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Event - Youth Leadership Event
Saturday, March 28, 2020
A Center collaboration with High Meadows Camp, this event is designed to empower young adults in high school and beyond. Stay tuned for this year’s speaker announcement.
Date: March 28, 2020
For: High School and College Aged Students
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Cost: minimal fee
Event Cancelled
Workshop - April 18, 2020
Follow the Child: Creating Play Experiences for Learning at Home
Parents of children aged 2-7 are invited to come learn with us as we show you how to engage your child in rich, authentic learning experiences utilizing house-hold materials and nature. Weaving together best practices from Reggio Emilia, Montessori and Forest School, our skilled educators will empower you to be a facilitator of learning in your own home. Hear how to tap into your child’s natural curiosity to create play-based opportunities and leave with hands-on ideas and resources. Participants will leave
- Understanding the developmental stages of young children
- Recognizing the role of play in early childhood development
- Knowing how to set the stage for authentic learning
- Feeling confident as facilitators of nature-based learning experiences
- Identifying the importance of independence and responsibility in young children
“Children need the freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds and colors.”
- Loris Malaguzzi
Date: April 18, 2020 - Download Flyer
For: Parents
Location: High Meadows School Preschool Classrooms
Time: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Cost: $75
Event Cancelled
Workshop - June 1-2, 2020
Learning Through Inquiry
How do educators increase student engagement, prepare students for the future and develop student agency? Come learn how an inquiry pedagogy and classroom culture of curiosity has the capacity to take student thinking to a higher level, engage all learners, and encourage conceptual understanding and connections between skills and knowledge of multiple disciplines.
Appropriate for preschool, early elementary, and elementary school educators. This workshop will explore:
- creating an environment for inquiry
- inquiry models
- integrated learning
- structures to support inquiry
- role of provocations
- assessment to support inquiry
- instructional strategies
- teacher’s role and stance
“What's in a question you ask? Everything. It is evoking stimulating response or stultifying inquiry. It is, in essence, the very core of teaching.”
- John Dewey
Date: June 1-2, 2020 - Download Flyer
For: Educators
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $200 (discounts for groups of 4 or more)
Event Cancelled
Workshop - June 3-4, 2020
Investigating the World: Using Archaeology Skills to Enhance Learning
High Meadows School Teachers grades 3-8 are invited to join us for a workshop introducing the award-winning, inquiry- based PROJECT ARCHAEOLOGY curricula that engages learners and teaches four enduring understandings:
- Understanding the past is essential for understanding the present and shaping the future.
- Learning about cultures, past and present, is essential for living in a pluralistic society and world.
- Archaeology is a systematic way to learn about past cultures.
- Stewardship of archaeological sites and artifacts is everyone’s responsibility.
Learn how to use scientific and historical inquiry to foster understanding of past and present cultures; improve social studies and science education and literacy; and enhance citizenship education to help preserve our archaeological legacy. Workshop participants will receive an archaeology education guide (shelter) that take students through an archaeological investigation.
Date: June 3-4, 2020 - Download Flyer
For: Educators
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $200 (includes lunch; discounts for groups of 4 or more)
Event Cancelled
Workshop - June 5, 2020
Play in the Dirt: Empowering Educators to Take Learning Outdoors
Join us as we explore ways to utilize the outdoors as a natural learning environment for children to encourage exploration, wonder, and creativity! Using best practices in nature-based learning, you will be empowered to create experiences that spark student curiosity, deepen understanding of the world around them, and allow for application of academic skills in the outdoors. Participants will:
- learn about the value and benefits of outdoor education
- understand how nature functions as a teacher
- explore sample lessons and design lessons to incorporate into your own learning environment
- overcome personal and professional obstacles you may encounter when taking learning outdoors
“Active free play, ideally outdoors, is essential for your child's sensory and motor development. Allowing your children time and space to play outdoors on a daiuly basis can significantly improve and encourage healthy development.”
- Angela J. Hanscom
Date: June 5, 2020 - Download Flyer
For: Educators
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $100 (includes lunch)
Event Cancelled
Past
Film Screening: Love Thy Nature
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Love Thy Nature - We’ve lost touch with nature. This disconnect hurts our health, dulls our spirit, and threatens our future. Narrated by Liam Neeson, Love Thy Nature is a cinematic journey through the beauty and intimacy of our vital relationship with the natural world. And it shows that a renewed connection with nature is key not only to our well-being, but also to solving our climate and environmental crises.
Date: January 29, 2020
For: Educators and Parents
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 6:30 pm
Cost: Free with RSVP (childcare provided)
Past Event
Speaker Series - November 14, 2019
An Evening With Dr. Wendy Mogel
Join us for an Evening with Dr. Wendy Mogel! The Center is excited to bring back clinical psychologist, parenting expert, and New York Times best-selling author Wendy Mogel. Always an audience favorite, Dr. Mogel uses humor and common sense to guide us on our journey as parents and educators.
