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Kaleidoscope: COVID-19 Special Edition
The many colorful things happening at Rainbow, from the Executive Director
March 2020
Dear Rainbow Families,
Even since writing this Kaleidoscope a day ago, the circumstances and community sensibility around COVID-19 are changing rapidly. Please note that although the story below talks about “if” we have to convert to online learning, the current sentiment is more “when” we will convert to online learning. Please look for a letter coming soon on how to prepare for this event that is now seeming imminent.
How do we live in community during a pandemic crisis? With compassion, responsibility, creativity, and equanimity.
I open this Kaleidoscope with a true story that captures all these qualities. Last week I had a moment of deep appreciation for our faculty around how they are dealing with the COVID-19. As you know, we have early release on Wednesdays so that our teachers can meet, plan, collaborate, and engage in various trainings throughout the year in order to continually improve the educational program at Rainbow. Last Wednesday (March 4) was supposed to be a time for teachers to work across grades to plan their Domain Day activities. Domain Day is a treasured day, so of course planning for it is incredibly important.
Instead, I and some of our key administrators announced that all staff and faculty would be meeting about the COVID-19 virus during that time, and planning for Domain Day would be cancelled. In fact, Domain Day could potentially be cancelled. We knew this would be a huge disappointment and we were worried about the effect on staff morale. No cases of COVID-19 had been announced in North Carolina yet, so it may have seemed as if we were being extreme.
But the faculty showed up on time and formed a circle in the auditorium. I opened with a centering where we envisioned health, wellness and resilience for ourselves, our community, and all living beings.
Then I announced that we will be using our imaginations to think about what could happen in the future with COVID-19 and how we want to respond. I pointed out that part of what is so difficult about this time is the ambiguity of it. No one knows what will happen, but our spiritual training at Rainbow has prepared us to be able to live with ambiguity gracefully.
As a faculty and staff we spent three hours understanding the facts about the disease and agreeing on our short-term protocols at Rainbow. Teachers are the most safety-conscious people I know. Therefore, I was not surprised at their diligence in making sure they understood everything. There were many questions and ideas on how to improve our safety, and we efficiently agreed on new policies and procedures.
Then, West led a training on Google Classroom, an online learning platform that might be useful if we switch to teaching remotely, and the teachers broke into teams to experiment with Google Classroom and to begin making plans for how they could deliver online learning.
After about an hour, we reconvened in a large circle to reflect, share, and ask final questions. This was a magical moment. Instead of a faculty who was downtrodden, overly-anxious, and negative about the whole situation, our faculty came back to the circle with energy and incredibly creative ideas about how they can deliver alternative education during this time. Some even commented that they see this as an opportunity to use Google Classroom and some other technological learning tools whether we have close or not. Many expressed gratitude for our community and for the forethinking we are putting into responding to COVID-19. We closed our scared circle with blessings for wellness.
I left that meeting in awe of our faculty – their emotional and spiritual maturity, their resilience and equanimity in the face of hardship, their willingness to do almost anything necessary to serve our children, and their genius. I couldn’t believe the great ideas they came up with. It’s hard to imagine any other school or organization having a 3-hour meeting about COVID-19 and walking out energized and hopeful, while still soberly recognizing the seriousness of this situation. These are the people whom your children are looking up to as role models.
I just had a parent ask if there is such a thing as being smart and being calm at the same time. I replied, “Yes, it’s called ‘equanimity.’” That is exactly what our teachers have, and that is what your children are learning. Equanimity is the secret to a good life and a strong community.
If nothing else, when we are faced with a crisis, we can see it as change. Change can be challenging, but especially when it happens quickly and has dire consequences. However, when we have compassion, responsibility, creativity, and equanimity we can survive with our morals intact and with our community stronger, knowing that no matter what happens, we will treat one another with love and respect. I hope we can all look back on this knowing that each of us as individuals were unselfish and cared for one another and the public at large as best as we could.
Like the teachers who decided to approach the idea of remote learning with “higher” ideals, I keep thinking about ways this whole crisis might have some positive outcomes. For example, I was wondering if, ironically, this whole crisis might bring some families closer together. If it turns out that families are quarantined or in semi-isolation at home together, how can families make the most of that time?
I have also been thinking about equity, which involves compassion for all people and our responsibility to think about everyone’s needs. For example, if our school has to close the campus and do learning at home, some families will have a parent who can stay home with their child, while others will not have that privilege. How will we all help care for people in that situation?
Let’s think about greeting one another. As mentioned above, we are all having to adapt to change at lightning speed, and changing social norms is extremely challenging and awkward. In my Rainbow biography it says that it’s impossible to get through a day at Rainbow without a hug. Well, that’s changing. But I would like to bring back an old tradition of greeting one another with a “prayer hands” a namaste motion. It’s a beautiful greeting. I have also witnessed some other unique forms of greetings that involve creativity and cooperation – like making a spiral shape in the air together. Let’s get creative. They say laughter is the best medicine, and we need a lot of good medicine right now.
