Oxbridge Academy

This is my final blog post as head of school and academic dean at Oxbridge Academy.

As you know, I will be returning to teaching in late August, and I eagerly await the opportunity to re-engage with my primary interest in education at this stage of my career: teaching and learning about the important contributions literature can make to all of our lives. Over many years, I have worn several hats—as a teacher, a speech and debate coach, an assistant principal, principal, head of school—but no role stimulates me more than the magic of the classroom and the interaction with adolescents as they discover and refine their understanding of how great literature can enrich our lives.

I leave my position in the most capable of hands. Working with Dr. Ralph Maurer over the past few months has convinced me that he is first and foremost a quality thinker and advocate for students. He is deliberate in his decision-making and always mindful of his responsibilities to the health and welfare of the school organization. I look forward to experiencing his leadership in the coming years.

Thanks to all members of the Oxbridge community for your support over the past years. I have been fortunate to work as a teacher and administrator in some amazing places. No place for me is more amazing than Oxbridge Academy where the student body, teaching faculty, support personnel ,and a culture of kindness combine to offer a remarkable place for learning.

Wednesday Surprises

This past Wednesday, I arrived at the student assembly in the gym which was supposedly dedicated to the Student Government Association elections. I was immediately struck by the presence of two of the trustees of the Oxbridge Foundation who joked with me that they were running for SGA office. When the president of the Board rose to speak to students once they had all assembled, I learned that part of the reason for the assembly was to honor me as the outgoing Head of School.

The two Board members thanked me for my service over the past two years and announced that in my honor a new award is being instituted at Oxbridge: the John Klemme Award in Arts and Literature to commemorate my lifelong commitment to those fields and to recognize a student each year who embodies a similar interest and dedication. After Assistant Academic Dean Anne Reilly shared some personal thoughts about my tenure and SGA President Jack Maloney read a beautiful sonnet in my honor, I told the assembly that it has been a distinct privilege to have served as school head. I reminded everyone that I had retired from a principalship in New York in 2011 to move south to Florida, and that at the time, I had every intention to return to teaching full-time because I had missed the dynamic between student and teacher during many years as a school administrator. I stepped forward as Academic Dean and Head of School at a time when the school seemed to need my experience and leadership. I shared with students and teachers that I believe that the key element in effective leadership is the commitment to serve others, and that had motivated me to take on the responsibilities of the position at Oxbridge.

Later on Wednesday evening, I was sitting back and enjoying the spring induction of the National Honor Society when NHS President Sarah Bowlby began to talk about my service as Head of School. For the second time that day, I heard such kind words about my service and received a lovely engraved clock as a commemoration of my work as “principal.” Each of the current officers came to the front of the stage to shake my hand, and I was truly touched by the gesture.

It has indeed been a privilege and a pleasure. I once again am looking ahead to teaching the talented and thoughtful students of Oxbridge Academy. While my final blog next month will welcome Dr. Ralph Maurer officially to the Head of School position and describe the initiatives that await his expert implementation, I take this moment in May to thank all members of the Oxbridge community for the support and good wishes at this special time. I have been honored in my career, but my Wednesday “surprises” were very special indeed. Thanks!

In the spring of 2019, Oxbridge will introduce a new program of study for all students during the week before Spring Break (March 11-15). Our research into and visits to other independent schools has sparked our own interest in a week dedicated to intensive study in a specific field with a particular teacher for the full week. The intention of this initiative is to provide our students with a level of depth in an area of interest that can enhance student learning.

At this point, all teachers have submitted proposals for M-Term courses that are being reviewed by their department heads. A rich variety of courses is under consideration, including some that offer the opportunity for off-site visits to locations that are important venues for studying local educational attractions as well as community service. Teachers have suggested courses that offer more detailed studies in the humanities, the visual and performing arts, as well as math, the sciences, and world languages. In some cases, teachers have partnered with their colleagues to offer students interdisciplinary learning options that blend one or more subject areas. It is our plan to share the finalized list of courses following the end of the first semester in late January 2019.

All students will be required to elect one of these dynamic courses for five days of study in the week leading up to Spring Break. Going forward, successful completion of M-Term each year will serve as a graduation requirement. We are excited at the prospect of this new experience for all Oxbridge students and are confident that it will provide a rich and rewarding opportunity for all.