High Meadows has featured her books Blessings of a Skinned Knee and most recently Voice Lessons for Parents in community book conversations. Currently she serves on the scientific advisory board of Parents Magazine and is a frequent guest expert on national media. She weighs in on issues of the day—from talking to kids about death to embracing the chaos of messy rooms—and on the topic for which she is best known: the protection and promotion of self-reliance, resilience, accountability and exuberance.
Sponsored by:
Date: November 14, 2019
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Cost: FREE with RSVP (childcare provided)
Past Event
Event - October 16, 2019
Community QPR: Empowering Gatekeepers with Mental Health Crisis Training
High Meadows parents Julie Smith, Anna Padgett and Caroline Carr will lead us through an important training designed to prevent suicide through public awareness and education.
Date: October 16, 2019
For: Parents
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Cost: Free
Click the RSVP button below and provide your name and contact info.
Past Event
Event - October 3, 2019
Beginning the High Meadows Journey
Come learn more about your school, connect with other families, and engage with faculty about the journey of learning at High Meadows.
Date: October 3, 2019
For: PreK and Kindergarten parents
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Cost: Free
Click the RSVP button below and provide your name and contact info.
Past Event
Event - September 25-26, 2019
Positive Discipline for Parents
Join High Meadows Director of Support Services Sue Amacker in learning about how Positive Discipline can provide long-term parenting skills that will encourage your children
- to think for themselves
- to become more responsible
- to have a greater respect for themselves and others
“Positive Discipline teaches young people from an early age to become responsible, respectful, and resourceful members of their communities. Recent research tells us that children are hardwired from birth to connect with others, and that children who feel a sense of connection to their community, family, and school are less likely to misbehave. Positive Discipline is based on the understanding that the key to positive parenting is not punishment, but mutual respect.”
- Dr. Jane Nelson
Date:
PreK Families - Sept 25, 2019
Lower Years Families - Sept 26, 2019
For: Parents
Location: High Meadows Preschool Classroom
Time: 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Cost: Free
Presented by Sue Amacker, MA, LPC, NCC
and Certified Positive Discipline Parenting Trainer
Click the RSVP button below and provide your name, contact info and which day you will be attending, PreK or Lower Years.
Past Event
Workshop - June 3, 2019
A Mindful Classroom
Join High Meadows educator counselor Sue Amacker, MA, LPC, NCC in learning how mindfulness can support well-being for students and teachers. The workshop will highlight bringing the benefits of mindfulness to our classrooms, empowering children’s self-management and regulation, and practicing mindfulness as an adult.
- What is mindfulness
- Benefits of mindfulness
- Mindfulness as a classroom tool
- Mindfulness practices that resonate with children
- Building mindfulness practices into our adult lives
“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It’s about knowing what is on your mind.”
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
This single-day workshop includes lunch and a copy of Teach, Breathe, Learn by Meena Srinivasan
Date: June 3, 2019 - Download Flyer
For: Educators
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $100
Past Event
Event - May 18, 2019
Breaking Down Courage to Buil it Up in Yourselves
High school and college-aged students are invited to join us for this free leadership workshop with youth & young adult speaker Candace Doby
The key to building up courage is having and utilizing the right tools. In this entertaining and interactive workshop, Candace Doby shares tools of courage —confidence, competence and cause—to help young adults understand how the tools can assist them in managing fear and preparing for courageous action. Attendees will
- Connect how courage promotes positive youth development.
- Understand the importance of developing three key components of courage: confidence, competence and cause.
- Discover how to develop those components in themselves.
Candace Doby is an empowerment speaker who has been examining the definition, elements and obstacles of courage for a decade to understand what pushes people forward and holds them back. As a speaker, Candace has combined personal storytelling with research-driven takeaways to inspire thousands of students across the southeast to act courageously. She was a top speaker for Monster’s Making It Count Program and has spoken to over 8,000 students across the southeast in conferences, assemblies and workshops.
“The path to fearlessness often goes through courage. Being courageous means choosing to face fear or a threat for a worthy purpose. The presence of fear, not the absence of it, is part of the courage equation. Fear is awake, alert and active, which means any attempt to lull fear to sleep is pointless. The goal, then, to is put fear in its place and make it behave.”
Date: May 18, 2019 - Download Flyer
For: High School and College-Aged Students
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Cost: Free
Past Event
Film Screening: Celling Your Soul
Thursday, January 31, 2019
CELLING YOUR SOUL is a powerful and informative examination of how our young people actually feel about connecting in the digital world and their love/hate relationship with technology. It provides empowering strategies for more fulfilling, balanced, and authentic human interaction within the digital landscape. The film reveals the effects of "digital socialization" by taking viewers on a personal journey with a group of high school and college students who through a digital cleanse discover the power of authentic human connectivity, and that there is "No App" or piece of technology that can ever replace the benefits of human connection.
