The HA Family

At the beginning of the school year, I scheduled appointments with every teacher and staff member in the school in order to get to know everyone a little better. I wanted to get a sense of everyone's family, why they work at HA, what they like about HA, where they think we need to improve, and (of course) what I can do for them.

The information I obtained was invaluable.  What I already felt to be true was confirmed: We have an extremely dedicated, talented, and caring group of faculty and staff who love our children and our school community. Every single member of our faculty and staff could be making more money (sometimes MUCH more money) working in a public school or in the business world, but they choose to stay at Houston Academy because they love it.

To this end, as I mentioned above, I asked the faculty and staff the question, "What do you like about HA?" Here is a sampling of the answers I received:

"I enjoy coming to work every day. I love the kids, and the people are great."
"I love working at a place where the kids love coming to school."
"I feel like I've died and gone to teacher heaven... I feel like we are making an investment in our kids."
"The school is challenging; children believe they can achieve their dreams; DREAMS LIVE HERE."
"There is strong parent and administrative support."
"My kids came here from [private school in Dothan]. I was shocked to see how far they were behind the other HA kids, but the great thing is, the teachers were so supportive, and my children caught up.I feel so happy now, knowing how well prepared my kids are for college."
"Everyone is so kind."
"HA is full of happy, positive people."
"I like that we are independent and can make our own rules and curriculum."

However, the most prevalent theme came down to one simple word: family. 

We all know that HA offers the only true, rigorous college preparatory curriculum in the Wiregrass. However, I was a little surprised to find out that our rigor and educational quality was not what people on the faculty felt was the best aspect of the school. Instead, they thought it was our family environment:

"HA looked out for my family. When we had problems, the people here were there for us."
"It's a family atmosphere where my children feel safe - both emotionally and physically."
"It's like a little family. People take care of each other, and the teachers treat the children like their own."
"It's a family. Everyone is genuine."
"I like that I really get to know the kids. I know them almost as well as I know my own. It's a family" 

Of the almost 90 meetings I had with faculty and staff, the word "family" came up over 70 times. As a parent who chose to put my three children in school at HA, I have to admit, I got a little choked up, and was extraordinarily touched, listening to the teacher stories about how the HA family had positively impacted their life and the lives of the children in our care. It's great to know that my three kids will receive an unbelievable college preparatory education at HA; it's even better to know they will be loved.

A New Facility for Our Students

   

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Houston Academy, I am pleased to announce that we will break ground this fall on a new Student Activities Center and Training Facility. For many years, our students have trained in our weight room in the Killingsworth Gymnasium.  Over time, however, this facility has become inadequate to support the needs of our growing athletic and extracurricular programs. 

Most of you know, last year we hired AJ Howard as our strength and conditioning coach. As a result, I believe we have seen remarkable progress in HA’s strength program. Building this facility will serve to enhance the outstanding job that Coach Howard and our other coaches and teachers are doing to help all our students obtain and maintain the highest levels of health and fitness.

The new Student Activities Center, which will be between 8,000 and 9,000 square feet in size, will house locker rooms, offices, and a state-of-the art weight room and cardiovascular training space.  Also, as a part of this project, new girls locker rooms will be constructed in the Killingsworth Gymnasium, and the existing weight room will be converted to much-needed office and storage space.

I should point out that no current tuition dollars are going towards the construction of this building. This project is being completed primarily through the generosity of parents and friends of Houston Academy. I should note, too, that this facility will serve ALL students and families within the HA community. That is, this facility is not only for student athletes.  Our PE classes will use it during the day, and Coach Howard’s services will continue to be offered to any student who would like his help and expertise.

We will be releasing more details about the facility in the very near future, and certainly, we will want to recognize those who have helped to make this happen.  Right now, however, we are thrilled to announce our plans to the entire HA community.

It’s an exciting time to be a Raider!

Dr. Scott D. Phillipps

The Teachers Who Inspire Us

Houston Academy is an institution that prides itself on its fine teaching, and certainly this pride is well deserved.  As I told the teachers at our opening faculty meeting, I believe that teaching is the most noble of professions.  For relatively little pay, they work every day to make this world a better place. Moreover,  for every CEO, star athlete, congressman, musician, doctor, or lawyer out there, there were one or more great teachers who were instrumental in making them who they are.

