Letter from the Head of School

January 2010

Life-long learners: The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.  ~ Mortimer Adler

Dear Shreiner Academy Family:

We are on a tremendous journey together for our children! We have made exciting changes while preserving the wonderful aspects of our Shreiner traditions. As I reflect on the last 5 months of this current school year, I am inspired by the commitment, the passion, the growth, and the accomplishments of our staff and students. This is due in large part to our partnership with you, our parents, and to the tremendous support you give all of us on a daily basis. Thank you so very much! It is this partnership with you that creates the unique family feel of Shreiner Academy.

Speaking of family feel and its importance, you may recall we welcomed guest lecturer, Anne R. Pierce, Ph.D., author of Ships without a Shore: America’s Undernurtured Children to our November parent meeting. Dr. Pierce gave a lecture emphasizing the major premise of her book—the importance of childhood and the essential aspects of a loving and nurturing environment in a child’s life—in sum, the need for the preservation of childhood innocence and wonder in this fast-paced context of Modern American life. Dr. Pierce toured our classes and spent time on campus, and she shared with me her delight with Shreiner Academy. Referring to the feeling of the campus, specifically, she said, “Shreiner Academy is so unique. It is the least institutional school I have ever seen—public or private. It is a place where I would gladly send my own children!” Shreiner’s tradition is that it is a loving and nurturing environment. As Dr. Pierce observed, it is a “throwback” to the best of the way school use to be. And, while we are committed to growth and improvement, we never want to change the essence of what we are—the family feel.

Over the past 5 months, and with the help of our parent group, AEG, we have established important guidelines to help ensure our continued progress, and, importantly, our commitment to our goal of providing the very best in education for the individual needs of each of our students. At Shreiner, we know what makes us unique, and we steadfastly believe that it is our three pillars: the family feel of our environment, our whole child approach to education, and our belief in the foundation of pedagogical excellence that sets us apart from any and all competitors.

So, as we look forward to our bright future together, we want you to know a little more about the current state of the school. We have been working diligently and we will continue to do so—just like parenting, we know that this is a job that is never finished. Growth and change for the better is essential, and it is our duty as educators committed to excellence to ensure this for our children. We value our partnership with you and are excited to share with you our progress with our common goals, as well as our shared vision for the future! Shreiner is the very best educational value on the market! With your continued help and support, we will continue to realize the following:

Our Vision:

-Shreiner will be the premier 2K-8^th grade (and beyond) “whole-child” school for greater Atlanta.

-Shreiner faculty will provide true individualized instruction for all students with the help of tools such as the NWEA Measure of Academic Progress.

-Shreiner students will continue to love learning and will be autonomous, life-long learners who “share the vision” as our alumni.

Our Process:

What have we accomplished towards this vision? With your help, we have firmly established footholds for the following:

      -Professional development that is ongoing:

A. Curriculum exploration and refinement within and across our grade levels, 2K-8^th grade (including alignment and constant evaluation and assessment about: what we do, what’s “out there”, and how children learn)

B. Reflective teaching practice by all faculty, 2K-8^th grade (through planning, researching, delivery, reflection, and formal evaluation and coaching)

C. Opportunities and support for professional growth and education (through regular faculty meetings, curriculum development meetings, individual lesson plan submission on a weekly basis, and continuing education opportunities, pre-school through 8^th grade)

D. Training opportunities for our faculty with outside experts in a variety of fields (through pre-school continuing education; 2 NWEA training days; collaborative and team-building training with Strength’s Finder’s expert, Leslie Krehnbrink)

             -Improved Communication through a variety of modes:

A. Head-to-Head monthly parent meeting opportunities; regular faculty meetings and department meetings; professional development with experts brought to campus

B. Technology:  all K-8 teachers have laptops for classroom use, access to projectors; email accounts, and technology access in all buildings; all families have email account opportunities for instant school communications; an all- school directory has been created; our new website is undergoing an upgrade to include homework postings, current news, blogs, tweets, and Facebook postings

      -Academic commitment to true Individualized Instruction for all students:

A. NWEA MAP assessment tool: (implementing the progress data for each child, K-8, through the NWEA MAP assessment tool, given three times a year)

B. Daily Instruction: Providing the best in early-childhood readiness instruction, encompassing the development of the “whole child” (emphasizing whole-child socialization and development, including nurturing readiness and learning skills)

C. Trained and highly qualified faculty :( attracting, evaluating, and hiring the most qualified instructors for our students)

D. Partnerships with our parents: (working together for the success of our children.

Preservation of our traditions as foundations for our growth:

1. Community extra-curricular celebrations and activities: (taking time for fun and family as a vital part of life-long learning--our 30^th Anniversary Celebration, International Festival, Bingo Nights, nutrition classes, enrichment programs, summer camps, etc.)

2. Monthly field trips: (across the grade  levels and integrated into our curriculum)

3. Our buildings and structures: (including our new Welcome Center and classrooms in the 1320 Building, as well as new desks and white boards in other classrooms)

4. Our 8-acre campus: an outdoor classroom and important resource for learning ( showcasing our science explorations, student-maintained “Shreiner garden”, and our growing “green” efforts, campus-wide)

In sum, Shreiner is a unique and special place. We are committed to serving you and your children. We have a solid growth and improvement plan in place to provide our faculty with the tools to ensure our children the very best in education. We are unlike any other school in Georgia—private or public, and the future is bright. As always, we welcome ideas from our families and encourage open communication at all times as we work together to build our future.

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”  ~John Dewey 

With kindest regards, 

Sarah Walker, Head of School