Saturday, August 22, 2009
Why ICG?
ICG’s most important mission is to help schools improve their academic programs. As secondary education moves beyond school-as-test-prep, schools will have endless possibilities for creating authentic learning. But the challenges of designing effective programs are immense, and the need for communication with like-minded colleagues has never been greater.
Nor can we overlook the importance of engaging those in higher education about our work, and about the process of teaching and learning. Our schools have historically looked to colleges and universities for validation of their academic programs. But we also have important insight to share, as well as a strong interest in encouraging higher education to develop admissions policies and academic programs that are compatible with ours. ICG’s conferences will serve as a forum through which we can engage the college world as we work toward a better future.
ICG will soon span all sectors of the school world. Though the current membership consists of independent schools, outreach efforts to the public and charter sectors have been on-going since the spring of 2008. Scarsdale High School has agreed to join ICG and help with recruitment efforts. Public schools that design independent curriculum are thriving in every corner of the nation, and our organization will be strengthened by their addition.
Though ICG encourages the ongoing movement in secondary education away from school-as-test-prep, our schools continue to support students as they excel on a wide variety of standardized tests. We believe that engaging education is the best preparation for life, for college, and for standardized testing. Students in our schools have always been admitted to the nation’s best colleges, and we wish to signal nothing less than whole-hearted commitment to building on that record of success. For this reason, ICG will generally refrain from entering mass media debates about standardized tests, which tend to create more heat than light and have the potential to sow confusion about where we stand.
ICG is not an advocacy group, but an organization of schools dedicated to collaboration about the curriculum of the future. We offer support to schools moving away from test-driven curriculum, but our primary focus is on the never-ending work of curriculum development.
In every corner of secondary education – from the most traditional to the most progressive, and the most privileged to the most challenged – leading educators stand up and cheer when they learn about ICG’s mission. The science of the brain has converged with our judgment as educators to create a powerful consensus that, in time, will bring fundamental change to the entire school world.