The older I get and the more experience in education I have, the more I appreciate the fine education I received at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and in my graduate studies. A great number of educators influenced me profoundly. My high school football and wrestling coach, Bob Cloy, taught me tenacity, resiliency, AND that a great coach SHOULD also be a great classroom teacher. My high school French teacher, Susan Kokoszka, taught me to revel in a culture that was not my own and that uncompromisingly high standards yield incredible results. In my undergraduate and graduate education, I was exposed to some incredible minds: Dan Franklin, Mynra Gantner, Art Casciato, Steven Bauer, Jack Kirby, and Ryan Barilleaux, to name a few.  However, if I had to pick one teacher to honor as having the most profound influence on my life, it would have to be my undergraduate history and American studies professor, Elliot Gorn. 

As a teacher and a student, I have observed that effective educators can take a variety of forms.  I have learned a great deal from teachers with disparate methods and demeanors.  “Elliot,” as he instructed us to call him, had a rare combination of intellectualism and informality that enabled him to impart a great deal, while creating one of the most comfortable learning environments I have ever encountered.  As I got to know him, I was awestruck by his scholarship.   Yet, Elliot never pretended to know all the answers.  Instead, he always found the questions that forced me to think conceptually.   In Elliot’s class, I learned how to make abstract connections relative to complex social phenomenon.  Importantly, though, Elliot never let us forget that society and history deal with real people with real lives, who face real issues. 

I won’t go so far as to say that Elliot taught me how to be a scholar, because I did not really learn that until graduate school, but what he did teach me was how to think like a scholar.   In Elliot’s class learning, for me, became both a pleasure and an obligation.  I genuinely enjoyed the readings, the class discussions, etc.  However, he engendered the kind of personal loyalty that made me determined not to disappoint him in any writing or work I did.  Elliot took my work and my thinking seriously.  This gave me confidence.  Consequently, I pushed myself to intellectual limits I had not previously discovered.  I came to recognize that education is not a product; education is a struggle.  I do not mean this in a pejorative sense, but in the sense that education is a process of disclosure that is not and should not be easy.  I learned that there is much greater satisfaction in unearthing something difficult than in repeating something tired.  I look back on some of my early work in his class, and I think it would have been very easy to mock my clichés, but somehow he taught me to reject them without making me feel like an idiot. 

Nonetheless, my struggle in his classes and my success in his classes helped me decide that I loved learning and loved teaching enough to make learning and teaching my career. As a teacher, I have incessantly worked to give my students the sense of excitement at intellectual development that I found in Elliot Gorn’s class.

The excitement and enthusiasm of a new school year always causes me to reflect on what teachers like Elliot Gorn gave to me and countless other students in his care.  Noting that no one has been inclined to respond to my blog, I would invite the HA community and readers of this blog to share their story of a teacher/coach who inspired them and shaped them.  Please comment below!

Our New Faculty and Staff!

With the bevy of educational reforms that have been imposed on our schools over the last 40 years, it seems that our political and educational leaders have forgotten one key fact: The single most important factor in a student’s learning is the quality of the classroom teacher.[1]

To that point, we have an outstanding faculty at HA. I think most of you know that when my family and I were looking at various headmaster jobs across the Southeast, we weren't merely looking for a job; we were looking for a place to educate and raise our three children. The faculty here at HA is a big part of the reason why we chose to come to Houston Academy.

Houston Academy has been very fortunate to be able to attract and retain a talented and assiduous faculty. That trend has continued with the hires we made this spring and summer. Please allow me to briefly introduce you to the newest members of the HA faculty and staff.

Of course, everyone who has been in the HA community knows what an outstanding educational leader Tammi Holman is. I expected big things from her, as our new Upper School Head, but she has exceeded my lofty expectations. Her innovation, incredible work ethic, scholarship, and keen understanding of children have inspired me. I believe you will see that our Upper School, which is already incredibly strong, will become even stronger under Ms. Holman’s leadership. Ms. Holman has a B.S. and graduate work from Troy University.  

Joel Pendleton is our new Director of Development.  Prior to his appointment at HA, Mr. Pendleton was the Advancement Coordinator for an educational organization called Student Statesman Institute (SSI), which is located in Lansing, Michigan. SSI is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to teaching law, Public Policy, Business, Communications, and Civics to high school students. Joel raised 2/3 of the entire operating budget for SSI who gave him exceedingly high recommendations.   I am very excited about what Joel brings to the proverbial table.  He is dynamic and motivated.

Leanne Todd will be moving into the position of Assistant Director of Development and the Director of Alumni Affairs. Most of you probably all know Ms. Todd, who is an alumna of the school and our Cheerleading Coach. Ms. Todd will be invaluable in developing a full-fledged alumni program for HA. We feel confident that she will be able to help our graduates and their families stay connected to our school. She will also help Joel in his efforts to build ties with current members of the HA community. Mrs. Todd has a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Alabama.