Date: January 31 - 2019 - Download Flyer
For: Educators and Parents
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Cost: Free with RSVP
Past Event
How Every Home Supports Their Child’s Learning – A Parent Survival Guide to the Digital World
November 8, 2018
Learn what parents should know about successful parenting in the Digital World. Alan November, an international leader in education technology, will present:
- Critical Thinking on the Internet
- Managing and Learning From Social Media
- When Parents Should Say “No” and “Yes”
- Turning Digital Fear and Anxiety Into Digital Hope and Excitement
- Creating a Safe and Creative Digital Learning Environment
- How the Digital World Improves Learning
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Alan November has been a director of an alternative high school, computer coordinator, technology consultant, and university lecturer. He has helped schools, governments, and industry leaders improve the quality of education through technology. His areas of expertise include planning across curriculum, staff development, new school design, community building, and leadership development. November was named one of the nation’s 15 most influential thinkers of the decade by Technology and Learning Magazine and, in 2001, was listed as one of eight educators to provide leadership into the future by the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse. His writing includes numerous articles and best-selling books, including his most recent book, Who Owns the Learning? He was co-founder of the Stanford Institute for Educational Leadership Through Technology. November is most proud of being selected as one of the original five national Christa McAuliffe Educators.
Download Flyer
Date: November 8, 2018
Location: High Meadows Community Center
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Cost: Free with RSVP
Past Event
Workshop - June 4-5, 2018
Tools for Transformation: Creating Classroom Cultures of Thinking
In a fast-paced, rapidly changing world, how can teachers insure that the content of instruction today will serve our students in the world of tomorrow? How can we prepare students to live, work and thrive as global citizens in a world as yet unimagined?
In this course we will venture beyond curriculum, standards and benchmarks to explore the tools and techniques that support the greater purpose and promise of education. Join your fellow educators in taking advantage of the opportunity to learn, practice and apply transformational methods to build a culture of thinking in the classroom.
To create a culture of thinking is to:
- focus on learning vs. the work
- teach for understanding vs. knowledge
- encourage deep vs. surface learning
- promote independence vs. dependence
- focus on growth vs. grades
Presented by Brenda Major.
Join High Meadows School art teacher and STEAM integrator Brenda Major as she highlights strategies to weave thinking skills and attitudes through the fabric of all content learning. Brenda has a BA and MA in art from Georgia State University.
Date: June 4-5, 2018 - Download Flyer
For: Teachers
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $150 (lunch provided)
Discounted pricing for registering 4 or more.
Past Event
Workshop Feedback
“This workshop offered new ways to think and share routines and documentation.”
- JBecky Yardley, High Meadows School
“Rather than add more to what we do as teachers, [this workshop] provided real, useful strategies and tools for doing better.”
- anonymous
Workshop - June 4-7, 2018
Lifting the Level of Student Writing
Come learn with us as we discuss how implementing a writing workshop as part of a balanced literacy framework can elevate every aspect of your students’ writing. Appropriate for both writing workshop novices as well as experienced workshop teachers who want to heighten their practice, this workshop will cover the following topics:
- philosophical foundations of a writing workshop
- key aspects of writing workshop (what it is and what it is not)
- the assessment-planning-teaching cycle in a writing workshop
- writing process and how students move through the process
- the reading-writing connection and the importance of mentor texts
- the structure of a daily writing workshop
- principles of workshop management
- ways writing can be assessed
- potential unit planning process
Presented by Annie Swanlaw.
High Meadows teacher Annie Swanlaw has 13 years of experience teaching children and writing. M.Ed. with focus on literacy, literacy coach, and graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University.
“As we move around the room hearing our students’ stories, our teaching changes our children – and it changes us. Each child becomes infinitely precious to us.... When we feel this way, we stand a chance of making a difference in their lives.”
- Lucy Calkins
Date: June 4-7, 2018 - Download Flyer
For: Teachers
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $400 (lunch provided)
Discounted pricing for registering 4 or more.
Past Event
Workshop Feedback
“What can you do in order to raise a class of writers who will write for life…attend this workshop!”
- Tiara Wynn, High Meadows School
“Annie is a dynamic and passionate learner who has a wealth of knowledge to share. The environment in which she taught is admirable and worthy of emulation.”
- Kristin Barnett, Athens Academy
Workshop - June 7-8, 2018
Teaching for Civic Responsibility and Social Justice
How can teachers activate their intellectual empathy to build active, compassionate, responsible, global citizens without being political? Learn how to layer learning to teach differently, not teach more. In this course, we will support teachers acquiring the skills and dispositions to facilitate classroom learning where students become aware of the world, engage in current events and issues, and are involved in their communities. Foundational skills of reading, writing, and questioning work alongside social-emotional skills of empathy building, open-mindedness, and reflection to develop critical consumers of knowledge.
To teach for civic responsibility and social justice is to:
- create safe emotional spaces for sharing perspectives and critical listening
- provide opportunities for student voice and discourse
- utilize rich content to engage students
- promote research and critical thinking
- examine your own bias and ability to remain an impartial facilitator
Presented by Vivien Rosa-Vaccarelli and Kirsten Fournier.
