paper creating your vision of what school should be.

Your paper should consider the following points:

Clearly define your vision of school:
- What is its purpose?
- Why is it good for the individual?
- Why is it good for sociery?
- What does your vision of school value? Prioritize?
Given this vision of school -- what differences would you see in the structure of school when compared to a "traditional" school?

We read each other's papers and you can see the comments beginning to evolve. Their current assignment is this:

Pick two essays (try to pick ones that haven't been done that much yet) and ask two hard questions of the vision expressed.

(For example, if someone speaks deeply about student choice in learning, a question may be -- "How will a young student know what they love without exposure to the ideas?")

Take the best part of the vision expressed and ask the author -- 'What is the worst consequence of your best idea?' The goal is for all of us to understand that there are no perfect ideas in education, and also to allow the the author to think about what problems could arise in their vision and how they might mitigate (lessen, deal with) some of them.

I'm really thrilled with much of the thoughtfulness that the kids display in the essays. It is, obviously, clear that the kids have been at SLA for years, but I don't think that's their only vision of what school can be -- which is important to me. The kids have their own thoughts, and I'm really interested to see how these visions continue to evolve.

So... please, feel free to comment on their essays (commenting is moderated because of spam, but I'll approve them, I promise!)

Calling All Mentors: The SLA Capstone Project

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:34:29 -0700

In a little over a week, the first class of the Science Leadership Academy starts its senior year. The students will, as a major part of that senior year, embark on a year-long Capstone project where they tackle an idea or a problem of their own design. All students have to create a proposal, detailing how they will incorporate the five core values of the school -- inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection -- into their capstone to create something original and meaningful. Ideas we have heard cross all disciplines, as students want to do original science research, create and stage original plays, design web-based applications, research the history of education reform, and much more. To do this, they will need mentors -- people with expertise in a myriad of fields -- who will be on the other end of an email or a Skype call when the students need a hand. Students will also have mentors at the school. Advisors are responsible for helping the students stay on-track and subject area teachers will serve as on-site guide as well. But we need you too. Please considering giving an hour a week to be a capstone mentor. You can sign up at mentor.scienceleadership.org, where you can tell us what kinds of projects / areas of expertise you would be able to support.

From the site:

The Senior Capstone Project at Science Leadership Academy is an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have become over the course of high school as scholars and individuals. It represents the culmination of four years of intellectual growth towards an independent and self-directed learner who can contribute meaningfully to his or her community. As such an ambitious intellectual project, we are looking for mentors in all fields interested in working with students to develop their own ideas and facilitate their progress toward a meaningful product that truly demonstrates our core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection. While students are working to develop their own vision of what it means to lead, your participation as a role model of leadership and creativity will be hugely beneficial to them. As a Capstone mentor, your role would be of an advisory nature, in conjunction with two teachers at the school, providing guidance, feedback, and your wealth of knowledge and experience in a mutual relationship designed by the student and yourself.

Please consider volunteering your time as a capstone mentor for an SLA student. (Mentors will be contacted for clearance, etc... to ensure that students are working with an appropriate mentor.)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: SLA, Capstone, volunteering

In Memoriam -- Paul Scaer

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:24:15 -0700

The Science Leadership Academy lost one of its founding members as our librarian, Paul Scaer, lost his battle with cancer and passed away at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning. Paul was a truly outstanding and caring educator, and his vision for the role of a library in an inquiry-driven and project-based school will guide us in the Scaer Library for years to come.

Paul took great joy in being a part of the SLA community, and he felt deep regret that he had to leave SLA before the work he set out to do was finished. As SLA continues to grow and evolve, we will honor Paul and his ideals by continuing to create a library that is both a place of great learning and of great joy.

That was what I wrote on the front of SLA's web site today. And that was the sentiment of what I said to the students who knew Paul -- our sophomores and juniors -- this afternoon. But there's much more to say...

Paul was an extraordinary educator. He embodied the ethic of care in the way that he treated students and teachers alike. As another one of our founding teachers said today -- it was when Paul signed on to join us that we all really knew that something very special could happen at Science Leadership Academy. He left Masterman -- one of the most prestigious magnet schools in the country -- to build the library at SLA. He was well-respected state-wide for his leadership in school libraries. And, in fact, when I first called him, it was to see if he knew anyone to recommend as librarian, because it never even crossed my mind that he'd be willing to leave Masterman and join us.

Bringing Paul to SLA was one of the great stories of the birth of the school. I called Joyce Valenza, who I knew a bit from blogging and such, to see where I should look to recruit a tech-saavy "blended" librarian, and she told me that while she didn't know the Philly scene that well, I should talk to Paul Scaer because he was a great resource in the city. Paul and I traded a few emails, and arranged to talk on the phone. We talked for a while, and I laid out my vision of the school and of the role of the library and of tech and of open source and asked Paul who he could recommend. Paul's response was, "Well, I'd be really interested in doing that." I don't think I can accurately describe the stuttering response from me that followed, because I was so caught off-guard. With all of the due-diligence we did around the first cohort of teachers, I can say -- we only interviewed one person for the librarian position.

