by Renee Owen | Apr 1, 2014 | Director's Blog
Why create innovators?
Rainbow’s mission statement ends by saying we are developing students who will be “leaders in building a more compassionate and environmentally sustainable world.”
Anyone enrolling their child at Rainbow must resonate with the urgency of this goal. One would have to have blinders on to ignore the stream of evidence and quotes from leading scientists, sociologists and experts in almost every field who declare that sustainability is the most important vision for human survival.
From Tony Wagner, “The solution to our economic and social challenges is the same: creating a viable and sustainable economy that creates good jobs without polluting the planet. And there is general agreement as to what that new economy must be based on. One word: innovation.”
This is a three-part Heart of the Matter on preparing children to be innovators. In the first part, we will explore how rapidly our world is changing and try to adjust our own thinking to the new paradigm of innovation. In Part Two we will examine why innovation is important and how innovators are developed. Finally, in Part Three we will unveil the barriers to innovation in our current traditional school system and society. We will understand the methods Rainbow uses to encourage innovation, and how parents can support that effort at home.
Download the rest of Part I here
Innovation Generation Part II
by Renee Owen | Mar 22, 2014 | Director's Blog
Educating the Innovation Generation, Part 3
an article by Rainbow Community School Director, Renee Owen
In the first of this three part series, we defined innovation as creative problem solving that is useful. We gained perspective on the new generation of students, and learned that innovation will be required of 21st Century students entering the work force. In fact, some posit that innovation will be required to save the human race, given the grave circumstances we find ourselves in, with issues such as global warming, diminishing natural resources, and the growing divide between the rich and poor.
In Part II we explored Tony Wagner’s concepts in his book Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, in which he defines Play, Passion, and Purpose as the three qualities people, schools, and work place environments need to have in order to encourage innovation. In this third part, we will discuss barriers to innovation, and then in Part IV we will look at one particular school, Rainbow Community School, which has designed an educational program that encourages innovation.
Download the rest of part III here.
by mark | Dec 10, 2013 | Director's Blog, News
Bob Hanna Interview With Renee Owen
…and having a conversation!
Click on this link to listen to a Podcast from Asheville Fm’s Living Well program. Host Bob Hanna spends an hour with Rainbow Community School executive director, Renee Owen, interviewing her about her own fascinating history and her approach to education. She talks about her experience working with educators from around the World at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and explains why Rainbow’s inclusion of spirituality in the classroom is a key factor to holistic education.
by Webmaster | Dec 8, 2013 | News
Our campaign was a HUGE success! We are just shy of our $200,000 goal to acquire the church property next to the school. Thank you to everyone who came to the event. There was music, food, fun, and games.
Our fundraiser yesterday raised $24,000, bringing us to $168,000 towards our $200,000 goal. For all who joined us, we are incredibly happy you came!
We want to extend a special thank you to our musicians, Greg Olson, Bobby Miller & the Virginia Daredevils, Adama Dembele & Friends for all of your musical entertainment. We had so many volunteers who contributed their many hours and talents to the event and we express our deepest gratitude. FUEL Food Truck and Catering, GQC Lebanese Street Food, Wicked Weed Brewing, & Bill Drew provided some delicious food and drink – it was all a success.
Thank you also to our Board of Directors, faculty, & staff – without everyone’s help, this whole event might not have been possible. The future of Rainbow is right now and we’re making it happen!
A special thank you to all the members of the Asheville Community who helped make this day possible.
by Webmaster | Dec 1, 2013 | News
The church property is in the background
Bill Sanders / wsanders@citizen-times.com
We’re getting the word out about our wish to expand Rainbow’s campus with the Capital Campaign. If you haven’t heard, we’re having a HUGE fundraiser on Saturday, December 7th called Rainbow Rising!
Our director, Renee Owen, had an interview with Asheville Citizen Times about Rainbow’s goal to acquire the property next to the school.
Some of the highlights included:
- About half of Rainbow’s Haywood Road frontage will be converted from a parking lot to a park for residents and visitors to use as a resting spot and place to interact with students through student-installed interactive informational displays.
- The expansion will dramatically increase the school’s role as a neighborhood resource, with space for new classes and events to join existing meditation classes, a mother-daughter group, parenting classes and the weekly services of the Church of the Garden.
Indeed, so many exciting things are happening, and the future of Rainbow is bright. The school definitely wants to have a bigger role in the Asheville community and one way to do that is with this expansion.
This opportunity is such an illustration of synchronicity.
Last year at this time, plans were in the works to build on the existing campus and staff and students were already bursting at the seams. Faculty circle is held in various classrooms, other classrooms serve as multipurpose rooms – such as the art room serving as an after-school space and the Spanish classroom doubling as a math classroom.
When Rainbow learned that the adjacent Church of God congregation had plans to move, and the fact that it is next door to the Rainbow campus, the Community knew it had to act. It’s one of those opportunities that was just too good to pass up.
Read more about the Asheville Citizen Times article in Sunday’s paper.