High Meadows teachers Vivien Rosa-Vaccarelli and Kirsten Fournier have a combined teaching experience of 23 years. Vivien holds a B.A. in Art History from Barnard College of Columbia University and a M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Middlebury College. Kirsten holds a B.A. in Child Development and Education from Vanderbilt University and a M.ED. in Reading Education from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Date: June 7-8, 2018 - Download Flyer
For: Teachers
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $150 (lunch provided)
Discounted pricing for registering 4 or more.
Past Event
Workshop Feedback
“The sharing of tools, resources and books was most powerful. Wonderful way to learn how to incorporate social justice into curriculum.”
- Javonne Stewart of Trinity School
“Explore progressive education and how we can use the pedagogy to teach social justice.”
- Heather Schilling of Manchester University
“Build community by giving students a safe space to share their stories.”
- Jen Murphy of The Lovett School
Workshop - June 7-8, 2018
Learning with Inquiry and Innovation
How do educators increase student engagement, prepare students for the future and develop student agency? Come learn how an inquiry pedagogy and classroom culture of innovation has the capacity to take student thinking to a higher level, engage all learners, and encourage conceptual understanding and connections between skills and knowledge of multiple disciplines.
Appropriate for early elementary, elementary, and middle school educators, this workshop will explore:
- creating an environment for inquiry and innovation
- inquiry models
- integrated learning
- structures to support inquiry and innovation
- role of provocations
- assessment to support inquiry and innovation
- instructional strategies
- teacher’s role and stance
Presented by Kerri Irwin and Martha Lee Thwaite.
High Meadows teacher Kerri Irwin earned her MAT degree in Early Childhood Education from Oglethorpe University. She has fifteen years of teaching experience in private, public, and Montessori environments. Martha Lee Thwaite holds a BA in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from Converse College and a MEd from Columbia College in Divergent Education. She has 33 years of teaching experience in Independent Schools and has completed three courses through the Stanford dSchool.
Date: June 7-8, 2018 - Download Flyer
For: Teachers
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $150 (lunch provided)
Discounted pricing for registering 4 or more.
Past Event
Primary Colors: Youth Leadership Event
Saturday, May 12, 2018
High school and college-aged students are invited to join us for a free leadership workshop with speaker & writer Andrew McPeak
Looking for new experiences? Interested in making new connections? Want to know what makes for a healthy, effective leader? Gather with other young people to collaboratively explore the complex subject of leadership. Have fun while recognizing your own abilities and gaining valuable new skills! Learn about the four fundamentals that everyone and anyone can develop in their lives: character, perspective, courage and favor.
Andrew is a millennial speaker and content developer with Growing Leaders. In his role as Program Excellence Manager, he works closely with schools, universities, companies and sports teams on implementing Habitudes as a tool to teach life and leadership skills. Primary Colors of a Leader is a globally recognized formula for leadership.
Date: May 12 - 2018 - Download Flyer
For: High School and College Aged Students
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Cost: FREE
Past Event
Film Screening: Most Likely to Succeed
Save the Date! Thursday, March 15, 2018
Most Likely to Succeed examines the history of education in the United States, revealing the growing shortcomings of conventional education methods in today’s innovative world. The film explores compelling new approaches that aim to transform learning as we know it. After seeing this film, the way you think about “school” will never be the same.
Date: March 15 - 2018 - Download Information - Download Flyer
For: Educators and Parents
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Cost: $5
Past Event
Guides on the Journey: A Conversation with Child-Development Expert Chip Wood
January 24, 2018
Through exploring the developmental span of childhood we will learn how to be guides for our children’s journey. Learn more about the benefits of multiage classrooms and about the values of preserving childhood. Chip’s work over the past forty-five years has included being a classroom teacher, principal, parent educator, non-profit executive director, district administrator and educational consultant.
Chip is best known for his book Yardsticks (4th edition, January 2018) and his advocacy in the field of child development. He is a co-founder of the Greenfield Center School and co-developer of Responsive Classroom, a K-8 professional development approach as well as co-developer of Leading Together: Strengthening the Adult Community of Schools. He is the father of two adult children and three grandchildren and lives in western Massachusetts.
"How children see the world and how they think and act at school is affected by their developmental differences, but also by the family cultures and values they bring to the classroom."
From Yardsticks by Chip Wood
Date: January 24 - 2018 - Download Flyer
For: Educators and Parents
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Cost: $10
Past Event
HM families RSVP here
Book Study - Waking Up White
Thursdays: January 11, 18, 25 & February 1, 8, 15, 22
We hope you will join us for a series of conversations on Thursdays in January and February as we discuss Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving. In Ms. Irving's own words:
"Waking Up White is the book I wish someone had handed me decades ago. My hope is that by sharing my sometimes cringe-worthy struggle to understand racism and racial tensions, I offer a fresh perspective on bias, stereotypes, manners, and tolerance. As I unpack my own long-held beliefs about colorblindness, being a good person, and wanting to help people of color, I reveal how each of these well-intentioned mindsets actually perpetuated my ill-conceived ideas about race. I also explain why and how I’ve changed the way I talk about racism, work in racially mixed groups, and understand the racial justice movement as a whole. Exercises at the end of each chapter prompt readers to explore their own racialized ideas. Waking Up White's personal narrative is designed to work well as a rapid read, a book group book, or support reading for courses exploring racial and cultural issues."
