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There’s no arguing that a good education is one of the best gifts parents can give their children. But finding the right option can be tricky. Children have different needs, learning styles and personalities, and a traditional public school education may not be the best fit for every child. But many parents are unaware that there are other options beyond traditional private school. To shed some light on some of the less conventional educational opportunities available in our area, we contacted several local experts to profile some area schools that make it their duty to think outside the box.
Charter Schools
After Lilian Thomas and several other parents noticed their children having difficulties transitioning from her child care program — Child’s Play — to the public school setting, they decided their kids deserved a different educational environment. Thomas first considered forming her own private school. Then she came across an article about forming a charter school and devoted herself to researching this unique type of educational setting.
After three years of planning and a successful grant application, Midland Valley Prep was born in August, 2002. This year-round school currently serves 4-year-olds through seventh graders who live in Aiken County and the surrounding school districts. The school plans to add an eighth grade program next year.
Although Midland Valley Prep has seen tremendous success, Thomas says there are still many misconceptions about it, and other charter schools. “We are not an alternative school for behavioral problems and we don’t charge tuition,” she says. “The school is part of the school district, but we act independently. Charter schools are usually founded by a group of people who have a unique vision for a child’s education.”
In the case of Midland Valley Prep, the school emphasizes the idea of multiple intelligences and focuses on self-directed learning. Traditional school settings often cater to children who learn through oral or written word, making it frustrating for children who have alternative learning styles to thrive. “Not all children learn the same way, and it’s important to appeal to all learning styles,” says Thomas.
It’s important to note that each charter school forms independently, based on its own unique educational philosophy. Parents need to research any charter school they are considering to make sure the vision of that particular school matches their child’s needs. A perk of any charter school is that there’s no screening or testing process, unlike many private or magnet schools, and because it is an extension of the local school system, children attend tuition-free.
Homeschooling
Teaching your children at home, or having them taught in someone else’s home, has grown in popularity in recent years.
Georgia law requires that a parent have at least a high school diploma to be able to teach their children. In addition, parents who wish to instruct other children in a home setting must have a college degree.
“Homeschooling parents must provide four to five hours of educational instruction each day, consisting of math, language arts, social studies/history and science. Art, music and PE are often added to round out the week,” says local mother Tina Slendak, president of Homeschool for Y.O.U., a local organization for homeschooling families. Tina has been homeschooling her son for six years.
Many parents opt to homeschool their children for religious reasons or because they are unhappy with the ideals being pushed in the realm of public school. Other parents may decide to homeschool a child with special needs. “Children with learning disorders or those that need a lot of one-on-one instruction do well in a homeschool setting,” Slendak says. “But there’s really no one reason families decide to homeschool. Each family has a different reason.”
Slendak says the key to a winning homeschool experience is to research the process before taking kids out of another school environment. “There are many different methods of homeschooling and parents need to educate themselves before jumping into it.”
For those considering homeschooling, there are a number of local homeschool associations that provide information and support. The Web is also rich with homeschool resources — just type in homeschool in Google and an infinite number of sites will pop up. Finally, most bookstores have several homeschool books on their shelves.
“Homeschooling is not for everyone,” Slendak says, “but there’s no one educational method that is right for all children. Parents just need to pick the one that best suits their child.”
International Baccalaureate (IB) Program
The IB program is an advanced high school diploma program. It was created in 1968 to establish a common curriculum for ambassadors’ children who moved from country to country. Today it is an advanced, rigorous set of courses in which students are tested at the end of their senior year to determine if they qualify for a diploma. More and more high school students are taking advantage of this advanced program as a way of making themselves more competitive in the college application process.
The IB program is available at the Academy of Richmond County and has been in operation for three years. It is a rigorous, pre-university course of studies that takes place during the junior and senior years. While other high schoolers are taking the typical courses, an IB student might be studying world literature, philosophy or other subjects normally reserved for higher education. In addition, IB students are required to do 150 hours of volunteer work in their school, community or larger venue as part of the Creative Action Service (CAS) requirement, as well as write a 5,000-word extended essay on a topic of their choosing. A Pre-IB program for ninth and tenth graders helps prepare students for the two-year Diploma Program for eleventh and twelfth graders.
