2018 - Education Guide

Education | 15

SEPTEMBER 14 - 27, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

Fall 2018

EDUCATION GUIDE

The virtual world moves into the classroom

Local legislators aim to prevent school shootings

BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspapers.net

Local legislators are leading an effort to come up with potential solutions to a problem receiving greater attention nationwide: school shootings.

State Sens. John Albers and Kay Kirkpatrick, two Republicans who represent parts of Sandy Springs, are serving on a Senate committee meeting coming up with ideas for school safety improvements that will be presented in a report in December. The committee, which is chaired by Albers, has met at several schools across the state, kicking off with a June meeting at North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs.

Although school shootings have been occurring for decades, two of the deadliest occurred this year in Sante Fe, Texas, and Parkland, Fla. Those incidents inspired student-led movements calling for gun control measures and caused school districts to discuss new safety measures.

BY JOE EARLE

The first thing that strikes you is that you’re standing in mid-air, floating hundreds of feet above the towering buildings of a city. It takes your breath.

Then you start to focus on the details. The city is New York. Familiar buildings and landmarks spread out around you as you glance about the city far below. New views and different buildings appear as you move your head or turn about.

After a few minutes, the scene changes and you’re suspended high above London. Then Paris. Then other cities located around the world. You’re immersed in a high-flying tour of the planet that you’ve taken without an airplane.

Welcome to virtual reality. This particular slice of it, this virtual tour of some of the world’s biggest cities, was produced for Google Earth and is one of the programs used to demonstrate the technology in the virtual reality lab at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Sandy Springs.

Long the province of gamers and one of the regular Next Big Things touted in computer programming, virtual reality — or VR, as it’s often called — is moving into schools.

Students in several local schools are donning computer-connected goggles to enter virtual worlds or using computer tablets or smartphones to blend the real with the computer-generated.

SPECIAL

Continued on page 20

Mount Vernon Presbyterian School sophomore Alec Johnson enters a virtual world.

Continued on page 24

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College Counselor Q&A

FACT:

A four-year-old may ask constant “why” questions to understand the world.

How do I get into my dream school?

Fall doesn’t just mean football and colorful leaves. It’s also college application season, the time that high school seniors are rushing to pull together packets of information about themselves that will assure their admission into their perfect colleges.

That’s a lot of pressure. So we thought we’d ask a few local experts for a little help.

We submitted five questions to local school counselors. Here are their responses.

STEVE FRAPPIER is director of college counseling at The Westminster Schools. He is a co-recipient of the National Association of College Admission Counseling’s 2018 Excellence in Education Award.

you’re 18 to 22 years old? And in what sized campus and city? Most students change their majors multiple times; as academic interests evolve, is the course catalog large enough to accommodate potential shifts?

A college’s ranking has never delivered anyone success; your feeling of belonging will be that guide. Every day in my work, too, I reflect on being a first-generation college attendee, and one’s instincts are an important guide, too.

Q: How many schools should I apply to?

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Q: How do I decide what college is right for me?

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The phrase “the right college” deserves a deeper look, because, ideally, all colleges on a student’s list should be contenders for enrollment. It’s important to establish and discuss essential characteristics with your family — and to revisit those parameters as you continue to grow and evolve during senior year.

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• Write truly and authentically — and proofread.

• Refuse to let too many well-intentioned adults “get in your head,” or worse, handle your application materials. This should be your set of applications and your rite of passage. When I worked in admissions, one of the phrases that I used when I sensed an overworked application: a hammered-down nail doesn’t stick out.

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Q: Should I take the SAT or ACT or both?

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Class of 2019 took the PSAT as juniors, and of this group, many students knew from their PSAT score whether they were likely to continue with the SAT, or if they were willing to try the ACT. All American colleges accept both tests equally, with ACT being more popular than the SAT as of 2016. For those taking both the ACT and the SAT, check out the brand-new percentile comparison charts from the testing agencies, to determine which score is your best to send.

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Q: Should I take an SAT prep course?

A: How a student familiarizes with a

test — of any kind — is a personal decision. Tutoring is not a mandate in this process, and nationwide, most student do not seek a tutor due to financial restrictions.

