TOGETHER FOR MPFS: 7 DAYS TO 141 PEOPLE

MPFS students learn their responsibility as citizens of the world and stewards of the earth through service learning. MPFS Alumni, what are you doing to serve you community? 

Connection to Mission

An important aspect of the mission of MPFS is the inclusion of service and service learning in the life of the community. The mission states that, where we can, we should reach out to the local, state, and global community to implement our Friends ideals. We are clear that when service is done well, it is mutual - a learning experience for all, broadening perspective, rejoicing in knowledge of others’ lives, and acknowledging that of God in each person. Whether growing out of our academic studies or presented to the School from another source (American Friends Service Committee, local agencies, parent contacts), opportunities for service and stewardship are encouraged and responded to so that we are truly living our mission.
  

For service projects to be meaningful, efficient and effective, we, as a Pre-K through 8th grade school consider each project carefully so that it is age-appropriate, mission-centered, and relatively simple in its scope and cost. It must fit the culture and diversity of the School. The projects are often lifted up during a study of one of the Quaker testimonies, e.g. Peace, Equality, or Community, and are vetted so that energy of faculty and children is well used, that longer term relationships with other institutions be nourished, and that planning be shared where possible across the faculty.
 

Learning in Deed

Not long ago, a teacher from a nearby public elementary school whose students were attending an overnight environmental program with MPFS students said to Teacher Daryl, “There’s something really different about your kids. They’re inquisitive, engaged, and quick on the uptake.  Whenever an instructor poses a question or needs a volunteer, your students aren’t afraid to take a chance. Their hands shoot right up. They’ve gone out of their way to reach out to and include my students, despite being ‘outnumbered’ four to one. And their behavior -- it’s exceptional!”

Our teachers hear such praise often.  It’s always appreciated and serves to remind us that our program truly does transform students’ lives.  One of the ways we do this is through Service Learning.

As defined by the Learn and Serve Clearinghouse, “Service Learning combines service objectives and learning objectives with the intent that the activity change both the recipient and the provider of the service.  This is accomplished by combining service tasks with structured opportunities that link the task to self-reflection and the acquisition of values, skills, and content.” It differs from volunteerism in it is intentionally a mutual experience that enriches knowledge, teaches civic responsibility and offers opportunities for understanding a broad spectrum of people and issues. In turn, this understanding subsequently breeds more effective action.

For example, when students distribute recycling containers to classrooms so that materials don’t find their way into the waste stream, they are providing a service to the school community. But when they collect and analyze what has been deposited into the containers versus the traditional trash cans so they can present the results to the student body along with suggestions for further reducing landfill waste, and then track reduction progress over time, they are engaging in service learning. They are providing an important service to the community while developing an understanding about conservation issues, learning how to interpret data, and practicing their public speaking skills. 

Service learning initiatives may differ significantly in scope, may be designed to tap different student skills, and may arise from a variety of sources, but all share the following common characteristics: (1) they are positive, (2) they are meaningful to the participants, (3) they promote cooperation, (4) they provide opportunities to engage in context-specific problem-solving, (5) they promote profound learning through hands on experiences (6) they support social, emotional and cognitive development, and (7) they enable us to live our mission and Friends ideals. 

When service learning is done well, it redirects young people’s focus from self to “the bigger picture” and they begin to see and interact with the world differently.  They learn that they can be agents of change.  And that’s the kind of empowering knowledge that MPFS strives to teach each day.  

At MPFS students are prepared with the critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative skills needed to succeed. 

Media-Providence Friends School makes a daily effort to push the classroom beyond four walls for students pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, setting them up for a bright future.

Throughout the school year, MPFS makes every effort to ensure students are engaged in unique ways not often found in other schools. On a regular basis, students have access to the Makerspace, a designated classroom where students can express themselves, be it in an after-school program or an elective. “It’s designed for kids to flex their creative and problem solving muscles using a variety of tools and materials,” says MPFS Head of School, Earl Sissell.

Whether that’s using hand tools or sewing machines, or engaging in high tech software like CAD, conductive paint and tape, or 3D printers, students have endless opportunities to express themselves and learn new skills. “Kids can sometimes get stuck in a pretty structured world. Makerspace is providing opportunities to just be creative, to try something new. Sometimes students will go into Makerspace with just an idea, look around at the materials and go to work creating whatever idea they have conceptualized,” says Sissell.

