Read about how our newly transformed Middle School makes our student-centered education come to life!
Finding the Right Fit
by Nuha Lackan, Ph.D
DIrector of Admission
I believe that every school has the potential to change a student’s life. Perhaps it’s that realization that makes the parents who visit my office so determined to make the “right” school choice for their child.
Unfortunately, this mindset can also lead to a lot of stress. Comparing the academic, athletic, fine art, and STEM offerings at each school is a great way to begin a school search; however, finding the best fit for a family often comes down to aligning their values and priorities with those of a school. As a result, each school offers students a different experience.
At Fort Worth Academy, we value giving students unique, meaningful experiences. Our commitment to small class sizes ensures each student has both personalized attention and a caring relationship with their teachers—the number one predictor for higher achievement. Fort Worth Academy teachers know how to challenge students while building their confidence to take risks and lean into ambiguity. They help students explore their interests in areas such as the arts, service learning, and athletics, while working to ensure their students experience the joy of learning, nourishing them to be more creative and curious than the day they enrolled.
Our personalized approach allows us to fully integrate character education as a part of the learning experience along with an advanced academic program that challenges each student. Social-emotional learning gives our students the ability to become confident, empathetic, leaders who are open-minded and comfortable in their own skin. Year after year, high school admission staff tell me how impressed they are by FWA graduates because of their confidence, determination, and curiosity. High schools do not just look at a student’s academic achievements. They are interested in the student as a person, and look for those who are independent learners who can collaborate and innovate, just like our graduates.
How can you tell if a school is a good fit for your family? Take a tour. Meet with teachers and see students in classes. Based on what you see, is the experience offered one that you and your child are excited to be part of?
Taking this approach, I hope, will help parents worry less about making “the right” choice and focus on finding what is the best fit for their family.
Dr. Nuha Lackan has been the Director of Admission at Fort Worth Academy for three years. She is also a Fort Worth Academy parent of two alumni and two current students. Nuha is well-versed in all aspects of the Fort Worth Academy experience, including admissions and the high school placement process.
We’ve all had times when we’ve felt overwhelmed, as if we are down in a trench and teetering on the edge of failure. (Especially after the past 18 months, right?)
Students can feel that way, too. Yet as a teacher I know that being in the trench can be beneficial for them, even if it feels terrible at the time. Why? The experience gives students the opportunity to learn to climb out and achieve even more than before.
That’s what The Learning Line is all about. It illustrates that through resilience, focus, and trust, students can learn strategies to help them progress and reach beyond their current state. How?
Students must have hope that failure is not permanent. Once students understand that there is a system of support that is designed to help them “get to the other side” of The Learning Line, they know that working hard and not giving up will help them be successful.
How can you help your child climb The Learning Line? By cultivating trust in your relationship with them. Try these things:
- Plan and accept that there will be moments in your child’s learning that feel like failure and are frustrating to both of you. Because the trench can feel hopeless at times, students have to be taught to have a growth mindset. Your acceptance in the face of challenges can model for them how to regulate their emotions and respond to these situations constructively.
- You, as a parent, can help children learn to have a growth mindset—as long as you have one yourself. Your child will mirror your emotions, even if you think you are hiding them. Your anxiety or frustration will amplify theirs, as will your confidence. You can remind your child to trust in themselves, in their abilities, and in the adults at home and at school. Remind them that it is “ok” to feel overwhelmed and anxious when facing something new. Remind them to be courageous!
- You can also share a time when you felt similarly. What did you do? What did you learn? Examples that are outside of school or education will help illustrate that this is a shared human experience that adults also experience.
- If your child persists in feeling overwhelmed, help them stay in the moment and focus on a single step. Remind them that they have resources for both academic and emotional support. Since emotional regulation is key for getting out of the trench, staying in the moment helps to keep the task from being overwhelming.
- Finally, acknowledge the effort your student is making. Praise their hard work and perseverance rather than their “smarts” or a specific grade. Try to avoid seeing your child’s struggle as a source of pain. View it as an opportunity for them to learn and grow; to say “I can do this, I am strong.”