There are worthwhile and free online resources provided by Khan Academy (for the SAT) and by ACT Academy.

Some students do crave the structure of an individual or group class; others might want to try a test on their own before seeking out help toward reaching a target score.

For seniors who are testing or retesting this fall, it’s a matter of managing your calendar and registering ahead of time for the ACT (remaining dates in September, November, and December) and the SAT (remaining dates in October, November, and December) in order to meet colleges’ deadlines, which are often by early January.

My main advice is to keep the process in perspective. The college process boils down to three kinds of decisions: where to apply, where a student is admitted, and where to enroll. The applicant is in complete control of two of these three, yet we often lose sight of how much agency young people have due to anxiety about the “getting in” part.

Continued on page 18 SS

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College Counselor Q&A Continued from page 17 SHAMONA HARRELL is head school counselor at Riverwood International Charter School

Q: Should I take an SAT prep course?

A: We first advise students to do a little self-reflection. If they are very disciplined and will set aside weekend hours to practice sample test questions available on the internet, they can benefit tremendously from this at no cost.

Practicing questions and reviewing the answers is a great start. Secondly, Riverwood offers test prep classes at a minimal cost. Thirdly, students can pay for test prep through several local companies and private tutors.

TYLER SANT is director of college counseling at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School

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A: Some students know exactly where they want to apply; others want to develop a broader list to include a wider range of colleges. An average list typically includes six to eight colleges covering various cost and admission ranges.

Q: What’s the best way to have my application stand out?

A: Students are advised to meet the application deadlines and that includes deadlines for all supporting documentation. Secondly, the student’s short answer essays or personal statement as well as teacher recommendations can truly help the student stand out among multiple students applying for the same spot in a freshman class. We like to be able to learn about the student from reading their essays. Thirdly, we advise students to make sure senior grades are maintained at the highest level possible.

Q: Should I take the SAT or ACT or both?

A: We typically recommend students take at least one real SAT and one ACT to determine if they prefer one test over the other one.

Tyler Sant

Q: How do I decide what college is right for me?

A: Finding what college is right for you requires both research and self-reflection. Knowing yourself is just as important as knowing something about a variety of colleges.

Once you have an idea of what’s important to you — the things you might want to study, the types of people you want to be around, the sort of environment in which you feel comfortable — you can begin to match colleges to those criteria. And there’s no one-and-onlybest-fit college.

Keep an open mind and explore broadly. You’ll find many colleges where you can be happy and successful.

Q: How many schools should I apply to?

A: There’s no right or wrong answer to this (unless you’re applying to a huge number of schools with little understanding of how they might be a good fit; in that case, that’s a wrong answer).

The college counseling team at HIES encourages students to apply to anywhere from two to eight colleges, deSS

SEPTEMBER 14 - 27, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net pending on the likeliness of admission and the timing of the applications. A thoughtful student might begin senior year with a longer list of schools in mind but prioritize their top choices for earlier deadlines.

If you get good news early from a school that you love, you might not end up sending additional applications afterward. We have students every year who only send one application, though most of our seniors send four to six.

and ACT once, assuming you have time during your junior year to do so without feeling rushed. For students who are short on time or just would prefer to head in one direction and stick with it, take a full-length mock exam for each and see which you perform better on.

If your scores are indistinguishable, pick the exam that felt most comfortable to you. While each exam tests similar content, the actual exam experiences are different.

Q: What’s the best way to have my application stand out?

Q: Should I take an SAT prep course?

A: I would argue that the best way to have your application stand out is to avoid trying to make it stand out. Don’t prepare the application that you think the admission office wants; prepare the application that is true to you. Play to your strengths and highlight the things you sincerely care about, academically and beyond.

Remember to think of the application as one complete package. Each component presents an opportunity to introduce something about yourself. Don’t trade an opportunity to share what’s important to you in favor of something you think will be more “impressive” or stand out.

Q: Should I take the SAT or ACT or both?

Education | 19

A: Students who prepare for the SAT or ACT perform better on these tests than students who do not. However, the type of preparation I would recommend depends largely on the student and the family.