There are few librarians who see their job as encompassing information specialist, music teacher, head of the second lunch-room, open-source advocate, union chapter chair and sounding board for the adults. Paul was all of those things and more. The library under Paul was a safe haven for so many kids. It was packed at lunch every day with students reading and playing music and talking. It was open every day after school, and there were always students at Paul's desk with him. And he was a magnificient collaborator as well, bringing the ethos of research -- such an important part of our school -- into classes as he worked with other teachers to do information and research literacy classes so that kids saw the value and need for those skills as a part of every class, not just when students made a special trip to the library.

And on a personal note, Paul was an amazing colleague. Being a thirty-five year old founding principal wasn't easy, and there were (are) many moments of a crisis of confidence for me along the way. One of the most humbling and comforting and emboldening things about that first year (and onward) was that educators like Paul -- career teachers with many more years of experience (teaching and life) than me -- believed both in our vision and in my ability to lead us there. As a young principal who occasionally wondered what I was doing even attempting what we were doing, Paul's support and belief in me and willingness to dive into the work in front of us was so important to me.

Paul's goal was to spend five years at SLA before retiring. He wanted to get the library to a point where a younger person could take the work he had done and build on it. We only had Paul for a year and a half, and he really did view his work at SLA as unfinished. We are very lucky in that we have hired the person this spring who has the energy and vision and passion to continue what he started. Last week, while sitting in on a meeting with our new librarian and various faculty members and library science experts in the area, I sent Paul an email to let him know that his vision was safe in her hands, and that his work would be continued. His family was, as we found out this week, reading him all the notes and letters and emails that people were sending him, and I hope that he heard what I wrote and could feel peace that his work would be continued, and that he could see his work at SLA as a job well-done for the leadership he gave the space that will forever bear his name.

While Paul was there, the library was my first stop every morning. Cup of coffee in hand, I would come into the library every day at the start of school to catch up with Paul... get his read on what was going on at school... bounce ideas around... or listen to his latest ideas for the space and the school. I looked forward to that every day. Our school lost a founding member today, but for me, I also lost a friend.

Paul Scaer was as kind and decent and passionate an educator and colleague as I will ever meet. Our world is better for his having lived in it, and he was taken from us far too soon.

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Interview on ScholasticAdministrator.com

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:41:12 -0700

SLA (and I) are featured as the Video of the Week on ScholasticAdministrator.com. They really did a nice job of capturing a sense of the school in a four minute video!

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Tags: SLA, ScholasticAdministrator

SLA in Scholastic Administrator Magazine

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:28:55 -0700

Science Leadership Academy is featured (along with High Tech High and New Tech High and Gary Stager and Jane Krauss, nice company!) in this month's Scholastic Administrator Magazine in The Power of Project Learning -- an article about project-based learning. In addition to some cool shots of Gamal Sherif and Matt VanKouwenberg (and a nifty one of me, I admit), there are some great quotes such as:

Sometimes the results surprise both the teacher and learner, says Zachary Chase, an English teacher at SLA. To learn about the oral tradition associated with Homers The Odyssey, students were charged with finding a family story, getting a first-person recording of the story, and preserving it to pass onto their children. When one student found a bunch of letters from an uncle who had left his family to go to California during the Gold Rush, he used GarageBand to record himself reading the letters. He altered the voice to make it sound like that of an older man, Chase says. This project not only outstripped the teachers demands, but the success of the final project even surprised the student, he adds.

But be sure to read the whole article.

What School Partnerships Look Like

chris@practicaltheory.org (Chris Lehmann) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:43:33 -0700

I just wrote a piece for the Anytime, Anywhere Learning Foundation all about the SLA - TFI partnership. Here's a sample:

At Science Leadership Academy, we have been incredibly fortunate to have a deep and meaningful partnership with The Franklin Institute -- one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology museums in the country. This partnership is unique in many ways, not the least of which is that the school was planned as a partnership school, in fact, my office was housed within the walls of The Franklin Institute (TFI)during our planning year. This gave us the opportunity to build many aspects of the school with the partnership in mind. In the end, the partnership in mind -- from the way the schedule works, to the hands-on pedagogy-- matched the philosophy of TFI itself. And in everything we did, we felt it was very important that the partnership was a true synergy -- one where both partners were enriched by the interaction. Too often, school-community partnerships fail because they are viewed not as a true partnership, but as a hand out or a public relations moment. With this in mind, as a founding blueprint, we framed partnership in three ways: Shared Public Vision; Shared Pedagogical Vision and The Interaction of the Two Communities. This is a framework we still use today.

The whole article is here. I'm hoping it's a useful frame for how school partnerships can be successful.