Date: Jan 11, 18, 25 & Feb 1, 8, 15, 22 - 2018 - Download Flyer
For: Educators and Parents
Location: High Meadows School Library
Time: 4:30 - 6:00 pm
Cost: $25
Past Event
Book Study: Loving Learning by Tom Little and Katherine Ellison
A learning experience of three gatherings to discuss the book, education, and share perspectives.
What is progressive education? What makes a progressive learning environment different from more traditional educational environments? If you have ever asked yourself these questions, then the Center for Progressive Learning has the perfect opportunity for you! Please join us for an adult book study around the text Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America’s Schools.
Written by the former head of Park Day School, Tom Little, the book demonstrates the values found in a progressive approach by weaving historical, philosophical and practical stories and examples of whole-child learning. Experience how educators and schools around the nation invigorate learning and promote inquiry by allowing curriculum to develop from children’s innate curiosity and desire to learn.
“This is the book we’ve all been waiting for: a vision of what schools can do to guide children to become happy and engaged learners, productive and creative workers, and active, caring citizens.” –Madeline Levine, PhD, New York Times best-selling author of Teach Your Children Well
Books are available for purchase ($20) at the school. Email Kate McElvaney with requests and questions. Download Flyer
Dates: October 2, 16, and 30
Times: 9:00 - 10:00 am
For: Parents and Educators
Locations: High Meadows School Library
Cost: FREE with RSVP
Past Event
Working Together to Create Powerful Thinkers and Learners
November 30, 2017
Ron Ritchhart, author of Making Thinking Visible and Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools, is a senior research associate at Harvard Project Zero. Join us for this free event to hear how to combine the key ideas of what it means to be a culture of thinking, how we create this culture by emphasizing both parent and teacher roles, and how families can support their child’s development.
Date: November 30, 2017
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Cost: Free with RSVP
Past Event
Panel on Social Justice in Education
August 23, 2017
Join us for this free event designed to help educators and families understand the role schools play in addressing social justice issues with students. Progressive education prepares students for active participation in a democratic society, including support for children to develop a sense of social justice. Come learn from our panel of experts why this is important and how it can be accomplished.
Panelists:
Andrew Aydin – Co-author of the graphic novel series March which gives a vivid first-hand account of U.S. Representative John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights. Mr. Aydin serves as Digital Director & Policy Advisor to Congressman Lewis in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Trinity College in Hartford and Georgetown University in Washington, Andrew wrote his master’s thesis on the history and impact of Martin Luther King & The Montgomery Story. The best-selling graphic novels March: Book One, March: Book Two, and March: Book Three are taught in middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the country.
Tiffany Green-Abdullah M.Ed, PMP - Manager of Learning Community Development at Georgia State University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning where she curates innovative and culturally responsive learning communities and reduces silos within the university and acts as a bridge to community to engage with GSU. Tiffany developed Teaching for Social Justice & Democracy Speaker Series, which focuses on instructional strategies for faculty to incorporate social justice themes into various subject areas successfully. Tiffany wrote and received a grant from APLU to study Social Justice and Student Success at GSU in partnership with the College of Education and Human Development and the Southern Education Foundation. Tiffany is also the advisor to PantherHackers, a 400+ student organization focused on creative problem solving using technology. Tiffany is a co-founder and board chair of The Community Academy for Architecture and Design, a developing K-12 charter school in DeKalb County.
Brian Anthony Williams, PhD - Director of the Alonzo A Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education in the College of Education & Human Development at Georgia State Education in Atlanta, Georgia. With over 20 years of experience working in schools and other educational communities around the world, Dr. Williams’ work is situated at the intersection of science education, urban education, and education for social justice. More specifically, he is interested in the ways in which equity issues related to race, ethnicity, culture, and class influence science teaching and learning and access to science literacy.
Roberta Price Gardner, PhD - Clinical Assistant Professor in the College of Education & Human Development’s Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Georgia State University. She received her doctorate from the University of Georgia in language and literacy education. Her literacy research focuses on high-needs communities of color, and highlights lived experience phenomena, issues of identity, critical perspectives on children’s and young adult literature, and creative and transformative literacy pedagogies in school-family-communal contexts.
Jay Underwood – Head of High Meadows School in Roswell, Georgia. Jay has led diversity initiatives in three different independent schools and in regional school associations. His activities have included facilitating diversity cohorts for teachers, establishing a scholarship program for Native American students, and serving as an advisor to schools who look to welcome transgender students. A graduate of Guilford College and Rutgers University, Jay recently earned a fellowship to study social justice in independent education at Columbia University alongside 20 other school heads from around the world.