In-person test prep, whether in a class or one-on-one, can be very effective. It can also be expensive. An organized student who is willing to hold herself accountable to a schedule can see significant gains through free online test prep via Khan Academy for the SAT or the new ACT Academy.

No student should walk into the ACT or SAT feeling unprepared. Take advantage of the free resources available to you and consider additional prep when possible.

A: It’s not a bad idea to take both the SAT

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The virtual world moves into the classroom Continued from page 15

JOE EARLE

Mount Vernon students with teacher Marie Graham. From left, Robbie Long, Bryce Jones, teacher Graham, Justin Blumencranz, Porter Slayden.

They’re taking virtual field trips to faraway places, learning about the lives of refugee families or studying the inner workings of volcanoes. Some are making their own VR products for use by others.

“VR in education is still fairly new,” said Marsha Maxwell, head of educational technology for the Atlanta International School in Buckhead. “We’re looking at the ramifications and how to use it.”

It’s catching notice. “It really captures students’ attention, and they really enjoy something they can [interact with],” Maxwell said. “They don’t just have to be consumers.”

Maxwell likes to refer to virtual technology as “XR” instead of “VR,” in order to include the variety of types of alternative realities made possible through computers.

“It’s many different platforms,” she said, including “AR,” or “augmented reality,” which adds to the real world, and “MR,” or “mixed reality,” which mixes AR and VR, she said.

Ellis Thomas, St. Pius X Catholic School social studies teacher.

Although some teachers who have tried device-based virtual lessons in their classrooms say they don’t think the programs add much, others are enthusiastic about the possibilities.

“It’s pretty cool,” said St. Pius X Catholic School social studies teacher Ellis Thomas, who last year led four 22-student history classes on a virtual tour of Versailles when they were studying King

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SPECIAL

Marsha Maxwell, head of educational technology for Atlanta International School.

SS

Education | 21

SEPTEMBER 14 - 27, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net Louis XIV. “It’s pretty cheap, too. Normally a field trip to France costs several thousand dollars.”

Thomas said he could direct the students and lecture to them as they toured the French king’s home and its gardens using material made and provided by Google. He also used Google tours of battlefields from World War I and II, he said, and this year he’s thinking about leading his American history students on virtual tours of Civil War battlefields.

“It’s not something you would teach with every day,” he said, “It’s kind of a supplement. But sometimes I think the VR field trips are more useful than the usual museum field trips [because they provide] the sense of being there and seeing everything to scale. It’s fairly compelling for the kids.”

Students remember what they’ve encountered in the virtual world, said AIS’s

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Mount Vernon Presbyterian School teacher Marie Graham.

Maxwell, who studied behavioral neuroscience for her doctorate. “I can read all I want about how a dinosaur moves,” she said, “but if I’m walking with one through a virtual forest, it’s very different. … The whole thing is about applications. It’s not about having experiences but how do I augment my learning?”

In other words, the technology may be entertaining, but content matters.

“As long as you have clear objectives, it can really add to [learning],” Maxwell said. “It’s all down to having a good teacher in the end.”

VR also offers students a chance to experience places and people they might not otherwise encounter.

“It seems to me to be a great way to help kids understand perspective,” Maxwell said. “With virtual reality, you really get to walk in someone else’s shoes and Continued on page 22

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The virtual world moves into the classroom

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A student experiences virtual reality at Atlanta International School.

SPECIAL

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you get to see what someone else sees.”

Marie Graham, director of Mount Vernon’s virtual and augmented reality lab and teacher of a 15-student VR course, believes immersive technology offers a way for students to learn empathy.

One VR program she has used, she said, followed refugee families. Students who went into in their world virtually, she said, left it with opinions that differed from the ones they had held before. “The kids said, ‘They’re like us.’ I said, ‘yes.’ Then I realized [the students’] language about refugees had changed.

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use it?’ ” One answer was the VR design lab she directs. Through the lab, Mount Vernon students develop virtual reality projects for use by others. They put one together for the Center for Civil and Human Rights to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his death. Another project is designing a program to teach math and science and “basic concepts” to children in a school in a small rural village in India, Mount Vernon senior Bryce Jones said.