Those tools are then relied on later in the year when the school celebrates STEAM Week. Held in spring, students in grades five through eight have the opportunity to focus on interdisciplinary learning with a specific theme. “We focus on integrating science, technology, engineering, the arts and math,” says Sissell, noting that it’s “an immersive learning experience.” During that week, students leave their traditional curriculum to focus solely on STEAM, building up to a final project.

A recent topic was The Science of Sound and a small group of students created an interactive painting using tools from Makerspace like conductive tape and paint and a computer board, which Sissell says is one of the most innovative projects he’s seen come out of the lab.

To further that passion and excitement, MPFS also has a Math and Science Day, which all students participate in. “It gives the kids the opportunity to be the experts. Having the opportunity to explain what you’re doing really helps build confidence and reinforces the academic skills and the knowledge they have developed,” says Sissell.

MPFS makes a concerted effort to ensure students are engaged in the subjects by using collaborative teaching methods. By having cross-disciplinary classes, students see how subjects are integrated and apply to the real world, rather than just in the classroom. Teachers meet to discuss curriculum and familiarize themselves with other lesson plans such that an art teacher will incorporate something being taught in a biology class or an English lesson.

In doing so, it encourages excitement for subjects students might not otherwise be engaged in. “It’s really about getting them to think critically and ask questions. Why does a character act the way he or she does? Why did a particular historical event happen? Why do numbers do what they do in order to get the answer that you get?” Sissell says of the methodology.

MPFS students also are fortunate to be able to take their lessons outside of school. “It’s about experiencing things and having that passion. Kids have the opportunity to try new things, to find something they like that they never knew they might,” Sissell says. Whether that’s in Makerspace or going to the nearby Glen Providence Park to witness firsthand about the water cycle, vegetation growth or plant identification. “They get to experience what they are learning is really relevant and useful,” Sissell adds.

No matter what subject, students learn to be creative problem solvers, using what they have at hand to make the most of a situation. All of those tools give students not only a solid educational background, but also strong interpersonal communication skills that will come in handy for the rest of their lives. Alums have gone on to earn PhD’s from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and study environmental science at Emory University, among others. Sissell says of the Emory student, “The work she did in science in lower school and middle school ignited her passion in the environment.”

Regardless of what MPFS students go on to study or pursue in their careers, their early education, with a strong academic foundation and a sense of creativity and wonder, sets them up for a successful future.

Ken and Frankie Hall
Gwyneth Elkinton Loud
Dorothy Reichardt
Rachel Lindley D'Alonzo
Sam and Barbara Rose Caldwell
Tracy Kathryn Davis '79
Peter and Peggy Hewitt
Kelly Bradley-Dodds
Chris Hoover '67
Rev. William Sissell
Dorothy Sharrocks
June Evans
Michael JJ Campbell & Susan Garrison

Students find joy in the process of learning, not just the final answer, shaping proactive, resilient learners and leaders. Who helped foster your our your child’s lifelong love of learning?
 

At MPFS, meaningful learning means instruction that’s intentional, grounded in research on the brain and child development, in service to the growth of higher order thinking skills, and instilled with Quaker values. For us, learning that’s full of meaning is full of inquiry, experience, discovery, engagement, connections, collaboration, and reflection.

We Know Full, Well

The big picture begins with inquiry as faculty committees first distill the essential questions we want kids to consider in each grade before designing curriculum to take them there.  Then, every single day, throughout school, lessons are launched with inquiry to activate students’ existing knowledge so they’re ready to integrate new concepts.

Inquiry naturally gives rise to hypothesis testing and that’s the realm of experiential learning: hands-on, problem-based learning that develops thinking strategies and domain knowledge.  A hallmark of science classes, at MPFS it also applies to math, art, social studies, music, technology, Spanish, and language arts.

Discovery learning calls for particularly artful teachers. In the ele-middle years, it’s vital that learning not be an entirely self-directed experience, but that it be guided. Because students “don’t know what they don’t know,” teachers must provide the pieces they miss, directing them down paths that they wouldn’t normally consider. The idea is to expose students to as many different ideas and perspectives as possible -- something at which MPFS teachers excel.

Engagement learning relies upon quality, child-centered literature to which students can make “text-to-text”, “text-to-self” and “text-to-world” connections so content becomes personally relevant. Likewise, thematic instruction, multi-sensory lessons, interdisciplinary units, and differentiation give students many avenues through which to construct knowledge.

Connected learning takes place where academics, learners’ passions, and inspiring mentors intersect, and leads to the “a-ha” moments that beget innovation. Summoning students to be entrepreneurs, it encourages exploration beyond the classroom walls and the development of personal learning networks.