Tara Vito – Lead Librarian at The Galloway School where she teaches human rights and service learning classes to middle school students. In her career, Tara has worked in many different types of schools (independent, public, charter and alternative) throughout New England and the southeast region. Tara holds a B.A. in Psychology from Rhode Island College as well as a Masters in Library and Information Services from the University of Rhode Island. She is a member of the American Library Association and serves on several roundtables for social awareness and activism in libraries. She is the current Chair of the American Library Association GLBTRT Reviews Committee and is the Program Coordinator for Georgia Independent School Library Association. She is also a member of the Young Adult Library Services Association, Association of School Librarians and Foster Care Alumni of America.
Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Cost: Free with RSVP
RSVP Here
Workshop - June 19-22, 2017
Lifting the Level of Student Writing
Come learn with us as we discuss how implementing a writing workshop as part of a balanced literacy framework can elevate every aspect of your students’ writing. Appropriate for both writing workshop novices as well as experienced workshop teachers who want to heighten their practice, this workshop will cover the following topics:
- philosophical foundations of a writing workshop
- key aspects of writing workshop (what it is and what it is not)
- the assessment-planning-teaching cycle in a writing workshop
- writing process and how students move through the process
- the reading-writing connection and the importance of mentor texts
- the structure of a daily writing workshop
- principles of workshop management
- ways writing can be assessed
- potential unit planning process
Presented by Annie Swanlaw.
High Meadows teacher Annie Swanlaw has 13 years of experience teaching children and writing. M.Ed. with focus on literacy, literacy coach, and graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University.
“As we move around the room hearing our students’ stories, our teaching changes our children – and it changes us. Each child becomes infinitely precious to us.... When we feel this way, we stand a chance of making a difference in their lives.”
- Lucy Calkins
Date: June 19-22, 2017 - Download Flyer
For: Teachers
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $400 (lunch provided)
Discounted pricing for registering 4 or more.
Past Event
Workshop Feedback
“What can you do in order to raise a class of writers who will write for life…attend this workshop!”
- Tiara Wynn, High Meadows School
“Annie is a dynamic and passionate learner who has a wealth of knowledge to share. The environment in which she taught is admirable and worthy of emulation.”
- Kristin Barnett, Athens Academy
Workshop - June 12-13, 2017
Teaching for Civic Responsibility and Social Justice
How can teachers activate their intellectual empathy to build active, compassionate, responsible, global citizens without being political? Learn how to layer learning to teach differently, not teach more. In this course, we will support teachers acquiring the skills and dispositions to facilitate classroom learning where students become aware of the world, engage in current events and issues, and are involved in their communities. Foundational skills of reading, writing, and questioning work alongside social-emotional skills of empathy building, open-mindedness, and reflection to develop critical consumers of knowledge.
To teach for civic responsibility and social justice is to:
- create safe emotional spaces for sharing perspectives and critical listening
- provide opportunities for student voice and discourse
- utilize rich content to engage students
- promote research and critical thinking
- examine your own bias and ability to remain an impartial facilitator
Presented by Vivien Rosa-Vaccarelli and Kirsten Fournier.
High Meadows teachers Vivien Rosa-Vaccarelli and Kirsten Fournier have a combined teaching experience of 23 years. Vivien holds a B.A. in Art History from Barnard College of Columbia University and a M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Middlebury College. Kirsten holds a B.A. in Child Development and Education from Vanderbilt University and a M.ED. in Reading Education from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Date: June 12-13, 2017 - Download Flyer
For: Teachers
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $150 (lunch provided)
Discounted pricing for registering 4 or more.
Past Event
Workshop Feedback
“The sharing of tools, resources and books was most powerful. Wonderful way to learn how to incorporate social justice into curriculum.”
- Javonne Stewart of Trinity School
“Explore progressive education and how we can use the pedagogy to teach social justice.”
- Heather Schilling of Manchester University
“Build community by giving students a safe space to share their stories.”
- Jen Murphy of The Lovett School
Workshop - June 12-13, 2017
Growing Social Intelligence
Imagine a classroom where children expand their social and emotional selves by showing care for others; where children learn about fairness, justice and advocacy through play; where children think deeply and differently about themselves and others; where children grow into the very best version of themselves. In this course, we will support creating classrooms where students have significance, belonging, compassion, and empathy. Just as children learn best by doing, this will be an active course with a chance for you to see, try and apply teaching tools and strategies to your daily practice, helping children care, play, think, and grow in the social world of the classroom.
To grow social intelligence is to learn to help children:
- develop social and emotional competencies
- become part of a community
- manage themselves
- self-advocate
- communicate
Presented by Cari Newman and Jennifer Hannah.
High Meadows teachers Cari Newman and Jennifer Hannah have a combined teaching experience of 33 years. Cari holds a B.A. in Religion from Emory University and a M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Simmons College. Jennifer holds a B.S. in Child Education from Berry College and a M.Ed. in Reading from Mercer University.
Date: June 12-13, 2017 - Download Flyer
For: Teachers
Location: High Meadows School
Time: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $150 (lunch provided)
Discounted pricing for registering 4 or more.
Past Event
Workshop Feedback
“This workshop gives all the interconnected parts of social intelligence, linking back to brain research and giving teachers practical applications.”
