Alternative education options: a look at Southwest Austin's private schools

Alternative education options: a look at Southwest Austin's private schools

By Teresa Pione Friday, 24 July 2009

In the short history of education in the United States, trends in teaching philosophies have come and gone. But some theories have endured the test of time. Southwest Austin is home to several of the more unique educational models, such as the Waldorf, Montessori and Christian school models. Based on models of child and adolescent development, the Montessori and Waldorf philosophies date back to the early 1900s. Still, faculty members at two of the local schools said the applications are just as relevant today as they were back then.

Waldorf focuses on the arts

Director of the Austin Waldorf School Susan Darcy said the Waldorf philosophy is about educating the child to become an adult who can act out of a sense of freedom while giving purpose and direction to his or her own life. Waldorf schools are defined by the strong fine arts curriculum and characterized by self-motivated, high-potential students, she said.

“Our graduates, without doubt, feel like their education has been so broad in scope that they can do anything they want to do,” Darcy said.

Waldorf students are involved in a cross-disciplinary fine arts program that extends beyond the theater and band room and into core classes such as English and math. Community service is a requirement, but participation in athletics is not.

The Austin Waldorf School teaches grades pre-K through 12, which gives students ample time to create a sense of community as they discover each other’s strengths and weaknesses, Darcy said.

“Social responsibility is cultivated, and it’s pointed out that we really can take care of each other,” Darcy said.

Scholarship and religion

Private Christian schools also have a strong presence in southwest Austin. Although not just for one denomination, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School enrolls students of many faiths. Less than half of the student body identify themselves as Episcopalians, Headmaster Rich Mischinski said

In addition to scholastics, Mischinski said St. Andrew’s students are also dedicated to community service, academics, art and athletics. Balancing those activities is done carefully, he said, to ensure that one does not dominate the other.

Mischinski said students also benefit from character formation as a result of being within the same peer group for several years.

“It certainly builds a stronger interpersonal relationship,” he said. “[And they] develop ethical grounding, as they are being exposed to a lot of the same principles and expectations through their entire school years.”

Entry points at St. Andrew’s are first, sixth and ninth grades. The lower school (grades 1-8) is located in Central Austin. Students in the upper school (grades 9-12), which is located on Southwest Parkway, are required to be active on a school sports team for at least two seasons in ninth and 10th grade and one season in 11th and 12th grade. Students are also required to complete two years of arts, including fine, visual and performing arts.

Both St. Andrew’s and the Austin Waldorf School offer financial assistance. Officials from each school said about 20 percent of their students receive financial aid.

The child explorer — a Montessori method

Different from the Waldorf model, Montessori schools are based on the belief that the teacher is simply a guide, creating a stimulating environment but allowing the children to choose their own projects throughout the day. The philosophy was developed by the Italian doctor of medicine Maria Montessori and is still popular today, as evidenced by three local Montessori schools in southwest Austin.

In a Montessori school, students learn together in age groups rather than grade level. Classrooms at the Austin Montessori School are comprised of 6- to 9 year olds or 9- to 12 year olds. Students are not given grades or standard tests to assess their knowledge. Austin Montessori teacher John Snyder said a spiral curriculum helps students delve deeper into the same concepts year after year.

“What we have is a curriculum that is presented to the whole elementary,” Snyder said.

Children pick up different aspects of a concept each time it is presented.

“We do all the same things a traditional school does in terms of reading, writing, math, social studies, history, although we emphasize the history of the whole world, so our children know a lot about world history and ancient civilizations,” Snyder said.

Snyder said the name Montessori is used liberally and there exists a long, varied continuum of philosophies that all claim the designation. This includes schools that have adopted practices contrary to what Maria Montessori taught, he said.

“Our school is known around the world as one of the schools that works the hardest to try to implement the original Montessori principles and practices,” Snyder said. “We’re on the far end of that continuum — the pure practice end of it.”

For teachers, that means assisting students and having materials ready when a young mind begins to investigate something like organic chemistry. Snyder says his homework is to become an expert in every subject because he never knows how far his students will want to go.

“Your job is basically to be a consultant to all these people who are educating themselves,” he said. “It’s very demanding.”