Several students and parents have asked questions about the “walkouts” that have occurred since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School week before last. In particular, these students and parents would like to know if the school will excuse students if they leave school to express their support of Douglas High or to call for political action.

Oxbridge Academy, first of all, recognizes the passion which this shooting has elicited among high school students in particular, and especially in South Florida. I would be worried about students (and their parents) if this horrific event had been met with indifference. As a school, however, our primary reason for being is to educate young people, and we cannot do that if students leave school. Instead, I suggest that there are ways that our students can engage this issue in a respectful and supportive way. On March 14, the one-month anniversary of the shooting, many schools will be participating in programs that interrupt school for seventeen minutes—one minute for each of the victims. I am currently in talks with students about how we can use this time to show our support for the Douglas High School community at Oxbridge. For example, this weekend a laminated banner with notes of support from Oxbridge students and faculty will be delivered to Douglas High along with banners from across the nation.

Many students at Douglas and elsewhere have adopted a political agenda to motivate federal, state, and local reform of gun laws. When the action turns political, I believe, the school ought to remain neutral. Just as teachers should refrain from endorsing specific political candidates in their classrooms, just as the school as an institution should not adopt a particular political philosophy, so we ought not take sides in this debate which can be contentious considering the controversial issue of gun control. Each of us—student, parent, teacher, citizen—has the right to freedom of speech. But as institutions that educate children, schools should remain independent of political agendas. Accordingly, Oxbridge does not condone student walkouts whose purpose is political in nature. While I personally have tremendous respect for young people who are acting on the courage of their convictions, as Head of School I cannot approve leaving school to do so.

We will find a way to give Oxbridge students a venue for expressing their concerns and hopes for the Douglas student body and its staff. As the students at Douglas have so eloquently shown, the voices of adolescents have value. Oxbridge supports the involvement of its students in the world around them, whether near or far.

Happy 2018 to all members of the Oxbridge community! I trust everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday.

On behalf of the Oxbridge community, I want to extend a special welcome to Dr. Ralph Maurer, Head of School-Elect, who joins us this month. Dr. Maurer will be spending the next few months learning about Oxbridge, its remarkable students and staff, and our supportive parent community. I look forward to working with Dr. Maurer until he assumes the duties of his new office on July 1, 2018.

Oxbridge will welcome several significant visitors to the campus this month.

Broadway actor John Treacy Egan, who has been featured in several important roles during his career and who will be part of the much-anticipated revival of My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center this spring, returns for a week to work with our theater students. Mr. Egan was received very favorably by our acting teachers, Brittany Smoliak and Kimberly Patterson, and their acting students last year and will work with those students again as they hone their craft.

Director of International Programs Sarah Ormrod of the Institute for Continuing Education at Cambridge University, will also visit Oxbridge for two weeks. Ms. Ormrod has been the driving force on the British side for the Oxbridge Cambridge Scholars Program for the last four years. She is a practicing artist as well and will be working in the Visual Arts suite in addition to observing a variety of classes at the school. Ms. Ormrod has expressed a deep interest in learning first-hand about the Oxbridge experience and is sure to provide valuable insights about higher education in the United Kingdom, a college choice that is increasingly popular in the United States.

Finally, we will welcome five students from the People’s Republic of China through Acewise, an organization dedicated to providing Chinese students with experiences in American education. Our contact with Acewise, James Feng Bai, promises two weeks at a “winter camp” at Oxbridge in which these students, accompanied by their parents, will tour the school while also shadowing Oxbridge students. These students are potentially interested in joining our student body in the fall of 2018, and it is our intention to show them what our school community can offer them as an educational option. We plan to provide opportunities to attend athletic events, participate in field trips, and share aspects of their culture with the Oxbridge student body.

On Wednesday, November 15, students and parents will have the opportunity to reflect on the impact of social media in our lives. There is probably no more important topic affecting teenagers, in my opinion, than their connection to (and perhaps overdependence on) the many social media sites available to them. Our speaker, Robert Hackenson, is a prominent national authority on this topic and will provide students with his thoughts on the benefits and risks associated with social media. He is also a magician and promises to provide Oxbridge students with an entertaining perspective on the perceived “need” to be connected all the time and the consequences of the social media habit. Whether Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest, or any of the other social networking sites, American students have unprecedented access to information, including the sometimes positive and often negative opinions of their peers in social media forums. That can be a curse as well as a blessing, and Rob Hackenson will address it directly with students and parents next Wednesday. How should we navigate the public sharing of feelings—both positive and negative—as twenty-first century digital citizens plugged into the thoughts of others? Parents, please join the 7:00 presentation after the 6:00 OPO meeting in the Auditorium on Wednesday, November 15.