- C. K. of The Galloway School
“Thoughtful and extensive overview of research, techniques, and materials to support children’s social intelligence.”
- Betty Wood of Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool
Book Study: Loving Learning by Tom Little and Katherine Ellison
A learning experience of three gatherings to discuss the book, education, and share perspectives.
What is progressive education? What makes a progressive learning environment different from more traditional educational environments? If you have ever asked yourself these questions, then the Center for Progressive Learning has the perfect opportunity for you! Please join us for an adult book study around the text Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America’s Schools.
Written by the former head of Park Day School, Tom Little, the book demonstrates the values found in a progressive approach by weaving historical, philosophical and practical stories and examples of whole-child learning. Experience how educators and schools around the nation invigorate learning and promote inquiry by allowing curriculum to develop from children’s innate curiosity and desire to learn.
“This is the book we’ve all been waiting for: a vision of what schools can do to guide children to become happy and engaged learners, productive and creative workers, and active, caring citizens.” –Madeline Levine, PhD, New York Times best-selling author of Teach Your Children Well
Books are available for purchase ($20) at the school. Email Kate McElvaney with requests and questions.
Dates: March 20, April 17, May 15
Times: 8:30 - 9:30 am
For: Parents and Educators
Locations: High Meadows School
Cost: Free (Books can be purchased for $20)
Past Event
Teach Your Children Well by Madeline Levine, PhD
In anticipation of Dr. Madeline Levine’s presentation on November 3 (learn more about this Speaker Series presentation), the Center will host a study of her book, Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies, or “Fat Envelopes”
Teach Your Children Well provides research and practical information to support parents in creating a broader definition of success that allows for children’s developmental growth and well-being. Psychologist Madeline Levine utilizes pertinent research and clinical experience to redefine authentic success at a time when the definition has narrowed to include only high-achieving academic success. Teach Your Children Well is an essential book for parents, educators, and therapists as they guide children in today’s fast-paced world.
Books are available for $12 at the school. Email Kate McElvaney with requests and questions.
Dates & Times: (chose one session)
Wednesday Mornings 8:30 - 9:30 am on October 5, 12, 19, 26
OR
Thursday Evenings 5:00 - 6:00 pm on October 6, 13, 20, 27
For: Parents and Educators
Locations: High Meadows School Library
Cost: Free
Past Event
Workshop - February 28, 2017
Positive Discipline Parenting
Come learn some common sense solutions to parenting challenges with Director of Support Services Sue Amacker. Positive Discipline is for parents who are looking for long-term parenting skills that will encourage their children
- to think for themselves
- to become more responsible
- to have a greater respect for themselves and others
We will focus on non-punitive, respectful methods that will incorporate kindness and firmness into parenting, help parents get to the core of their child’s misbehavior, bring more joy into the home and give parents a sense of accomplishment.
“Positive Discipline teaches young people from an early age to become responsible, respectful, and resourceful members of their communities. Recent research tells us that children are hardwired from birth to connect with others, and that children who feel a sense of connection to their community, family, and school are less likely to misbehave. Positive Discipline is based on the understanding that the key to positive parenting is not punishment, but mutual respect.”
- Dr. Jane Nelson
Date: February 28, 2017 - Download Flyer
For: Parents
Location: High Meadows Preschool Classroom
Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Cost: $100 (lunch provided)
Presented by Sue Amacker, MA, LPC, NCC
and Certified Positive Discipline Parenting Trainer
Past Event
Workshop - February 10, 2017
Using Technology to Connect Children to the Natural World
There is a belief that we must choose between technology and nature. At best these two important parts of our children’s world are viewed as mutually exclusive, at worst they are seen to be in competition with one another. Please join Education for Sustainability Teacher Michelle Griffin to explore ways we can utilize technology to connect with nature. The workshop will highlight ways to get your child outdoors using a variety of resources:
- Discover and use apps your child can use to explore the outdoors.
- Wonder and experiment with device-friendly tools.
- Share and learn ways other parents are managing screen time.
“We need a new way of thinking, one that tightly links the human- made world of economics and politics with the natural world of climate and biodiversity and with the designed world of 21st century technology.”
- Jeffrey Sachs, American economist and director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Date: February 10, 2017 - Download Flyer
For: Parents
Location: High Meadows School Campus and EfS Classroom
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Cost: $65
Past Event
Book Study - Teach Breathe Learn
January 9, 23, 30 - 2017 (three evening sessions)
We invite you to join us for a book study of Teach, Breathe, Learn by Meena Srinivasan.
"Mindfulness enables us to connect deeply with ourselves so in turn we can authentically connect with others.”
- Meena Srinivasan
Teach Breathe Learn: Mindfulness In and Out of the Classroom provides personal stories, research, and practical advice to support adults in developing an understanding and practice of mindfulness. Adults charged with raising young minds and bodies, whether parent or teacher, will benefit from Ms. Srinivasan’s unique approach to weaving a mindfulness practice into our days and our children’s experiences.
