Educating For Tomorrow
The schools of the Independent Curriculum Group put students at the center of the education process. We are part of a growing movement of leading college preparatory schools that emphasize site-based, teacher-generated curriculum for advanced courses.
“My friends at other schools tend to complain about their classes. It’s not about the learning for them. It’s about getting into college. Students at Fieldston sign up for classes because they love the subject.”
A Student at Fieldston School
Students retain more knowledge, probe more deeply, and have more motivation when they are active creators rather than passive recipients of information. Students who graduate from ICG schools attend the nation’s best colleges and excel by every measure of academic achievement, including standardized tests. But each school’s curriculum reflects the passions of its faculty and students.
Read the profiles of Our Schools, which describe each with primary emphasis on its program in grades 11 and 12.
Our section for Educators tells more about the movement toward curricular independence and includes a variety of helpful documents and articles from the national media. For those looking to discuss educational issues with like-minded colleagues, we have created an ICG networking/discussion area at ning.com that includes interest groups, forums, and event announcements.
Anyone interested in further information should Contact Us. We want to hear from students, parents, and fellow educators. We are particularly interested in contact from like-minded colleagues in the public sector, with whom we look forward to working in partnership.
Contemporary brain science has revealed why student-centered education is much more meaningful than test-centered education. Educators everywhere recognize the unfortunate consequences of our national over-emphasis on teaching to the tests, and public awareness of the problem continues to increase. At the Independent Curriculum Group, we look forward to a better tomorrow for students in all our nation’s schools.
“Our classes are not so much about the transfer of knowledge, but about students constructing knowledge for themselves.”
Mark Salkind, Head of School
The Urban School of San Francisco
The Urban School of San Francisco
Peter Gow Joins ICG As Associate Director
The Independent Curriculum Group is delighted to announce that Peter Gow has joined the organization as Associate Director. Peter has spent the past 33 years at Beaver Country Day School, where he has served as English teacher, History Department Chair, Academic Dean, and most recently, Director of College Counseling. He previously worked at The Gow School, The Fessenden School, and Providence Country Day School.
Episcopal School of Dallas Kicks Off 2012-13 Events
The Episcopal School of Dallas will host “Fostering a Culture of Conversation: Students, Parents, Colleagues” on Monday, January 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The program will explore the ways in which schools can use conversation as a powerful tool to create community, broaden horizons, resolve conflicts, challenge conventional thinking, and hone vital skills in collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. A call for proposals is now open.
Center For Innovative Teaching Offers Summer Sessions
ICG members and friends are urged to check out this year’s slate of summer offerings from the Center for Innovative Teaching (CIT), sponsored by The Urban School of San Francisco, an ICG Founding School. Sessions will be hosted by the Urban School (June 18-22) and The Chapin School in New York City (August 13-17).