Vanessia Snell is coming to HA from Dothan High, where she has been the Lead Science Teacher for Dothan City Schools and a teacher of AP chemistry, AP physics, physical science, and biology. Furthermore, Ms. Snell has been an adjunct instructor at both Troy-Dothan and Wallace Community College, has been an AP Chemistry Exam Reader for the College Board, and has served as a consultant to College Board.  Ms. Snell will be teaching AP chemistry, chemistry, and physics this year. Ms. Snell holds a B.S. in Comprehensive Science Education from Troy University, an M.A. in Science Education from Troy-Dothan, and post Master’s Chemistry Certification from the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Patti Woodham Flowers will be joining HA as the HALL (Houston Academy Learning Lab) teacher after over 24 years of experience working with students from diverse backgrounds. In particular, Ms. Flowers has been a K-12 special education teacher working both in a resource room and in the general classroom setting.  Ms. Flowers has a B.S. and M.A. in specific learning disabilities from Troy University.

Leisha Hayes, the former HALL teacher, will be moving to the 3^rd grade classroom, full-time. Leisha has an M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Troy-Dothan and a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Auburn University.  Before coming to HA, Leisha was a teacher in the Houston County School system. We are excited about what Leisha brings to our regular classroom environment. 

Jimmy Riggs comes to us from Savannah, Georgia to teach mathematics. Specifically, he will be taking over the AP Calculus program in our Upper School.  Mr. Riggs is an alumnus of Roanoke College where he graduated Cum Laude with a major in mathematics and a minor in education. Interestingly, Mr. Riggs comes fresh off of a stint of teaching math in Wuhan, China. Furthermore, Mr. Riggs recently attended the College Board’s Summer Institute for Teachers of Advanced Placement Calculus at the University of Alabama. In addition to his teaching duties, Mr. Riggs will be coaching soccer with Rick Vasquez this spring.

Shelly Phillipps will be serving as our Director of Enrollment and Marketing and will be teaching World History.  Shelly has taught for 20 years in both independent and public schools. Additionally, she has served as the Executive Director of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Middle Georgia. In this capacity, she was responsible for marketing, fundraising, personnel management, and recruitment. In her teaching career in Georgia, Ms. Phillipps was named Teacher of the Year and STAR Teacher. She holds a B.A. in History and Classics from Miami University (OH), an M.A. in Humanities from Central Michigan University, and an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from Lincoln Memorial University (TN).

Our most recent new hire this year is Ben Leer who will be joining us in the Mathematics Department.  Ben has moved to Dothan from St. Petersburg, FL. Mr. Leer holds a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Central Florida, and he tutored students for six years at many levels of math including algebra, trigonometry, geometry, calculus, and SAT preparation. Ben is currently continuing his education at Troy University.  Moreover, Ben also has worked in outdoor education and as an internet marketing specialist. 

Houston Academy is very fortunate to have recruited this level of expertise to HA. It would certainly be impossible to overestimate the contributions that Marion Spivey, Joe Pelham, Ned Jenne, and Karen McCarroll have made to our school and to our children.  However, despite those significant and poignant losses, I believe we have brought a wealth of new talent into the HA community that will continue to offer the best education to students of the Wiregrass region.  I am eager for you to see them in action, and I hope you will join me in warmly welcoming them.

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[1] Research suggests that context variables (such as the educational level or income level of the parents of students) are more powerful predictors of student achievement.  It has been estimated that up to 70% of student achievement can be predicted by such variables. However, of the variables that we can control, the most powerful variable is the quality of the classroom teacher.

The Technology Fee Question

Since posting my first blog post yesterday, I have received several emails from parents concerning the new technology fee that was instituted by the Board of Trustees last spring.  Parents have asked me the following questions:

1). Why are we paying a fee that costs more (over the course of the lease) than buying our own MacBook would cost?
2). Can we buy our own device and bring it, thereby, avoiding the full cost of the technology fee?

Let me explain the rationale behind the lease (which predates my arrival, obviously).

I have been at a school for the last five years which has operated under a "bring your own device" model.  In short, it was an unmitigated disaster from a pedagogical standpoint.  When students "brought their own device" students had a wide range of devices. These devices varied from handheld devices, to tablets, to MacBooks, to Notebook PCs. Teachers were unable to plan or integrate technology into their lessons because the students had such varied devices with divergent capabilities within the classroom.  Basically, teachers were relegated to having students surf the web.