Although the IB program is not reserved for those children labeled as “gifted”, it does demand a high level of academic discipline and a strong desire to learn. “The IB program is not for a student who only wants to do schoolwork,” says Pat Burau, assistant superintendent for school improvement and program development for the Richmond County Board of Education. “The program is designed for highly-motivated children who want to go beyond the typical curriculum offered in school. Our students are very involved and motivated to learn.”
Pre-IB applications are available in December at the Academy of Richmond County. Students interested in the IB Diploma Program must apply to be admitted before registration of their junior year.
Magnet Schools
If your child has an aptitude for a certain area of learning, you might want to consider a magnet school. “A magnet school places a strong emphasis in a particular subject area, like fine arts or science,” explains Pat Burau, assistant superintendent for school improvement and program development for the Richmond County Board of Education. “Although there is an admissions process for magnet schools, there is no fee to attend since the schools are part of the Richmond County school system.”
The idea of magnet schools first came to fruition in the 1970s in an effort to combat racial isolation after the desegregation of schools. Today magnet schools still attract students of many races (like a magnet), but are also often a superior option even in an area where racial isolation isn’t an issue. Most educational experts agree the reason for the success of magnet school education is the power of choice: If a magnet school voluntarily attracts students, it will succeed because the students will want to be there. Likewise, evidence shows that when parents choose a school for a child, that school is more likely to be a success than if a school had merely been assigned.
Currently, the only magnet schools in our area are in Richmond County. “We have three distinct magnet schools in the area,” Burau says. Founded in 1980, the C. T. Walker Magnet School is a traditional magnet school, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The educational setting at Walker is dedicated to the development of basic skills in language arts and mathematics, the development of higher order thinking skills, and content area knowledge and application. Kindergartners must pass a screening test. Available positions are then filled through a lottery process.
The A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School is for children in grades 9 through 12 who have an interest in working in the health care or engineering fields. A test emphasizing mathematics is part of the admissions process.
Finally, the Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School caters to students gifted in dance, drama, art or music. An application process and audition are part of the selection process.
According to Burau, there are also plans to build a career technical magnet school that would offer classes based on the construction, communication, health and engineering industries.
Magnet schools are an excellent alternative for many children since their specialized programs facilitate a unique commitment to education. The application process typically takes place during the winter months and early spring.
Montessori Schools
Imagine walking into your child’s classroom, and instead of finding traditional rows of desks, you see a room filled with colorful “interest centers” stocked with plants, animals, art, charts, fossils, computers and other hands-on objects. And rather than grouping students by age, children of various ages are interacting with one another while teachers quietly monitor their learning.
This what you would likely find in the Montessori environment, according to Penelope Mitchell, directress of the Martinez Montessori Academy, which serves children through first grade. “Everything you find in a Montessori classroom is part of the children’s environment and is there to help them learn,” she explains. “A lot of people think Montessori is based on a Christian curriculum, but it’s not. It’s a hands-on educational program that focuses on the individual needs of the child. The rooms are colorful and interesting and the teachers are there to guide the children in their learning.”
The Montessori educational model came from the observations of Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), the first female Italian physician and pioneer in early childhood education. While working with underprivileged children, Dr. Montessori observed that children are sensitive to certain areas of learning at specific ages. Children learn by doing and by exploring with their senses in a setting that provides age-specific learning experiences.
Aside from an emphasis on hands-on, age-specific learning, another hallmark of the Montessori program is multi-age classes and highly personalized, collaborative learning. “We have a three-year age range in the classroom,” Mitchell says. “We really encourage the children to learn from one another.”
The Montessori curriculum is as diverse as the ages its classes serve. “We teach a wide-variety of subjects. On a typical day, you may find a 3-year-old working with binomial cube or another child making a continent book and color-coding each landmass,” Mitchell says.
She has found that children who need to be challenged do particularly well in the Montessori environment. In addition, special-needs children often discover their niche in Montessori classrooms. “We find that children with learning disabilities function well in our program since they have the freedom to choose their work,” Mitchell explains. “We really focus on independence and allow the child to be an individual.”
The Montessori approach is becoming increasingly popular, and schools — including Montessori high schools — are cropping up all over the nation. However, Mitchell warns that not all schools using the Montessori namesake truly follow the curriculum. “Montessori is not a copyrighted name, so anyone can use it,” she says. “You really want to make sure the school is following the curriculum.”
To learn more about Montessori education, visit montessori.org. |
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