Still another VR lab project is to design a program for pediatric rehabilitation patients at Children’s Hospital of At-

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Education | 23

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A student experiences virtual reality at Atlanta International School.

lanta, Graham said. One idea is to create a virtual experience where a patient will feel like he or she is riding a bike. “When you’re biking with the goggles on,” said sophomore Robbie Long, “it’ll feel like you’re actually in a place. We can put it in any environment.”

Graham says her class attracts students of various types, from techies to

filmmakers. She saw the importance of bringing VR technology into schools when she experienced it herself. “This is the technology that is taking off … in our world right now,” she said. “This is not going away.”

At the same time, using VR in the classroom can help reclaim a technology more often associated with enter-

SPECIAL

Students at Holy Spirit Preparatory School study volcanoes using “augmented reality.”

tainment than education. “Games can be very destructive,” she said. “This is taking that technology and saying, ‘How can we use it for good?’ I love that the kids can have an impact. … I want them to be the people that do and not just think about doing.”

And it can change their view of the world.

SPECIAL

Last year, one of her classes was reading a book about India. She couldn’t take them on a field trip to see a city there, she said, but she could take them to the VR lab.

They donned the goggles and flipped on the Google video. Soon, they were flying about Mumbai.

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Local legislators aim to prevent school shootings Continued from page 15 Albers and Kirkpatrick said they don’t know exactly what recommendations the committee may make in its final report. But they said they will generally fall into three areas: prevention, building security and response, and possible new legislation or funding.

Kirkpatrick said she views prevention as vital, but possibly the most difficult.

Adding more door locks and putting armed officers in schools are “straightforward, but expensive,” Kirkpatrick said. Trying to figure out how to intervene with a possibly troubled or violent student is much more complex, she said.

“That is a whole other level beyond just requiring clear backpacks,” Kirkpatrick said.

Training teachers, counselors and school nurses to recognize those signs is important, she said. Schools could also implement bullying prevention measures, Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick, who is a physician, said her profession has given her more interest in how to help “high-risk” students who are isolated or have a difficult home life.

“The difficult part is figuring out how to connect them to services without spotlighting them,” Kirkpatrick said.

She said she hopes to hear more presentations on prevention before they need to make their recommendations.

Strengthening the response to incidents may include adding budget funds for providing schools with trauma kits, which typically include tourniquets and bandages, Kirkpatrick said.

One idea not currently on the list is arming teachers, Kirkpatrick said. The committee has substantially discussed it, but police officers discouraged the idea in presentations, she said.

“When law enforcement comes in and people are waving guns around, they don’t know who’s who. It makes their job harder,” she said.

Albers said Georgia is fortunate to not have had a major school shooting incident, as many other states have. At the same many who have provided input to the committee say they want to be prepared, Albers said there is “certainly concern” from people who are afraid an attack could happen. He said he has his own concerns as a parent of a student attending Roswell High School.

Grace Truax, a student at Centen-

nial High School, spoke at the Sandy Springs meeting and said she believes every student at her school has thought about what they would do in the event of a shooting.

“I run this drill quite frequently with myself, but I never know if I’ll survive,” Truax said, according to the meeting video.

Garry McGiboney, the Georgia Department of Education’s deputy superintenEVELYN ANDREWS dent of external Shannon Flounnory, the Fulton County School District’s director of affairs, said at that security, speaks at an Aug. 6 Rotary Club of Sandy Springs meeting. meeting that while many student violations are decreasdents know what to do during an emering, bringing handguns onto school gency and 82 percent reported feeling property is on the rise. Most of the safe at school. handguns were brought from home, However, the number that concerns McGiboney said.

McGiboney is that only 78 percent In the latest student survey, the deknow an adult in school to ask for help. partment found that 88 percent of stu“If we don’t have the trust of the stu-

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Inspiring Early Learners through 12th grade

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State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick.

SPECIAL

dents to tell us what’s going on in the school, we’re operating blind,” he said.

Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone said at the meeting that he believed that discussing some type of gun control law is needed, according to a meeting video.

“Having school safety talks and not talking about gun legislation is probably like talking about the Civil War and not talking about slavery,” he said.

Sandy Springs Fire Chief Keith Sanders encouraged the committee to recommend safer school designs, such as having doors with no windows and creating better escape routes.

