Renee, West, several Omega students and other local educators, consultants and community members have been working hard since September to rethink and reinvent learning. The team has emerged with an innovative high school concept-the rEVOLution High model which was recently submitted to the XQ Super School Project. This XQ Super School Project is project is a $50 million campaign, funded by Laurene Powell Jobs and the XQ Institute, to reimagine and design the next public American high school. Recently the Mountain Express did a story on our XQ Superschool Team and its process. Check the article out here.
This XQ Super School Project is project is a $50 million campaign, funded by Laurene Powell Jobs and the XQ Institute, to reimagine and design the next public American high school.
Contestant teams were asked to submit school concepts in November 2015. Our team was deemed eligible! Click here for our pitch video. Then in phase two, the teams were asked to submit comprehensive plans outlining the proposed school model by February 2015. Our team has since moved in to the semi-finalists phase in which 750 proposed school plans were narrowed to 350. Finalists (50 teams) will be announced by July 1, 2016. The XQ Institute will partner least five winning teams (chosen August 2016) and provide them expert support and a budget of $10 million to support to turn their ideas into real Super Schools. Read more about the XQ challenge on its website.
The rEVOLution High team was started by two core members currently working at Rainbow Community School (RCS), West and Renee. The prospect of expanding the RCS Seven Domains model into a high school served as inspiration. This progressive model takes a whole child approach. It brings the sacred into education by emphasizing the social, emotional and spiritual growth of a child as he/she are discovering a personal and a collective identity. Other local educators joined the team because not only do they acknowledge the challenges of the current state of education and are compelled to advocate for something new, they also understand child development and recognize the need for a setting that “sees” the child holistically in relation to themself, their community, and the planet. Most importantly the entire team knows that every child deserves this kind of opportunity- a humane education. We want to manifest holistic education practices widely and make it accessible to a broad demographic of people, and we designed this school because there are currently no free public high schools operating under this unique holistic model in Asheville. We believe that we can change lives, nurture change makers who are not only systems thinkers but are socially just, spiritually fulfilled and environmentally sustainable. This can change the world!
We have assembled a team of over 30 diverse educators, students, consultants, professionals, and community volunteers. Many of them live and work in Western North Carolina and are incredibly invested in the community of Asheville. Some live elsewhere but believe strongly in what we do at RCS and want to support a Rainbow inspired high school. Our core team of eight include educators with expertise in law and policy, school and teacher leadership, school counseling and behavioral health, organizational development and facilitation, equity and social justice, child development and teaching and learning, curriculum design, adult learning, outdoor and environmental education, and holistic and contemplative education. Many of our non core team members have advised the core team on various components of the Design phase including governance, finance, technology, marketing, sustainability and equity. Others have served as community mobilizers during the Discover phase. Finally, we have several non core team members that are enthusiastically and patiently waiting to share their expertise and/or volunteer once we receive the grant.
Below are graphics that explain our mission, purpose, core value and design principles as well as our innovative learning network HUB structure.
Additionally, we have gotten a lot of attention from the XQ institute through postings on our twitter account @RevolveHigh Follow Us!
Rainbow Community School has been recognized as NC Green School of Excellence since 2014. Each year we audit our curriculum and programming in order to renew our certification West Willmore, our Curriculum Director spent the better part January exploring elements of our Natural Domain curriculum and environmental program and practices. She collected curriculum updates, artifacts, pictures and anecdotes that addressed NC Green Schools rubric components. Please take a look at the school summary and powerpoint to get a better picture of all the amazing Green School practices and activities that we are currently doing.
From NC GREEN SCHOOLS- “Congratulations! Your school has successfully renewed your status as a NC Green School of Excellence! We are so proud of all that your school is doing to teach the students about the interconnectedness of humans and nature and showing the students how to take care for the environment all school year long. We believe that this education will last a lifetime and we are proud to witness and acknowledge this as cutting edge. We recognize all that you do at Rainbow Community School, especially for empowering students to take on leadership roles in the school, for actively creating community engagement and partnerships, and nurturing the students’ natural curiosity to dive deep into their experiences in the outdoor learning environment.”
Rainbow Community School pursued the NC Green School of Excellence designation in the hopes of sharing our efforts and ideas, inspiring positive change in other schools and collaborating with other organizations to encourage collective efforts. The natural world serves as an important teacher in the lives of all our students. For example, connection to the natural world is celebrated in our mission to “develop accomplished confident, and creative learners who are prepared to be leaders in building a compassionate and environmentally sustainable world” and as one of our guiding principles “through understanding nature we understand ourselves therefore the learning environment extends into the natural world, the greater community and children spend as much time outside as possible. Children who have a relationship with nature will take care of it.” Additionally, environmental sustainability and stewardship and nature appreciation and education are part of our daily rituals and routines. Moreover, RCS is recognized by Ashoka to be a Changemaker School. The Changemaker Schools Network is a community of schools that as part of their mission and method support children in developing skills that aim to solve challenging problems and effect positive local, national and global change. To that end, elements of every grade’s curriculum integrates these changemaking skills and efforts and often children have opportunities to discuss, research, and design innovative solutions to many environmental problems. Indeed, Rainbow’s mission and vision incorporate learning that has, at its heart, a desire to instill a love for self and a love for the planet in a changing world.