"Studies with K-12 students demonstrate ‘improvements in working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and self-esteem, as well as self- reported improvements in mood and decreases in anxiety, stress and fatigue.’ They also show that mindfulness training “can increase teachers’ sense of well-being and teaching self-efficacy, as well as their ability to manage classroom behavior and establish and maintain supportive relationships with students.”
- Meena Srinivasan
Date: January 9, 23, 30 - 2017 - Download Flyer
For: Educators and Parents
Location: High Meadows School Library
Time: 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Cost: $45 (includes copy of the book)
Past Event
Film Screening - January 5, 2017
I'm Not Racist...Am I?
Watch for upcoming opportunities to continue this important conversation about race.
We invite you to attend a free film screening of I'm Not Racist...Am I? A post-screening discussion facilitated by a member of the filmmaking team will allow for viewers to engage actively with the subject matter and with one another through respectful dialogues.
I'm Not Racist... Am I? is a feature documentary following a diverse group of teens through a yearlong exploration to get at the heart of racism. Through some tense and painful moments, we see how these difficult conversations affect their relationships with friends and parents, and ultimately challenge them to look deep within themselves. By the end of their time together, we’ll see these remarkable young people develop deeper bonds, a stronger resolve and a bigger, more significant definition of racism than any of us ever imagined.
Watch the Trailer - Download the Flyer - Learn More
“Regardless of one’s background, the topic of race is one of the most hard-to-talk about issues that we all live with today. I’m Not Racist...Am I? creates a space to have the discussions that hurt; it also has the power to spark the conversations that can heal”
-Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz Assistant Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
Date: January 5, 2017
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Cost: Free with RSVP
Past Event
Workshop - December 3
Bringing Mindfulness Into Your Life
Join High Meadows educator Annie Swanlaw and counselor Sue Amacker in learning how mindfulness can support well-being for teachers, parents, and students. The workshop will highlight the power of practicing mindfulness as an adult and how to bring the benefits of mindfulness to children.
- What is mindfulness
- Benefits of mindfulness
- Mindfulness as a classroom tool
- Mindfulness practices that resonate with children
- Building mindfulness practices into our adult lives
Date: December 3, 2016 - Download Flyer
For: Educators and Parents
Location: High Meadows School Library and Classrooms
Time: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Cost: $85
Past Event
Dr. Levine will speak about preparing children for success in the 21st Century. She will have a Q&A at the end of her presentation as well as a book signing. Books will be available for purchase before and after the event.
Date: November 3, 2016
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 7:00 pm Presentation and Q&A, 8:00 pm Book Signing
Cost: FREE with RSVP
Past Event
Book Study: Teach Your Children Well
October, 2016 - morning or evening session available
In anticipation of Dr. Madeline Levine’s presentation on November 3 (learn more about this Speaker Series presentation), the Center will host a study of her book, Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies, or “Fat Envelopes”
Dates & Times: (choose only one session)
Wednesday Mornings 8:30 - 9:30 am on October 5, 12, 19, 26
OR
Thursday Evenings 5:00 - 6:00 pm on October 6, 13, 20, 27
Location: High Meadows School Library
Cost: FREE with RSVP
Past Event
Summer Workshops 2016
June 6-7
Two different workshops will be offered in the Summer of 2016.
Growing Social Intelligence
In this course we will support creating classrooms where students have significance, belonging, compassion, and empathy. We will actively explore teaching tools and strategies to help children care, play, think, and grow in the social world of the classroom.
Tools for Transformation: Creating Classroom Cultures of Thinking
In this course we will venture beyond curriculum, standards and benchmarks to explore the tools and techniques that support the greater purpose and promise of education.
Past Event
Book Study: Loving Learning
March 15, April 19, May 17 (three group meetings)
A blended learning experience that will include 3 face-to-face meetings and an online discussion.
What is progressive education? What makes the High Meadows learning environment different from more traditional educational environments? If you have ever asked yourself these questions, then the Center for Progressive Learning has the perfect opportunity for you! Please join us for our first adult book study around the text Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America’s Schools.
Written by the former head of Park Day School, Tom Little, the book demonstrates the values found in a progressive approach by weaving historical, philosophical and practical stories and examples of whole-child learning.
The High Meadows School faculty read this inspiring book over the summer and have been exploring the ideas and approaches in learning groups throughout the year. As educators we recognize the power behind a shared reading for building common understandings, strengthening relationships, and inspiring action. We would love for you to experience this power as well.
The Center will have copies of the book for sale. Looking forward to our journey together!
Dates: March 15, April 19, May 17, 2016
For: Parents and Educators
Locations: High Meadows School, Franklin House
Times: 8:30 - 9:30 am
Cost: Free
Past Event
Speaker Series - November 17
An Evening With Kevin Carroll
Renowned speaker and author Kevin Carroll will speak about embracing our spirit of play and creativity to maximize human potential and sustain more meaningful personal and organizational growth.
Date: November 17, 2015
Location: High Meadows School Community Center
Time: 6:30 pm Presentation and Q&A, 8:00 pm Book Signing
Cost: FREE with RSVP
Past Event