For a model of how to improve school safety, Albers said that they don’t have to look any farther than the Fulton County School District, which Albers’ district covers. He said they are talking with districts across the U.S., however.

“They have certainly been ahead of the curve,” Albers said of Fulton schools.

Fulton has implemented security measures such as locked front entrances, security cameras, a management system to record visitors and more school resource officers. It also is launching a mobile app that students can use to anonymously report incidents or concerns, Shannon Flounnory, Fulton school’s director of security, said during a presentation at an Aug. 6 Rotary Club of Sandy Springs meeting.

The Fulton school district now has 70 sworn officers, adding six earlier this year. The DeKalb County School District has 73 resource officers, with plans to hire 10 more by October, the district said.

The Senate School Safety Study Committee plans to meet two more times at schools. The next meeting will be held Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. Chamblee Charter High School before the final meeting in Savannah.

For more information, gasenatek12safety.com.

visit

State Sen. John Albers.

SPECIAL

The Fulton officers train with local law enforcement to coordinate on how to neutralize any active shooter threat, Flounnery said. But he also puts a focus on learning de-escalation and crisis intervention tactics.

“Often the tools officers need are not on their duty belt,” he said.

Despite the increased discussion about school security and the recent major shootings, Flounnery said students are not in more danger at school.

“Schools are still the safest place for kids to be. Without a doubt,” he said.

Be Love(d). Belong. Become.

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Sunday, November 4, 2018 – 1-3 p.m.

Sunday, October 14, 2018 – 1-3 p.m.

Thursday, November 29, 2018 – 9 - 11 a.m.

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26 | Education

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New faces at local schools Marist School starts the school year with a new president and a new principal. Father William Rowland was named president of the school and Kevin Mullally named principal earlier this year.

Rowland had been serving as acting president prior to his appointment. Mullally started the 2017-18 school year as vice principal and academic dean and in the past had served as the dean of the faculty and assistant dean of students.

The Galloway School has a new head of school. James Calleroz White, who started at Galloway on July 1, had worked the previous five years at Louisville Collegiate School in Kentucky.

“I am so excited to be here,” he told about 700 parents, alumni and other school supporters who attended a welcome cookout Aug. 24. “I can’t tell you how long I have been waiting for a school like this. The feeling of warmth and kindness, as well as a clear love for learning, is amazing.”

Springmont School named Jon Aldean its new head of school, effective July 1. Aldean most recently worked as the head of the Nantucket New School. Springmont, located in Sandy Springs, was founded in 1963 and claims to be the oldest Montessori school in the southeastern U.S.

OPEN HOUSE Sunday, December 2, 1– 4 p.m.

Share in the Spirit

Success in School … Success in Life

Serving grades 7–12, Marist School provides an education where achievement exists within a spirit of humility and generosity. Students are challenged by an extensive college-preparatory curriculum while an array of extracurricular activities inspire exploration and uncover hidden talents. Through it all, students gain a unique strength of character and skill and a joy of serving others that prepares them to be compassionate, confident leaders.

Come visit to experience Marist’s spirit yourself.

UPCOMING OPEN HOUSE DATES Wednesdays at 9:00am October 17, November 7 RSVP: www.millsprings.org/OpenHouse

• Grades 1-12, Small Classes • Structured, Supportive Environment • College Prep • Laptop Program • Competitive Athletic Programs

• Extended Day Program • Art, Band, Chorus, Drama • SACS/SAIS Accredited • Participates in the GSNS/SB10 Program

Learn more at marist.com

13660 New Providence Road, Alpharetta, GA 30004

“If a student can’t learn the way we teach … we should teach the way a student can learn.”

–Tweetie L. Moore, Founder

An Independent Catholic School of the Marist Fathers and Brothers

770-360-1336 • millsprings.org

SEPTEMBER 14 - 27, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

Education | 27

Atlanta Public Schools posted new principals to several Buckhead schools at the start of the school year.

Jay Bland is the new interim principal at Morris Brandon Elementary School. He worked for the three years as the assistant principal at Morningside Elementary School.