For further information on Rob Hackenson: http://bit.ly/2m781Y7

Our recent “Station Eleven Day” called on the creative impulses of Oxbridge teachers to design experiences across the disciplines that would augment the study of our community read. The novel, set in a distant but recognizable future, traces the experiences of characters in a world devastated by plague—the “Georgia Flu”—and the struggle to maintain normalcy despite the loss of all modern conveniences. Most important, the motto of the Traveling Symphony looms large. As this group presents concerts and Shakespearean plays to small gatherings of people, its slogan is “Survival is Insufficient.”

The classroom exercises in each classroom touched a variety of important elements that enhanced student understanding. Science and wellness teachers combined forces to give students a sense of how “contagion” spreads in a society. Some students were “contaminated” during the course of the day and then summoned to an “inspection station” to see if as individuals they had been affected. In art classes, students learned how to make paper—something that might be in very short supply in an apocalyptic world—and experienced the tedious but ancient process of producing a vehicle for writing. Physics students learned how to make wind turbines. Music students “curated” five pieces of music worth preserving for posterity. English students brought “memory” bags that contained mementoes students valued in their lives: baseballs, photographs of family members, pieces of fiction and poetry, small items of beauty. As one of my own students wrote in a reflective piece following the exercise: “Quite often, the epic journey of a fictitious character can parallel the struggles one encounters in everyday life. People read to feel as though they are somehow not alone in their struggles.”

“Station Eleven Day” was a wonderful example of innovative ways to learn and think about a complex issue, a hallmark of an Oxbridge education. There was a momentary rumor that students might stay home since the regular order of business was being disrupted. To their great credit, students showed up (our absence rate was lower than average on this day!) and they were engaged. Kudos to all at Oxbridge Academy who taught and learned on this special day.

On Wednesday, October 11, Lt. Jason Redman, a former Navy Seal, will address our student body on the principles of leadership with a presentation to parents that evening. Lt. Redman’s appearance has been generously sponsored by Board of Trustees president David Rosow who has also financed the purchase of Redman’s book for each member of our student body and our faculty. We are indebted to Mr. Rosow for his assistance in bringing Lt. Redman to Oxbridge. After hearing Redman at an event in Palm Beach, he came to me in the spring to suggest an assembly to hear Lt. Redman’s remarkable story of bravery and personal growth.

I picked up The Trident one morning last week and by nightfall turned the last page. It is a fascinating and compelling read. Redman’s account of his growth from an immature and impulsive young man into a steadfast and humble soldier recounts a universal human story of redemption and nobility, and I cannot recommend the book highly enough. As Redman traces his early days as a Navy Seal, a job he initially regarded as “cool,” he learns through setbacks and adversity to confront the deficits in his own character that were obstacles to deeper growth and maturation. By the time he is deployed in Afghanistan as a genuine leader, he has learned that teamwork and concentration on the mission supersedes any desire for personal glory. Severely wounded in a combat mission to capture an Al-Qaeda leader, Redman subsequently underwent thirty-seven surgeries in an effort to reconstruct his face and arm and restore him to some sense of normalcy. The physical battle at home rivals the horrific circumstances of war abroad.

It is also the story of the commitment of family to support the wounded soldier. Redman’s wife Erica held down the domestic fort while he was away at war and became his rock during difficult times while overseas or in the recovery room. She and his family are repeatedly identified in the book as the foundations of his enduring strength. Perhaps most important, Redman notes several times in the book that few Americans have a real appreciation for the work that fighting men perform each day on our behalf. Relatively unaffected by the events that soldiers encounter daily on the battlefield, we rarely stop to consider the sacrifices that are being made to ensure American freedoms under threat by hostile agents abroad. We need to pay attention, Redman suggests.

Your child will be bringing home The Trident in the next few days, and I encourage you to read it as well. Regardless of one’s political persuasion or viewpoint about war, Jason Redman’s story is one of the triumph over terrible circumstance and the commitment to ideals that can ennoble a life. Please join us on the night of October 11 to hear from this American hero.