Did you notice in the picture that the right side of the learning line is higher than its starting point? As a teacher, I make sure students do. After all, the promise of climbing out of the trench is a new perspective, a growth mindset, and an understanding that how we react to a situation and our approach to challenges is within our control. Yes, grades are important, but the learning process is even more so. It’s a thought so well expressed by an Albert Einstein quote: “Wisdom is not the product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
Danielle Rosenberg has been working with 5th graders for the last nine years and currently teaches English and History. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and her M.A. in Education from Pepperdine University. In addition, she has experience with All Kinds of Minds, is trained in the Step Up to Writing program, and is well versed in project-based learning (PBL). She has her certification as a Reading Specialist, and came to Fort Worth Academy from Renaissance School for Arts and Sciences in San Pedro, CA, where she had been the lead 5th/6th grade teacher since 2011.
Mrs. Rosenberg's Learning Line is an adaptation of Roy Leighton's Butterfly Model. An earlier version of her article appeared in a 2019 issue of our parent newsletter.
by Shannon Elders, Head of School
Why is Project-Based Learning (PBL) such an important part of our school? Because it's a powerful teaching tool, full of student-driven and authentic learning. The benefits of PBL are something our faculty has known for years and new studies are currently proving.
Don’t just take our word for it! Here’s what others have to say:
I once gave a tour of Fort Worth Academy to a mother of a second grader from an area public school. The mother cried during the tour when she saw how happy the children were as they completed a learning activity. She shared that for the past few weeks her daughter was having to complete practice tests and would come home from school feeling defeated and saying that she was stupid. She said, “I feel like we’ve lost her. She was so creative and confident, and then it was just gone.”
Why do we induce such anxiety and stress by focusing on preparing and conducting testing, when students could be engaged in thoughtful problem-solving and learning? Spring should bring thoughts of rejuvenation and relaxation to mind. However, for many families, the arrival of spring brings with it feelings of stress and anxiety as students gear up for end-of-year standardized testing. Standardized testing has been a long-standing debate, with both supporters and critics providing evidence as to what they believe is best for students. This year, given the lengthy school closures and lack of in-person instruction caused by the pandemic, the spotlight has been put back on standardized testing, as states are grappling with the decision if they should even give these arduous tests at all.
Because Fort Worth Academy is an independent school, we have the luxury of engaging students in real world problem-solving throughout the school year. We don’t “stop” teaching in the spring to get ready for standardized testing. Rather the spring is when we continue learning new concepts and accelerate the learning process by putting into practice many of the skills the students have gained throughout the year.
Paul Tough, author of the book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (2012), describes how current research and evidence indicate noncognitive skills (human attributes) are what matter in predicting an individual’s success. In Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities (2009), the authors argue that: “except at the most highly selected public universities, ACT scores revealed very little about whether or not a student would graduate from college. The far better predictor of college completion was a student’s high school GPA.” They go on to say, “In our view, high school grades reveal much more than mastery of content. They reveal qualities of motivation and perseverance – as well as the presence of good study habits and time management skills – that tell us a great deal about the chances that a student will complete the college program” (Bowen, McPherson, and Chingos, 2009, as cited in Tough, 2012).
In Kate Rodriguez’ article, Irreplaceably Perfect (2017), top leaders and CEOs share the qualities they are looking for in their employees. Richard Branson, legendary entrepreneur and founder of Virgin Group, shares “The first thing to look for when searching for a great employee is somebody with a personality that fits with your company culture. Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to train people on their personality.” Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, looks for someone with a “growth mentality, always brainstorming new projects that can take the company forward in new ways.” Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, Inc. is looking for someone who is “scrappy, who sees life as a glass half full.” As you can see, these leaders are not interested in where one scored on the bell curve. Rather, the human attributes, such as resilience, optimism, and a growth-mindset carry far more weight.
Just placing an individual on a bell curve is not going to make them more successful. On the other hand, there are assessments that can be valuable tools when used correctly. Formative assessments are necessary for improvement and can help foster the human attributes we are seeking to bolster in our students, and leaders in education should work with their teachers in using effective assessments that engage their students and measure true progress.
As a successful professional, at no point in my career has anyone asked me what I scored for the math section of my fifth grade state-mandated standardized test. Moreover, no one has asked what I scored on any of the standardized tests I took over the years, not even college entrance exams. This spring, will your children be riddled with anxiety as they prepare to find their place on the bell curve, or will they be cultivating the human attributes necessary for success?
Works Cited:
Bowen, W. G., Chingos, M. M., & McPherson, M. S. (2009). Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities (The William G. Bowen Series) (First Edition). Princeton University Press.
Rodriguez, K. (2017, August 3). Irreplaceably Perfect. Experteer Magazine. https://us.experteer.com/magazine/top-ceos-describe-perfect-employee/
Tough, P. (2013). How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (Reprint ed.). Mariner Books.
