Settling Into Our New Schoolhouse

Brad Rathgeber, Executive Director

Last week, we announced that Online School for Girls is  is expanding to become a part of a new umbrella organization, One Schoolhouse. Since that time, I've seen many of you at the NBOA and NAIS Annual Conferences, and had the pleasure of speaking to others via phone or email.  In those conversations, the first question people ask is always: Why change?  There are three answers to this question.

On one level, we haven't changed at all, but instead become truer to who we are and have been as an organization.  In 2009, we launched our courses for girls.  By 2010, we had launched professional development programing.  By 2014, we launched the Online School for Boys.  So, as an organization, we got to a point where we were not just online (we run online, blended, and face-to-face programming), not just a school (we function as a supplemental school and an association/consortium), and not just for girls (we run programs for girls, boys, and adults). By creating an umbrella organization, One Schoolhouse, it allows us to be our authentic self, while articulating all that we do for students and professionals in our programs: Online School for Girls, Online School for Boys, Online Independent School, and Independent School Professional Development.

A lot has stayed the same: 

• A commitment to quality and intentionality in creating outstanding learning environments for students and educators.
• Strong commitment to and programming for single-gender schools.
• Committed schools and a dedicated staff.

And yet, on another level, we feel that this exciting change allows us to better serve independent schools as partners in innovation more fully.  As One Schoolhouse, we can expand opportunities for schools to offer more for their students (and have greater choice), and we can expand our work in professional development:

• A full opportunity for co-ed schools to engage in our work through Online Independent School, and for single-gender schools to offer co-ed programming for their students (something that many single-gender schools asked us to do). 
• New and expanded free resources for innovation through a new resources page and an expanded blog.
• Opportunities for all schools to join our efforts at a low cost.
• A new professional development course in personalized learning for educators.

And, finally, on a third level, as an organization we feel that independent schools must continually adapt in order to thrive.  We have always taken a growth mindset approach as an organization.  And thus, to be hesitant and rely on past success would not be true to our DNA.  

Online School for Girls is not "going away" -- far from it!  Our girls' program is still called Online School for Girls. By becoming One Schoolhouse, we are truer to our work, can expand opportunities, and continue to iterate and innovate. We can be better partners in innovation for independent schools.

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