After the school year concludes in June for students, several Oxbridge faculty members will embark on important study projects of their own through a variety of professional development experiences that will enhance their proficiency as teachers. Five teachers—Kate Kilian, Marjorie Chiarolanzio, Ben Matzen, Zach Halpern, and Sef Fierroz—will travel to Cambridge University in England to study with the Institute for Continuing Education in their respective fields as part of our unique partnership with this world-famous university. Sef returns to Cambridge at his own expense this year following his work in Cambridge last summer because he found the experience so rewarding.

Science Department Chair Renato Laucas returns to MIT for a second summer, not only to continue his study of strategies for teaching physics but simultaneously serving as a teaching assistant for the group there. Learning specialist Paul Rave travels to a celebrated Learning and the Brain conference to refine his understanding of the neuropsychology of learning disabilities, while spouse Kristen Rave will attend the National Association of School Psychologists Conference. Meanwhile, Director of Admissions Dennis Yuzenas will attend the conference of the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals in California. Assistant Dean of Students Kelly Hayek will participate in the National School Discipline Conference where she will study “Girl Bullying and Empowerment.” Finally, librarian and modern European history teacher Rainey Wyatt will spend a week in Washington participating in the National Gallery of Art Summer Institute where she will focus on Renaissance art.

Whether attending a formal program this summer or simply reflecting on their subject areas and plans for next year, the exceptional Oxbridge faculty will be immersed in defining strategies for enhancing the learning experiences of Oxbridge students.

Several of the teachers listed above have also agreed to write about their studies in a special blog that will be launched later this summer. Feel free to check in with this site to learn about the experiences of these teacher scholars!

Last week Oxbridge Academy published its course catalog for 2017-18. The product that now becomes the basis for student choices for scheduling in the coming school year is the result of several months of review and evaluation of classes by a committee that consisted of all department heads, the director of college counseling, two trustees of the Oxbridge Foundation, the assistant academic dean, and the head of school. We began by asking an essential question: does the Oxbridge curriculum best prepare students for college study and for successful application to college?

We explored the choices that have been available to students and concluded after an important series of discussions that our course offerings prompted some students to elect courses that were minimal in academic content and less than optimal in terms of college application. Since its founding, Oxbridge has billed itself as a college preparatory high school, but as we reviewed some of our course offerings, we noted that there were pockets of “soft” courses that allowed students to minimize the rigor of their own curricular paths and thus detract from their own attractiveness to college admissions offices.

As a result of this extended review and discussion, the curriculum group recommended a series of modifications to the Oxbridge curriculum. First, we decided to remove courses from the catalog that do not have an academic dimension except for important basis classes in life fitness and health education. As a result of this considered decision, Oxbridge students will now elect only courses that augment their transcripts and communicate to colleges that our graduates are well-prepared for the demands of academic study.

But we also acknowledged in our review that there was an omission of emphasis in our arts curriculum as a vital component of what it means to be educated. We discussed at length what our responsibility was to promote an appreciation for artistic expression as a fundamental aspect of the Oxbridge curriculum. As a result, we recommended a new requirement for students entering Oxbridge starting in the fall of 2017. Students will now be required to complete two credits of arts education for graduation, including a freshman program of study in the visual and performing arts. This “wheel” of courses will acquaint students with the various genres of art, from sculpture to ceramics to digital photography to art history; from theater to vocal music to instrumental music to stagecraft. Exemptions from the arts wheel will be granted to students who have already achieved proficiency in some element of the arts, but in general, our students will now graduate with a solid introduction to different modes of human creativity.

Much has been written about the “rigor” of American education, and the meaning of that term is of course subject to interpretation. For an Oxbridge graduate, rigor means that our students have begun to plumb the deeper meaning behind what it means to be a reader, to be a historian, to be a scientist, to be a mathematician, to be a speaker of a different language, to be

a thinker. Oxbridge graduates will be those who know, those who are beginning to understand, those who are on the threshold of becoming lifelong learners.

Last month, I profiled the first of several “signature” programs at Oxbridge Academy with a description of our Cambridge Scholar Program. This month, I’ve asked aviation teacher Debbie Donnelly-McLay to report on the Aviation Program and to offer some insight about the many opportunities the program affords Oxbridge students.