Collaborative learning sees students teaching each other, capitalizing upon respective skills, experience and knowledge-bases rather than relying on the teacher as the sole disseminator of information. Harkness discussions, group projects, peer editing, and debates are examples of collaborative approaches that take place on campus each day.

Reflective learning is the engine that drives the development of higher-order thinking skills: critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis. At MPFS, teachers expect students to reflect on what they’ve learned, and also explicitly teach students to think about their thinking (aka metacognition). Through reflection, they learn who they are as learners.

Making it Personal

Through all these means, teachers help students internalize thinking constructs so that they ultimately begin to independently apply them to make learning personally meaningful.

T. Angela DiMaria, 1st - 5th Coordinator and 5th grade teacher says, “…this happens across the curriculum and the grades.  Sometimes in math class, when students become so focused on getting the right answer, we just give them the answer, so the challenge becomes showing how each person got to that answer. And that is where the fun begins because they can see how different brains can approach the same problem.  When working on a math challenge called 1,3,5,7, students have to find all of the answers 1-100 using only the digits 1,3,5,7 and any combination of operations.  I teach them some tricks for summation and factorials which is fun as well.  But the real fun is when we share our answers and there are 4 different ways to get 26.”

Says T. Angela, “Another example is  from Literature Circles and the discussions that can happen there.  Students are encouraged to make all kinds of personal connections to the texts that we read.  When they share these connections, and students must listen like gold to the conversations, their perspectives grow.  They are learning to appreciate, respect, and understand how another person thinks, feels, and connects to the world around them.”

That’s Meaningful with a Capital M

William Butler Yeats said “Education is not a filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” Truly meaningful learning is about the larger context of our social responsibility to the world. It ignites the “Now, what am I going to do with what I know” spark.  Purposeful lives: that’s what “Meaningful Learning” breeds.

The comfort and reliability of a diverse, familial culture creates a happy, safe space for learning and growing. Support a diverse school tapestry that enriches students' lives. What is the beauty and power of difference or diversity in your personal or professional life?

Friends Education

Friends believe that each person has the capacity for goodness and a responsibility to attain that goodness. For more than 300 years, Friends schools have been recognized for fine academics as well as a whole-child approach to intellectual and moral development. Students are encouraged by word and by example to respect the talents and perspectives of others and include them in a cooperative search for knowledge.

Why Diversity Matters

Despite universal acknowledgement that children learn in very different ways, the prevailing teaching and learning model in most U.S. schools is “one size fits all.”  Students study the same content using the same curriculum and materials on the same schedule and are then assessed with the same tests. Uniformity is the name of the game. There’s no room for individuality.

MPFS is a learning community which celebrates the reality that children perceive, gain and interact with knowledge in different ways and honors their individuality.  Each day, a range of kinesthetic (physical), linguistic, logical, visual/spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical and naturalistic cognitive styles and strengths are tapped within classrooms by way of instruction that is intentionally differentiated.  MPFS teachers strive for variety in curriculum, classroom management and assessment, allowing students to exercise choice, and providing them time for reflection so that they discover more about themselves as learners.    

Cognitive styles represent just one aspect of diversity. MPFS embraces diversity in all its many forms:  economic, religious, cultural, ethnic, racial, gender, and family composition. We agree with Jean Snell, clinical professor of teacher education at the University of Maryland, who notes, “There is a richness that comes from students working side by side with others who are not of the same cookie-cutter mold."

It’s more than simply putting students who come from different backgrounds together in a classroom, however, decades of research have shown that mere contact with people who are different isn’t enough.
  

It takes teachers who are experts in creating a safe environment of mutual respect and tolerance -- who purposefully build a classroom community that supports intimate, meaningful interactions between students -- for those students to truly learn to appreciate people who have different points of view. MPFS teachers believe that every voice has something to impart, and that, in order for true learning to take place, each student, needs to be “part of the conversation”. 

That conversation can be quite complex in a milieu as diverse as the one MPFS has crafted.  But it’s this very complexity that demands students’ concentration as they work to comprehend what’s unfamiliar.  According to developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, this “disequilibrium”, is “the optimal learning situation”.  It challenges students to think and act in new ways, ultimately fostering cognitive growth. 

So, what are the outcomes of an educational experience where students bring their own individual approach, talents, interests and perspectives to their learning; are taught by teachers who know them and who create opportunities/structures that are responsive to their needs; and can truly engage diversity in an environment where everyone is valued?  MPFS graduates are independent, active learners who have depth. They have an outward orientation, think in more pluralistic ways, and appreciate both group differences and commonalities. They understand that difference need not be divisive, preferring discourse over conflict. In short, they’re just the kind of citizens our increasingly multicultural world needs.