The Natural Domain is emphasized as one of Seven RCS Learning Domains. From eco-conscious and green building practices, time spent in learning in the out of doors, to earth based celebrations, to Citizen Science, to recycling, composting, water conservation and gardening, to participation in Strive not to Drive Week, Screen Free Week and Blackouts, RCS actively strives to build a compassionate and environmentally sustainable school. We do however, have an exciting project currently in the works. Our 5 acres is becoming an urban oasis in bustling West Asheville. The recent campus expansion yielded some additional green space and we are working on the development of additional outdoor learning spaces. These outdoor learning spaces will be resources to the RCS student body and families and staff. We have been receiving grants and expertise from various local organizations such as River link, Buncombe County Soil and Water and the NC Arboretum to plan for a nature trail, native habitats, Citizen Science way stations, and storm water management technologies. We plan to integrate a sizeable native habitat area that focuses on attracting many species of birds and pollinators. This will include an observation station for students to take notes and observe the wildlife. Along the vegetated swales RCS will plant a forest garden. This garden will utilize roof water coming off of the outdoor pavilion/classroom and will include a variety of fruit trees and shrubs, as well as herbs and flowering plants. There will also be an observation station near the wetland area. This new ecosystem will attract an increasingly diverse amount of flora and fauna. This new space will also incorporate additional STEM curriculum into all our environmental programming.
Dr. Theo Dawson and her team at Lectica have spent over two decades designing formative, standardized educational test that can assess student’s complexity of thinking and ability to reason ethically. This work is based out of research from the Mind, Brain, and Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the work of Kurt Fischer, a Lectica board member. After testing 25,000 students Dr. Dawson found the jackpot to their research – Rainbow Community School. Rainbow’s scores shows higher student development than any school tested. See graph. (Note that Lectica has graphed out the projected developmental levels of students older than 8th grade)
This February, Rainbow’s fourth through eighth graders took the Reflective Judgment test, which reveals how they think about inquiry, evidence, learning & the mind, truth & certainty, conflict resolution, persuasion, and deliberation. The test consists of open-ended questions about dilemmas, such as ethical dilemmas or societal issues. Students must write essays in response, and must defend their thinking. Lectica has a complex scoring system that codes each response and examines lines of reasoning in order to determine cognitive development.
From Dr. Dawson, “Lectica has tested many other private schools – very good ones–and also public schools of high socio-economic level, but we have never seen scores like Rainbow. We had to create new language to describe students’ thinking – embedded learning.” (Remember also that we accept a much broader demographic of students than most private schools. So our Lectica test scores include students with diverse learning needs, too.)
Not only were Rainbow students’ levels of development higher on average for their age than any school they had tested, but their level of coherence was higher than they had ever seen. Coherence is the ability to connect thoughts intelligently and develop a persuasive argument. Additionally, she said our students have incredible “perspectival” abilities to take the perspective of others — empathy, essentially.
Dr. Theo Dawson’s blog post about Rainbow Community School’s Lectica test results includes an excellent, easy-to-watch video explaining Lectica tests.
We never thought it would be feasible to have quantitative data that shows the true value of a Rainbow education, since what we do is very sophisticated. Sure, Rainbow students score very well on traditional standardized tests, like the SAT10, but those tests only show a small sliver of rote skill attainment, without showing complexity of thinking or affective skill development. Those tests only show the achievement of our students, but Lectica’s tests show development. Lectica has done the impossible – produced a way of giving a numerical score for holistic development – they’ve come as close to looking at the whole child as any quantitative test could.
What does this mean for your child? It means your child is incredible. We are so proud of the students here at Rainbow. They are truly motivated, empowered, and sophisticated learners who love learning. It means that with the collaboration between family and school, we have created a curriculum and school design that is, in fact, supporting the achievement of all seven domains… It means that the incredible sacrifice you have made to send your child here is paying off.
Rainbow students’ high level of social/emotional skills will also serve them very well when applying to colleges. The most prestigious universities are now changing their application processes to make the SAT optional, and to stress empathy as the most important quality– and this trend is going to become much stronger by the time your kids are applying for college. The Washington Post has a great article on this.
What does this mean for Rainbow Community School? Rainbow’s holistic program creates kids who are highly ethical, empathic, and cognitively developed to a level of sophistication that is beyond their years, and now we have quantitative proof. The researchers from University of Texas, Columbia, and LSU that have visited this year is only the beginning of what is to come. Our Seven Domains model of education will be sought out for research, in the hopes of it being implemented in more places and accessible to a broader demographic. Thank you for investing in the vision! We are providing hope for education and for a better world.
What Matters Most: An Exploration of Love in the Classroom
Susie Robidoux, our 4th Grade Teacher, was published recently on the National Association of Independent Schools Magazine. She shares a reflection of the unit on Love that helped to frame the 4th Grade’s winter performance this year. The piece speaks to Rainbow’s Seven Domains model and whole child development. It illuminates the important relationships (connection to self, others and a greater purpose) that are fostered and nurtured at Rainbow. Check it out by following this link. Congrats to Susie and the 4th Grade Tigers- thanks for sharing the LOVE!
On Saturday, May 21st, Rainbow Community School will host our 1st Annual Rainbow Flea, a community marketplace to upcycle household items, clothing, art and all! Let this be the start of something great!
Expect cool stuff to buy, spaces to sell your old stuff, food trucks, and a busking performance stage. We will also have a Kids Market Area on the hillside for kids to sell their old toys.
Reserve your space in the office today. Flea Market spaces are $20 and Kids Market spaces are $5. 1st come, 1st served. This old school flea market will serve as a benefit, with profits from space reservations going towards the Rainbow Bus Campaign in their efforts to secure an adventure activity bus for our Rainbow students. All personal profit is yours to keep!
Please help us get the word out by sharing this event!
For more information contact ali.banchiere@rainbowlearning.org or denisa.rullmoss@rainbowlearning.org