Ms. McLay is a seasoned pilot and has designed a unique course of study that can lead to private pilot certification. We are indebted to her for the special leadership and energy she has brought to this signature program. ~John Klemme

Soaring to New Heights at Oxbridge

The aviation program at Oxbridge Academy offers a two-year elective program for students to learn about all aspects of aviation. This program of study includes weekly flights in our Full-Motion Redbird Cessna 172 flight simulator with our new flight simulator instructor Mr. Harwin. Students learn to taxi, takeoff, and land the aircraft along with other private pilot aircraft maneuvers. We support an interactive and hands-on learning approach to the flight experience which will continue to broaden the student’s interest and enthusiasm for aviation. We will continue to enhance the program, with an additional flight simulator lab elective offered next year. In the simulator lab elective, students will be scheduled for weekly 1.5 hour flights where they plan their own cross-country flights to airports they choose themselves. The aviation curriculum includes flight simulator time, field trips, and guest speakers.

To begin the year, first-year aviation students received a “hands-on” view of flying and the aircraft being used, with our first field trip to Sunquest Aviation at North County Airport in West Palm Beach. We toured the facility, inspected their different aircraft, and observed how aircraft maintenance is performed. We will also be speaking to their flight instructors and also having our lunch there. Parents are welcome to attend and ask questions of the flight instructors and owner.

Sunquest has offered all our students an Introductory Flight at a 25% discount for a $99.00 rate (regular price $129.00). Sunquest has also entered into a discount program with Oxbridge to allow our students to take flying lessons at a discounted rate. Used in conjunction with our flight simulator at Oxbridge, this is a wonderful opportunity for students to earn their Private Pilot certificate. They can log up to 5 hours of our simulator time and their Introductory flight to count towards their hours required for their certificate. I encourage you to schedule this Introductory flight and let your child experience a first time at the controls of an aircraft!

Additional field trips include the Miami Air Traffic Control Tower, the Boeing Flight Simulator Facility, the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Science and their Aviation Exhibit and Simulator rides, Sun-n-Fun Airshow, the Florida Air Museum, the Pan Am Flight simulators, and many more. Our guest speakers have included airline pilots, military pilots, corporate pilots, and even a Guinness Book of World Record Holder pilot!

~Deborah Donnelly-McLay

Signature Programs at Oxbridge Academy: The Cambridge Scholar Program

Over the course of its short history, Oxbridge has developed several unique programs of study that are so exceptional that they have come to be known as signature programs. These are innovative practices in teaching and learning that distinguish Oxbridge as a premier educational institution. In this month’s column, I’d like to showcase the first of these programs centering on experiences at Cambridge University.

Now in its fourth year, the Cambridge Program sends fifteen students each spring to study with Cambridge University faculty in a two-week residence that focuses on a particular theme. The initial year of the program featured a study of leadership as reflected in British literature and history; in the second year, Cambridge scholars studied scientific history and its relation to British literature. Last year, our students engaged in a review of the relationship between British art and literature, and this year students will pursue the concept of persuasion in history and literature. The opportunity to study for an extended period with professors from one of the most important universities in the world is completely unique: no other school in the United States offers this experience for its students. Those who have participated in the program have rightly termed it “life-changing.”

The Cambridge connection deepened last year when we sent four Oxbridge teachers to study with the Institute for Continuing Education summer program. These faculty members took classes in their subject areas—history, literature and performance, and science—and brought back with them a body of experiences that informed their work with Oxbridge students. Learning new pedagogical approaches and new content, teachers reported enhanced proficiency as instructors and a new respect for what it means to be a student who is asked to read extensively and write about complex content. Four new faculty members were announced for the summer program in 2017 in genetics, literature, global issues, and natural history.

Last year also featured the visit of a Cambridge professor to the Oxbridge campus for a two- week residency during which the teacher worked with our students on complex texts. Visiting a variety of classes and sharing her expertise with our students, the professor was enthusiastic about the readiness of our students for their work with her. A second professor concluded her work with Oxbridge students about ten days ago and recently wrote me to tell me how privileged she felt to work with our outstanding young scholars, noting that their curiosity and commitment to insightful analysis surpassed many of her undergraduates at Cambridge.

Oxbridge and Cambridge: a unique partnership that affords our students an extraordinary opportunity for scholarship. Chosen through a competitive process, Cambridge Scholars have gone on to the most prestigious universities in the United States. I have to think that their credentials as Cambridge scholars have been an important element of their attractiveness to these schools. This is truly a “signature” program that separates Oxbridge from other college prep schools in the area and in the nation.