We did it! We reached 141 MPFS supporters before the end of our online giving campaign on October 8^th. If you were one of the 141 to give and help unlock our additional $5,000 Challenge Gift, thank you! You honored 141 years of education at this school and are supporting current and future MPFS students.

With 4 days left in our online campaign, we now have the opportunity to do even more for our students. Our 141 donors have raised $45,124, which is 53% of the way to this year’s overall MPFS Fund goal of $85,330. Let’s continue to come #TogetherforMPFS as we move forward from 141 and toward our annual goal.  How many people can join in for the children at MPFS? Please add your support now and be counted as we are counting on you! Thank you!

Toni Smallwood
Muriel Chapman
Bonnie Templin
Betty Ward
Wendy Rourke
Lisanna Stotts
Pat and Ann Walsh
Michelle and Paul Scheibe '96

Fostering Values based education: Friends education, rooted in Quaker testimonies, makes for focused, mindful students inside the classroom and out. Join in letting lives speak #TogetherforMPFS. 

The aim of Quaker education is to prepare students not for society as it is, but for how it ought to be. [1] It ought to be self-evident that we are all part of a single human family in which each member is equal. Peace ought to perennially prevail. Resources ought to be rightly-shared. Tolerance and kindness ought to rule the day.

At MPFS, equipping students to pursue the “ought to be” is grounded in the teaching of essential competencies:  the ability to appreciate diversity and listen with an open mind, to synthesize information and think both critically and mindfully, to be flexible, optimistic and inventive, to value community and collaboration, to have a social conscience and act with compassion, and to know that their voices and choices matter.  The belief that they will make a better world informs all we do.

What makes a Quaker school different from other independent schools?  And what makes Media-Providence Friends School different among Friends schools?  Is there a particular method of teaching - a pedagogy - that affirms the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and service?  How do we instill these values, which are shared by most religions, within our students more directly?

The use of queries, like those above, is a format common amongst Quakers.  Nancy Starmer, Former Head of George School, says “The query is meant to elicit self-examination or group self-examination.”  Like Friends in a Quaker community, our students might ask, “How do we help to create a community of learners where everyone in our class is respected?” or, for middle school, “How might I work to alleviate some of the problems of our society?” or, “Do I take on the work of a student in a serious and thoughtful manner?”  These are “heavy” questions, but they are the worthy ones.  Just asking questions, instead of giving information, “opens up new synapses and connections in the brain, connections that make the brain more receptive to new and different points of view.”  (Baucom 2003)

Another signature of  Friends schools is the way children gain skills, and how we ask groups of children to answer questions. While every child needs concrete academic skills, we try not to make acquiring them a win or lose operation.  Whether in Meeting, Humanities, or Group Guidance, we ask students to consider a topic in all its complexity, seek causes in a communal way, and work together toward a solution.  This kind of discourse is deliberative rather than argumentative or adversarial, prompting the search for common truths, not differences.  We know that using all the talents, ideas, and experiences of each person in the pursuit of solutions makes for better solutions.  Nancy Starmer connects this notion that “we are all teachers of each other” to the Quaker idea of continuous revelation – that truth just keeps unfolding, if we are open to new information from science, literature, experiences, each other, and the spirit. 

The Quaker emphasis on reflection has a significant impact upon pedagogy at MPFS.  Teachers use the process of reflection both within lessons as well as in their assessment of learning.  A reflective essay assignment might ask students to consider what values may be at work in a discussion of an historic issue, what perspectives are being represented in a piece of writing, or what the impact of culture is upon literature or music or art.  When students look at a piece of art or read a poem or study primary documents (The Constitution or suffragette journals), they are asked to think about what the author holds dear.  They consider from what socioeconomic class, religion or race an author might be.  Looking at their own values, they ask what impact those values have on how they behave and why a person in history might have acted as they did.  In doing so, they make leaps from the personal to global that are among the aims of such exercises.

The testimony that Friends have about service is likewise woven into the curriculum at MPFS, providing opportunities to create kindness and empathy in children, while at the same time empowering them to take action.  If we expect that students can go beyond being self-absorbed, they will.  So, when a topic in science or a social studies unit stimulates frustration with a policy, students are encouraged to become agents in change.  They write, take an action, speak with adults and each other, raise money, and figure out how to express what they are thinking in respectful, effective ways.  The youngest start close to home by thinking about kindnesses they can do for schoolmates or local groups.  Older students may get ideas about service from their advisory groups, Quakerism class or external interactions.  Here, service is not just noblesse oblige.  It is active, mind-expanding work, and it should do some good for the future.  From this our children learn that they have some amount of power and responsibility, and they think about the future of their world. 