Thinking about The WHOLE and SLOWING DOWN. Jessy Tickle just shared an article with me explaining public health strategy that would save lives in a way I hadn’t fully comprehended. It takes a mathematical, systems approach to the pandemic spread. The article acknowledges that mathematically this virus is going to spread and a huge percentage of the population will inevitably contract it.
It explains why systemically, it is critical we do everything possible to keep it from spreading too quickly. Why? Because if too many people contract it at one time it will overwhelm our societal systems and medical facilities, and when medical facilities are overwhelmed people die who otherwise could have gotten help. Plus, the slower it spreads, the more time our scientists, government, and other experts and public officials have time to develop cures and strategies to contain and treat the spread. Thinking about the WHOLE is one way to exercise compassion and responsibility.
Compassion, responsibility, creativity, and equanimity: That’s what your children learn every day at Rainbow. Let’s model it for them.
In closing, I want to add a somber note. Yesterday the faculty met again, and we had a moment where we honored the deep sorrow that we as teachers and parents may experience in watching our children process the realities of the world, especially now. We continue to have faith that no matter what the circumstances, we will guide ourselves and our children toward a perspective of love. Through love, we can remember that we are rooted in resilience.
IMPORTANT if you think about the future of your elementary-age child
Middle school is arguably the most important years in a child’s educational experience. You owe it to yourself and your child to attend the Middle School Open House on October 26. (I recommend the 9:00 am morning session when classes are in action, but there is also an evening session at 6:30.)
Are you aware of how rigorous and intellectually challenging the middle school program is at Rainbow? Rainbow is committed to developmentally appropriate education. While that means being gentle in the youngest grades in terms of rote challenge; middle school children NEED incredible challenge. Their capabilities are exploding! The whole rest of our program lays the foundation for the middle school years. Omega is the crowning glory of the Rainbow program!
While standardized test scores can’t possibly reveal the complex thinking of our middle school students and their sophistication in all the domains, they do show that Rainbow middle school students score extremely high in the “traditional” sense. Last year on the SAT 10, most of the 6th – 8th grade students literally scored “off the charts.” Their grade equivalency was “Post-High School Equivalency,” meaning they scored at the level a high school graduate would score at. For 7th graders (the largest class), their median grade equivalency in all subjects combined was 12th grade! On average, they scored in the 95% percentile!
Clearly, the vast majority of Rainbow’s middle school students are academically gifted, but it is important to note that these same students did not score in these high ranges when they were in the younger grades. In third grade they scored only slightly above average. By attending the middle school open house, you will gain some understanding of that journey, and why their achievement arcs so radically upwards in the higher grades.
At the middle school open house you will meet Rainbow alumni who are now in high school and you will be able to ask them about their transition to high school. You will find out about the advanced classes they are placed in at Carolina Day School and the various public schools they attend, and you will find out why they found themselves ahead of their peers in all the domains. Ask them: “Did you feel you were more mature than the other students?”
While our middle school maintains the same core values as the elementary school, Omega is a very different experience. Six graders write business plans and start their own socially responsible businesses. 7th and 8th graders use innovation design models from Stanford to solve the world’s energy problems. The Math and Writing programs in Omega are incredible, resulting in students who love Math and truly understand algorithms and their applications. As writers, they know how to explain, persuade, and create at levels that exceed most American adults. Their first five-plus page research paper requires proper MLA citation AND a power point presentation to their peers AND a creative interactive project to demonstrate their understanding of what they wrote about.
Most importantly, Rainbow’s middle school students are authentic, self-assured, and compassionate. They are excited for life. They are reverent and lead centerings. In fact, a large part of the secret to their academic advancement is their healthy self-identity and their development in the other domains. While most middle school students spend as much or more time worrying about their social status, Rainbow students focus on fulfillment. Finally, they do all of this while enjoying themselves, loving one another, exploring nature, and loving to learn. The result? A happy high school student who is ready to transform the world.
Renee Owen, Executive Director
Kaleidoscope February 2015
Have you been wondering when construction will begin?
Besides everything else going on, there is a large construction project looming on our horizon.
In the background, a team of people have been working hard at getting our construction project off the ground. Jeff Dalton, parent of Sara Grace in 5th grade, and lead architect at Row House Architects, has been preparing the final plans for bidding.
Contractor, Chris Fox, parent of Lily (4th) and Nate (1st), has been generously and courageously acting as construction manager. He has used his practical expertise to think through the plans with us, making sure they meet our needs and budget, and he filed for the permit back in December.
I don’t know what we would have done without these guys, so if you see them say thanks!
Just last week, the city finally turned the permit around, and as soon as they have the names of the general contractor and the subs, we will have a permit. Four contractors are bidding, and their bids are due Thursday. Everyone – keep your fingers crossed, pray, wish, etc.– that the bids will come back within our very specific budget.
The winning contractor will have to start immediately into order to meet our deadline. (Remember, we need to have our new classrooms ready in time for the 2015-16 school year in order to have enough classrooms for everyone next year.)
So what will the next few months be like with a construction project underway?
It will begin with a bang — demolition.
