How do you
characterize the academic life at GFA?
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John Elmore, Head of Upper School
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It's truly individualized. We're able to accommodate students
at their grade level but also across grade levels. For example, a math or foreign language class might have students
from two or even three different grades in it. If a student accelerates through a summer program like Algebra
2, he or she can move up to the next level of math in the fall. All of our
courses are college prep, and students are able to work appropriately. The
balance we seek is for each student to be both challenged and successful.
What distinguishes
your faculty?
First I have to say we have extraordinary veteran teachers
who lend their expertise to their departments and we also have young teachers
who bring a fresh perspective to the table. And no one can talk about GFA without commenting on the
faculty/student relationships. Individual relationships between students and
teachers are the norm here; everyone comments on this. The teachers are academic
professionals. They love their
subject matter, but they’re aware they’re teaching young people and preparing
them for
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their future.
Our expectation is that students become self-advocates and
this affects the way faculty interact with them. You see it around the Harkness table and in all the
classrooms, but students will go to a faculty member outside of class anytime he
or she needs help. Faculty members
at GFA are available, and the result is quick stops in the hallways and teachers
and students working together during free periods. The best way I can describe it is to say that the atmosphere
created by the faculty is comfortable, but not casual.
It is said that GFA's
academics are tough. What is the level
of rigor?
High. The
courses are demanding, but we do accommodate. New students notice on the first day of school that they
have “legitimate” homework. On the
other hand, we've worked the schedule so every class only meets four days a
week. There’s a lot of work, but the
teachers and the way we employ technology to organize assignments help the
students get it done.
What is involvement
like in student activities?
One advantage to our size is that we actually need and
expect everyone to participate in multiple school activities. Everyone gets leadership opportunities
and opportunities to be involved. Everyone here is a student first, but beyond
that, there’s a time for experimentation, and after the experimentation, it's
time to move forward and take a leadership role. A student here can be an
athlete, an artist and a musician. He or she can take advantage of
international programs. The
Student Council Chair might also be the captain of an athletic team and researching
a thesis topic for the World Perspectives Program. That’s just one example, and it's not unusual.
What is the social atmosphere?
What I notice is that kids make GFA their own very quickly.
Cliques and grade levels tend to break down in the Upper School. Because of
sports teams and other activities, students aren't exclusively with their
grade. If you talk to the new
families, they'll tell you about the friendliness of the place. People are
willing to help. They watch out for each other. That said; there are legitimate
groups. You can find the theater
kids hanging out after rehearsal or the volleyball players wearing their team
shirts and having lunch together on game day.
We purposely invest a great deal in our student life programs. Each class takes a trip
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Juniors on their Class Trip in Newport, RI
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together, so,
at each level, we have thoughtfully and carefully put together a way for
students to come together as a class and to have a chance to bond. I’ve always been struck by the way the
school has been built architecturally. The nicest room in the main building is the student center. With its views of Long Island Sound and
light-filled spaces, it could have been the Head’s office or an administrative
facility, but we put the kids there. That says a lot about the school.
What is the role of
technology in the classroom?
At this point, technology is just part of school life. It's
woven into the way the faculty works and the way the students interact. All students in the Upper School have
laptops, and in many ways, it's a non-issue. As someone said, “We’re a school
with laptops, not a laptop school." That’s the sentiment. We’re
careful to provide technology as a tool where appropriate. If teachers use a SmartBoard, or
probewear or a graphing calculator, we trust them to know the right fit for
their classes and curriculum.
What are your
observations about the way students learn at GFA?
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Carl Allen, Artistic Director of the Juilliard Institute
for Jazz Studies, working with GFA students
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Certainly the learning doesn't all happen in the classroom. Individual departments plan trips and
service learning opportunities. We
bring in a lot of speakers who don't just talk during assemblies, but work with
the kids in the classrooms. These
speakers in the arts, writing, science and other subjects bring an outside
perspective to our curriculum and the students get to know them.
Something that has struck
me about the GFA teachers is that they are always looking for ways to improve.
It may be that they research new ways to assess student work, to use technology
or to integrate their curriculum with another teacher. And now we have our World Perspectives
Program which is evolving. We're not just saying we're doing global learning,
we're really doing it. This is an
exciting place for learning.