An old Quaker anecdote aptly notes the connection between reflection and service: A visitor to a Friends Meeting leaned over to an older Friend after about 20 minutes of silence, and asked, “When does the service begin?”  The Friend answered, “The service begins when Meeting for Worship ends.”

Victoria Viglione and Wendy Coopersmith Dignazio

Sparking curiosity for each learner: Our challenging academic program meets each child where they are, igniting their creativity and passion for learning. MPFS teachers show students where to look but don't tell them what to see. Open a child's eyes. Who helped you or your child feel invested in their learning at MPFS?

Fostering inquiry, a crucial component for lifelong learning, is easier in a small setting where teachers have the time and mandate to let students pursue questions in the interest of learning.  Instead of teaching the answers to standardized tests, they’re teaching kids how to think critically.  

Media-Providence Friends School’s focus is developing academically strong students. Of equal import to us, however, is developing responsible citizens who will go out into the world, using their brains and their hearts, to engage in their community as agents of change. 

What happens in an MPFS classroom is different from your typical classroom experience. The difference isn’t in the subjects we teach, it’s in how we teach and what we expect from our students while they are learning. We want them to go beyond the surface, beyond the test, and develop a deeper understanding and ownership of their learning and themselves. 

We expect them to see themselves as writers, and writing as a way to express their ideas and communicate creatively. We expect our students to think critically and to connect what they see, read, and hear with their own lives.  We expect them to apply mathematical understanding to solving real problems and puzzles and to bring their creativity to bear in all facets of their lives. We expect them to be open to others’ ideas, support one another, and actively collaborate in ways that make our learning community a kind and vibrant place.

Our approach is corroborated by the reports of our graduates. They let us know that they have been well prepared to face the challenges high school has presented. More importantly, they’ve told us that they’ve sought out those challenges themselves. They are resourceful, resilient students who aren’t afraid to ask questions and know how to advocate for themselves. MPFS alumni are active and engaged learners who are not only capable, but more importantly, they are both motivated and invested learners. 

At MPFS, in a caring culture with high academic and community expectations, we grow heartier students who weather the transition to high school, and beyond, with strength and grace.  We know they’re ready when they say, as they invariably do, “I love this place and am nervous about leaving, but I’m excited to move on.”

Indranee Chintha Kuruppunayake
Teacher Phyllis and Manley Mincer

Thank you all for your support offline!

T. Lisa Dainton  

T. Calperta Scott              

T. Claire Wilson                

Dorothy Haviland            

Rhoda Weisz     

Scott Trayah

Bonnie and Gary Graham

Will Scull and Rebecca Martin-Scull

Thank you to our early donors!

Adrienne O'Neill
Alex Kendrick
Allyson and Jeffrey Lehrman
Angela DiMaria and Matt Lane
Anita Covert McNamara '80
Ann Murray
Bob and Ann Hays
Brian R. and Nancy Harris
Bruce and Prudence Haines
Bruce Everett Hunt
Caroline Little Keeler '81
Cynthia and Brian McGoff
Daryl Ballough
David and Margaret Camp
Dawn and Charles Manley
Dawn Greenlaw and Shawn Scully
Debra Will and Dave Thomas
Donn and Holly Guthrie
Donna Forsythe
Dorothy Sharrocks
Earl Sissell and Sonia Stamm
Elliot Strathmann
Emily Richardson
Fred and Francy Strathmann
Carole and George S. Forsythe '45
Greg Gephart and Michal Hall
Herschel D. Horn '83
James T. Forsythe '41
Janice Kirkwood and Phil Peterson
Jennifer Payne Conway '86
Jillian Oberfield '93 and Ben Fenwick
John and Deborah Ehleiter
Josh and Annie Oberfield
Kate Strathmann
Kathleen McCullough and Christopher Shuster
Kenneth Scott
Luke Strathmann
Lynn and William Oberfield
Martin Pepper and Jennifer Camp
Matthew Oakley '83
Michael and Judith Marcus
Michael Kostal and Ina Li
Miriam Dawson
Ngozi Atanmo
Parker Snowe
Peter and Mimi Chamberlain
Robert P. and Joy C. Marshall
Sumana Madhav and Madhav Gopal
Susan Elliott-Johnson
Susannah Henderson and Ryan Dunne
Syreeta Bacon
Tony and Meagan Watkins
Will Strathmann