Sometime between March 4 and March 12 an environmental contractor will spend three days removing any materials that contained asbestos or other potentially hazardous materials so that they are removed with the utmost environmental and air quality standards in place – not one particle of friable material is to become air born.
I have never watched this, but in my imagination I see lots of dust-buster style devices sucking every particle of dust up while white-robed technicians remove windows and take dry wall down. ECS has a reputation for being the best and they guarantee the safety of the children and anyone who will be using the building.
It is going to be shocking to have all the downstairs windows out and boarded up! After the environmentally sensitive work is done, the contractor will begin sledge-hammer work, tearing down five structural walls and disposing of materials into huge trash bins. Excavation of the courtyard area will commence, and fill dirt will start piling up.
It’s going to be loud, dirty, and inconvenient…but so satisfying when it is done. There will be days that no one will be allowed in the auditorium, such as when the environmental work is being done downstairs. But for the most part, normal activities will continue right through construction.
Why do we need the extra classroom space so soon?
The big game-changer is the expanded Omega.
The current 8th grade is the last of the small classes from the “old” days of Rainbow. When the current five 8th graders graduate in June, they will be followed by a rising 8th grade class which has 20 students currently, and the rising 7th grade, which also has 20 students.
Therefore, Omega will go from having 25 students this year to having up to 40 students. No longer will Omega be a one homeroom-style classroom. It will require at least two classrooms, and a few smaller rooms available for break out groups, electives, and tutoring.
The original plan was to have 6th grade in the lower level of the community center, but after consideration, the teachers and I realized that it makes more sense for 6th grade to move into the large room that Omega is currently in, and for the New Omega to inhabit the lower level of the community center.
It is going to be exciting to have the whole middle school program on the new campus. The music classroom will be completed during construction. Eventually, a new art room will also be in the lower level.
Expanding Omega
Of course, expanding Omega means hiring a larger teaching staff.
We will be adding a full time Science teacher, and since there is a shortage of Science teachers nationwide, I am extremely pleased at the number of fantastic Science teachers who are applying for the additional lead teacher position in Omega.
We are also adding a full time teacher assistant to Omega, and we have some wonderful applicants for that as well. Sandra and I are busy reading resumes for several positions. We have already had a couple of prospective teachers demonstrate and complete their interviews. Rainbow is very fortunate to be a place where extraordinary people want to work.
Columbia University
Here is something new in my life: I applied to a doctorate program at Columbia University.
Not because I don’t have enough to do, but because the program is project-based, and the replication of Rainbow is the project I am proposing. It is a very competitive program, and a long-shot that I will be accepted, but if it works out, we will have the resources, wisdom, and creditability of Columbia’s Teachers College behind our school!
If I am accepted, I will have to be on campus in New York for three weeks in the summer, and for eight different weekends throughout the school year (almost one weekend per month) for the next two years. They have called me in for an on-campus interview, so I will be in New York for part of this week. Again, it’s a highly competitive program, and the chances of being accepted are very small, but I thought it was worth a try.
My short personal statement for my application can be read HERE.
It is somewhat personal, but I wanted to share it with you. At the end of the statement I reference a quote by John Dewey: “I believe education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform.”
Did you know the teachers at Rainbow are working on writing a book?
They are compiling centering techniques and activities into a book that will potentially be called “The Centered Classroom.” Centering is part of the glue that holds our learning community together. Inviting in spirit and sacred space every day, and making that integral to each child’s daily experience is special. Children develop the habit of having a meaningful, daily spiritual practice. Teachers outside of Rainbow have asked how to do centering, so this book is for them.
By the way, centering is open for parents to join.
When I first came to Rainbow it was still a tradition for parents to participate in centering on a regular basis. It is a wonderful way to start your day, so please feel free to stay beyond drop off for centering when you have the chance. It’s not just for kids!
Science Fair was incredible.
Did you get to check it out?! Amazing! Several of the prospective teachers who are applying for the middle school Science position visited Omega during Science fair, including people who had worked at Carolina Day School and Asheville School, and they were exceedingly impressed with the sophistication of our students.
Dance, Drum, Pray on May Day!
Important Date Change: LEAF International is partnering with Rainbow Community School for an awesome global opportunity. In May, we will be hosting an indigenous Costa Rican dancing/drumming group call Proyecto Jirondai from May 4 – May 7, so we are changing our May Day Celebration to May 5, so that they can join us.
I had the honor and good fortune to witness an indigenous spring earth-based celebration when I was in Ecuador, and I know there are some deep similarities in this ritual throughout South America, Central America, and Mexico.
It will be very special having this group with us for May Day. At the end of their residency, the group and several lucky Rainbow students who sign up for the after school special program with Proyecto Jirondai will get to perform with them on stage at LEAF. You will be hearing much more about this groups’ residency. If you want to be a host family, contact Caryn Hanna at 828-768-1826.
Spring is Around the Corner
Spring truly is just around the corner. I hope these cold winter days provided an opportunity to savor the slowness of winter. Winter can be such a trial, but so much growth and learning comes from trials. Soon, your children will be presenting to you at Student Led Conferences. They are young buds, ready to burst forth into blossoming learners and change-makers.