In order for technology to be truly integrated into teaching and learning, I firmly believe students need to have the same software and devices as their teacher, AND the school needs to have some degree of control over what is downloaded onto the computers.  Our goal, after much study and research, is for the MacBooks to be a transformational device -- a "game changer," if you will.  Whatever, the quality of other devices out there, we think it important for the technology that the children use in the classroom to be the same.

In addition, if we allowed everyone to bring their own devices, we would not be able to pay for current program and lease (to which the Board has made a commitment). The technology fee does not merely cover the costs of the MacBooks, themselves. It is going to pay for infrastructure (such as wifi), server upgrades, software, hardware, repairs, faculty development and training, and staffing (which has had to increase with the 1:1 initiative).   In short, if we let everyone bring their own devices, we would have to shut down the program we have, entirely.  That being said, we are at the cutting edge of educational change in our region. Unfortunately, being on the cutting edge is expensive. The Board instituted the program at no cost to our stakeholders and gave everyone their MacBooks "for free," but we are going to have to charge everyone, going forward, if we want the program to continue.

 I know that for most of us, an HA education is a huge financial commitment. However, it would probably surprise everyone to know that, while we have sound finances and operate in a fiscally responsible manner, HA tuition does not cover the entire cost of educating our children here. Our teachers are paid significantly less that the public school teachers in the area, and our tuition is significantly less than our NAIS peers throughout the Southeast.  Obviously, we do not receive state funding, so fees like the technology fee are essential if we want to continue to provide the finest education in the Wiregrass.

I hope that addresses your collective concerns.

HA and 21st Century Learning

George Washington, so the story goes, wakes up one morning and finds himself magically transported to the year 2013.  President Washington wanders out of Mt. Vernon and sees a row of large, metal boxes on wheels, and he’s amazed! He asks a tourist about these strange contraptions, and the tourist explains, “Oh, those are buses. You can go inside one of those, and they will take you to other places – way faster than horses could back in your day.” 

“Wow,” exclaims President Washington, “That’s amazing!”

So our 1^st President gleefully hops onto a bus with the intention of  discovering how his country has changed.  He travels around Washington, DC, the city that bears his name, and he is overwhelmed by the airplanes, computers, cell phones, televisions, highways, and all the other trappings of modern society.

Finally, President Washington comes across a local school.  He walks inside the school, and is stunned to see a big screen television in the foyer and a media center full of all kinds of contraptions that he does not understand.  

Inside a classroom he sees pupils quietly sitting in rows taking notes, while the teacher sits at his desk and delivers his lecture. With relief, Washington exclaims, “Thank goodness, there’s something that hasn’t changed!”

While this joke is funny, it’s also poignant. The world has changed, but in many important ways, education has not. Education is a field that has been particularly adept at resisting change. To this point, I recently read a quote from a Vice President of McDonald’s corporation: “The difference between your industry [education] and mine is that in my industry, we have to change before we need to, while, in your industry, you won’t change even when it’s clear that you must.”

By taking the bold step of initiating a 1:1 laptop initiative, we are already ahead of other educational institutions in the Wiregrass. As daunting (and expensive) as that move was, putting wireless technology in hands of our students and teachers was the easy part. Now comes the hard work of using that technology to transform education as we know it at Houston Academy.

If you look back at my blog post in December of 2012, I reference the verity that giving students computers means very little if it does not change educational practice.   

In my mind, technology is not necessarily an end; technology is a tool for our students to engage in 21^st Century Learning. In case you’re not familiar with this now ubiquitous term, “21^st Century Learning” is the buzzword in today’s educational vernacular. Researchers and business leaders have identified six key competencies ("the 6 C's) that students must possess in order to be successful in the world and in the workforce.  Those six competencies are (in no particular order):

• Collaboration

• Communication

• Creativity  

• Critical thinking

• Cross-cultural competency

• Character

I will expound on these competencies in future blog posts, but for now, suffice to say that the educational literature suggests that we can significantly impact student learning in competencies 1-5 through our 1:1 laptop program.  However, we have a tremendous amount of work to do in order make effective use of our technology.

The truth is, however, we must change the way we educate our children, and we must do it now. The Houston Academy Board of Trustees has laid out an ambition strategic plan, which calls for nothing less than transforming way we approach education here in the Wiregrass. Using technology as a tool to give our students the 21^st century skills they need to be responsible citizens in a competitive, global workplace should be a proverbial “game changer.” As far as I can tell, we are the ONLY school in our region that has embarked upon this arduous task. I hope you are as excited as the teachers and faculty are about the educational journey upon which we are about to embark.

I can’t wait for the school year to start!