With Gratitude

Peter Gow was a mentor for me before I ever met him in person.

I loved reading his articles in Independent School Magazine, his blog posts in Education Week  and on “Not Your Father’s School,” and his books.  I’m an independent school nerd – growing up going to independent schools and loving independent school communities.  And yet, I also began to see from my earliest days teaching that independent schools could be much more and had to evolve to meet their missions today. In Peter’s writings, I found a kindred spirit.

That’s why I’m thrilled that we can announce today that One Schoolhouse is partnering with Peter and the Independent Curriculum Group to offer their Academic Leaders Retreats in 2018.

To some who have been around the independent school world it might seem odd that One Schoolhouse is partnering with the Independent Curriculum Group (ICG).  ICG started its existence as “Excellence without APs,” and One Schoolhouse offers about twenty AP courses to supplement independent school on-campus offerings (and another 20+ non-AP courses).  

But, we are both progressive-minded groups that love (really love) independent schools. One Schoolhouse firmly believes in the Principles of Independent Curriculum. And, we both honor, respect, and revere the contributions that generations of educators before us have made.  We know that the independent school community is strongest when engaging in dialogue, listening to each other, and learning from each other.  That’s why the Academic Leaders Retreat – 2018 (ALR18) has generous time set aside for formal and informal conversations and unconference activities.

We also believe that what was great yesterday is not necessarily great today, and that we are doing our schools (their missions, their founders, their communities) wrong if we do not constantly strive to be better and to evolve. That’s why the program that we have worked together on for ALR18 has a content focus on both new models for education and change management.

Peter and I hope that you will join us in conversation in Austin, New York, or Seattle next year, as we work individually to help our schools reach their missions more fully and in a contemporary context, and as we work collectively for the betterment of independent schools that we love. 

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