Willow is by design, a small school. We currently have two kindergartens, and one class in preschool and first through eighth grade. The plan is to have two classes at each level with approximately fourteen to sixteen children per class. The middle grades may have more in order to provide a critical mass for sports, drama, chorus and other extra curricular programs. As a small school, Willow has many benefits. Children are confronted with others with whom they may disagree; there are not many alternative groups to switch to so they have to deal with each other. They are guided to confront other points of view and find common ground; this aides the individual to “de-center” and become less egocentric.
It is a place where everybody knows your name. The Head of School greets each child by name starting on the first day of school. The teachers know their students as well as students in other classes and use their names regularly in addressing the children. The message here is clear: you are someone, an individual. Good teachers know that children respond differently when called by name. They show a higher interest level and better behavior.
At Willow, every student has a job and a way of contributing. Students are counted on to do their part to help make the classrooms run smoothly. This year the middle school students have jobs to keep the lounge area tidy. They assist at lunch time as servers and guides to help younger students with the “discard” process. Our intention is to communicate to children that they are needed; this translates in a very basic way to the individual as “I am necessary”. Over time children realize that they are depended on; they develop a real sense of personal responsibility in this way. A secure base breeds confidence and nourishes a sense of exploration.
We respect the pace of childhood. The adults at Willow are attuned to the developmental timing of the children in our care. They know when to challenge and when to encourage time for practice and leveling. In this small community children and adults share a closeness and appreciation of each other as people with unique personalities. Students thrive when they feel an association with teachers as some of the most powerful people in their lives. Our teachers are conscious of this power and respectful of each child. This is a moral realm with moral dilemmas where attuned adults guide moral development while setting high standards for academic growth.
The Willow School is the right scale physically. Children come to know the “lay of the land” through exploration. It is a place that can be mastered, known and in that knowing, loved. The children connect in a real and very basic way to the land, to this place. It becomes their world as they prepare for the larger world.