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CONSENSUS and ALL SCHOOL MEETING:
The Arthur Morgan School is a staff-run school, meaning that there is no hierarchy and that all of our decisions are made on consensus. Our weekly All School Meeting operates on a consensus model and serves as a forum for student voices to be heard. Students set the agenda, clerk the meetings, speak for themselves, are asked to be responsible for their own actions, and are encouraged to be honest with themselves and the community about the issues at hand. Our process offers support to students because they are given a regular place to make real and relevant decisions about the functioning of our community.
ADVISOR/ADVISEE GROUPS:
Advisor/advisee
groups, usually comprised of two students and one staff, will stay
the same all year emphasizing the importance of building lasting
connections. Staff advisors serve as advocates, mentors, trusted companions, and
role models to their advisees. These
groups meet every week for a special extended lunch
and participate in the special awards ceremony at the end of the year
that honors the strong bonds between advisors and their advisees. They often help if there is any
miscommunication between houseparents and a student. In a Clearness
(an informal mediation process to resolve conflicts and facilitate
positive communication), the advisor sits alongside their advisee to
be an advocate and to assist the student in articulating his/her
concerns. Advisors also communicate concerns or staff meeting
decisions to the parents of their advisees.
HOUSEPARENT CONNECTIONS:
Houseparents have the distinct advantage of gaining a well-rounded understanding of the students. While all staff and students interact down at school, it is the houseparents who foster a “family setting” home life for the students. During staff meeting discussions and informal information sharing among staff members, it is crucial that houseparents are able to share further insights about a student's needs, behaviors, challenges, strengths, and areas of growth with the other staff members.
Relationships between the houseparents and students can be both complex and rewarding. Visiting alumni often return to their former boarding houses and stay in touch with their previous houseparents. These relationships are unique and provide a chance for students to find friendships and trust with other adults in their lives.
ACADEMIC ADVISORS and CLASS STRUCTURE:
Each student will have an academic advisor who will help the student select classes and will guide the student in developing strong study skills. The goal is that each student will come to understand his/her own learning style and will develop skills to deal with learning challenges. The nature of our program, with its emphasis on education of the whole person, means that all staff members are teachers. Classroom teachers are focused on the academic part of our program. The North Carolina Standard Course of Study for 7th-9th graders provides overall guidelines for our academic curriculum, which is designed to engage student interest and to foster growth in knowledge, skills, and critical thinking. Small classes (6-10 students) result in strong bonds, individual attention, and ease of communication between teachers and students.
FAMILY STYLE MEALS and CHORES:
Traditionally, seven meals per week are served out of our school kitchen: five lunches and two dinners. The meals are based on a whole foods, primarily vegetarian diet and are served at tables, family style. Chores are a part of daily life at AMS and are a valued learning experience as much as any academic class. The work of the school has always been shared by the students, and in many cases, their ideas shaped certain traditions and processes into what they are today.
CIRCLE and SILENCE:
Circling before meals and having silence before and after all meals and meetings is a tradition that comes directly from our Quaker roots. For Quakers, silence and circle before the meal are an opportunity to bless the food and the preparers and be grateful for being together and sharing the meal. Before a meeting, silence is to mentally prepare for the work of the meeting, which is to come to consensus about a spiritual truth and/or the best moral actions to be taken in a situation. After a meeting, silence occurs to hold all that happened in the meeting (including those who were at the meeting itself) in the light to bring closure to the meeting.
CONTRACTS and CLEARNESSES:
Students and staff sign a tri-pillar contract to respect themselves, respect others, and respect the environment. This includes a commitment to resolving conflict non-violently, which may mean participation in a clearness, a mediation process from used in Quaker traditions.
Work projects happen one morning a week throughout the year, and every day during the weeks before Thanksgiving, Field Trips, and Graduation. We do not usually “hire” anyone to clean, manage, and/or prepare our community buildings, grounds, work spaces, and living spaces. This work is done collectively and helps create a sense of ownership for staff and students alike.
Work projects are a 2-on-1 learning and teaching experience that enables students to participate directly in the work of the community. Students experience reasonable physical challenges, they spend time outdoors, and have the opportunity to participate in purposeful work needed by their community. They see the impact of their efforts and enjoy the fruits of their labors. This part of our program also affords many opportunities for students to experience an adult level of capability.
Internships are a unique and wonderful part of our
program here at Arthur Morgan School. They are offered through a
variety of jobs that are done on campus and take experiential learning
to its core elements.
Internships are offered in the garden, kitchen, outdoor program,
development and main offices, and maintenance of the school. Staff
members working in these different areas will teach between one and
four students during each six-week unit. The content of the internship
varies with the season, the students and the teacher. In the fall,
garden interns will focus on harvesting and food preservation. In the
spring, they learn about making beds, starting seeds, transplanting
crops, etc. A maintenance internship might focus on one project, such
as remodeling a bathroom or building a treehouse. Other times there
might be many small projects, varying from plumbing to painting to
carpentry to electrical work. Students working in the kitchen help to
plan and prepare our lunch time meals. They also choose a research
topic of their choice; learn about budgeting, food handler's safety, or
sanitation laws and food storage.
Each
year, students and staff split into three groups and embark upon an
adventure of a lifetime.
EVALUATIONS:
At
the end of each academic unit, teachers prepare narrative evaluations
to fully assess students' strengths and weaknesses in their classes.
These evaluations are invaluable communication tools for determining
growth in academics.