Emily Boatright is the new principal at Sarah Smith Elementary School. She most recently served as dean of academics for grades three through six at Westside Atlanta Charter School.

Anita Lawrence is the new principal of Bolton Academy. She most recently served as Primary Years Program principal at Wesley International Academy, an APS charter school where students receive daily lessons in Mandarin.

Atlanta Classical Academy, a public charter school in Buckhead, named Chris Knowles its new principal.

Knowles had served most recently as Head of the Upper School at the Westminster School at Oak Mountain, an independent K-12 classical school in Birmingham. “The board sees in Mr. Knowles a capable leader who will advance our mission and serve as the intellectual leader of the faculty and the principal teacher of the school,” said the board’s chair Matthew Kirby. “He will support our growing arts, athletics and activities programs, and manage the affairs of the whole with both a firm sense of what is right and a humble demeanor.”

Holy Spirit Preparatory School has named Kristina Wilhelm director of its preschool. She will continue to work as director of admissions, the school said.

BEYOND EXPECTATIONS At Galloway, students (age 3-grade 12) are inspired to be fearless learners, to embrace challenges, and to discover more about themselves and the world around them.

To learn more and register for an admissions tour, visit

GALLOWAYSCHOOL.ORG/ADMISSIONS

28 | Education

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Education Briefs C A R S TA R P HEN WI NS G EO RG IA SU P E R INTENDENT O F THE Y EA R AWA R D

The American Federation of State and County Municipal Employees Local 1644 and the Georgia Federation of Public Service Employees recently presented Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen with a 2018 Georgia Superintendent of the Year Award. “Her leadership is bold and inclusive,” said Demetric Bishop, executive director of GFPSE. “Dr. Carstarphen is the best Superintendent in the state of Georgia and our students and community are blessed to have her.”

D EKA L B S ET S M EET ING S O N R ED ISTR IC TI NG FO R L EWI S EL EM ENTA RY

The DeKalb County School District has set three public meetings to gather input on upcoming redistricting for the Cross Keys cluster in Brookhaven as a new elementary school prepares to open next year. The three meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Cross Keys High School, located at 1626 North Druid Hills Road, on Oct. 2, Oct. 23 and Nov. 27, according to a press release.

The redistricting effort will address the additional capacity that will be created by the new John R. Lewis Elementary opening in Brookhaven, as well as the overcrowding of existing elementary schools in the Cross Keys cluster, the release said.

The new school is expected to open in Brookhaven in time for the 2019-2020 school year. Lewis Elementary is currently temporarily housed in North Druid Hills at the former location of the International Student Center.

Schools affected by the redistricting may include Ashford Park Elementary, Dresden Elementary, John R. Lewis Elementary, Montclair Elementary, Montgomery Elementary, Woodward Elementary, Chamblee Middle, Sequoyah Middle, Chamblee High and Cross Keys High, according to the release.

AJ A SETS ENR O L L M ENT R EC O R D

Atlanta Jewish Academy attracted a record number of students for the 2018-19 school year, the school announced. The 675 students enrolled in the school this year represent 22 synagogues, 13 countries and 35 ZIP codes spanning Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and other areas of metro Atlanta, the school said. AJA was created by the 2014 merger of Yeshiva Atlanta High School and Greenfield Hebrew Academy.

CRIST O REY S T U DENT S CO M P L ET E INT E RNS H IP S AT L ENBRO O K Six seniors from downtown Atlanta’s Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School recently graduated after successfully completing their internship at Lenbrook senior living community on Peachtree Road in Buckhead. Between 2015 and 2018, student teams of four worked closely with Lenbrook’s associates in the marketing, human resources, concierge and enrichment departments and with associates in the health center. In addition to providing business experiences, Lenbrook added “Mentoring Mondays” to the interns’ schedules: each student was paired with a resident to talk about career choices and life experiences.

ST . P IU S X VO L L EY BAL L T EAM W INS HO NO R FO R ACADEM ICS For the fifth year in a row, the American Volleyball Coaches Association has honored the St. Pius X Catholic High School volleyball team for academic excellence, the school announced. The team, honored for academics during the 2017-18 school year, has won the award eight times overall, the school said in a press release. The award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.3 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.1 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.