June | 2010 | Grove School

Deadlines for Priority Admission

Laura Como | June 30, 2010 | Comment

I am pleased to share with everyone our new deadlines for priority admission for both schools in Cary and Plano. As we approach the start of another school year, we are offering priority admission associated with special registration fees. The admissions timeline is below.

From June 1-July 7^th, the one-time registration fees would be $50.
From July 8^th-August 11^th, the one-time registration fees would be $150.
From August 12^th on, the one-time registration fees would resume the normal $250

Our admissions process is online. Parents can simply click our ADMISSIONS LINK to begin the admissions process.

If you need more info, please contact our Heads of School, Dr. Scott Andersen (919-467-6494) in Cary or Wendy Despain (972-618-3523) in Plano.

We are thrilled to see our schools growing and are please to offer this priority admissions incentive.

Laura is our director of school operations. With 3 children of her own and a 19-year tenure in the early education field, her expertise is helping to build a community of health conscious achievers with the capacity to love and appreciate the world around us.

Keywords: admissions

A balance between education and fun

Ty Durekas | June 29, 2010 | Comment

We designed The Grove School to reflect what we believe is missing in preschool today–a true balance between education and fun. We represent the joy of learning. We’re giving children a stimulating and positive environment, with the right resources and access to fantastic teachers.

To make this possible one of our key commitments is to recruit and train the highest-caliber teachers. Our people are passionate, energetic and motivated to leave an indelible print on children so they’ll come out of our school prepared to be future leaders in what they do. There is a strong culture of empowerment throughout our organization, and especially at the teacher level.

Because of this, we’re creating positive memories as opposed to just educational experiences. If we do our part, children will carry these memories throughout their lives.

Ty is our president. He sets our strategy, tone and culture. He's also the father of 3 daughters.

Keywords: early childhood education, Grove School, play

Early education: America’s Hedgehog Concept?

Dan Flood | June 29, 2010 | Comment (1)

One of the great things about working for an education company is that you feel like you’re doing some of the most important work in the world. That chorus is echoed in our halls here at The Grove School continuously. However, it’s always great to get an inspiring reminder of why education, and particularly early education, is such important work.

Recently, the Harlem Children’s Zone has gotten a lot of attention as the result of Paul Tough’s book, Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America. The Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) is the manifestation of Geoffrey Canada’s vision to provide a comprehensive education program that touches parents, infants, preschoolers, elementary and high-school and children. The ultimate goal being to increase the chance of success later in life for poor children in Harlem.

Canada’s results are stunning. In an area of extreme poverty, his programs have produced children who outperform their peers throughout the state of New York. At the end of the 2008-09 school year, 65% of the HCZ’s prekindergarten students (the Harlem Gems) had reached an “advanced” school-readiness classification, up from 33.5% being at that level upon program entry. Additionally, 100% of the program’s third graders (which comprise the Promise Academy) tested at or above grade level on the state’s math exam.

In many ways, Canada embodies the spirit of the “human capital” thesis, which looks at education more from an economic perspective. Economist James Heckman has spent years studying this topic and has concluded that, “the rate of return to a dollar investment made while a person is young is higher than the rate of return to the same dollar at a later age.” Geoffrey Canada’s basic goal upon founding the HCZ was to change the lives of poor children in sizable numbers, and in a way that could be replicated nationwide. The net result is that the children who come out of this program, and programs like it, will be likelier to graduate college, enter the workforce, and stay out of the judicial system, all of which will have positive societal and economic impacts.

As the strategy guy at The Grove School, I’m always trying to answer the question, “How can we best spend our limited resources to be as effective as possible?” One of my favorite books on this topic is Jim Collins’ Good to Great, which attempts to identify what separates companies that perform well from those who don’t. The “great” companies have what Collins calls a Hedgehog Concept: a single, unifying idea that defines what will be the focus of the organization. The Hedgehog Concept is formed by answering three questions:

1. What are you deeply passionate about?
2. What can you be the best in the world at?
3. What drives your economic engine?

The first two questions are critical to understanding what an organization’s mission and core competencies are. The third question, however, is perhaps the most important in terms of focus. The goal isn’t to identify a set of measurements that will tell you how your business is performing, it is to identify a single measurement that will be a leading indicator of all critical areas of focus.

For example, Wallgreens’ concept was, “the best, most convenient drugstores with high profit per customer visit.” Focusing on this simple statement allowed them to organize all their efforts, planning and investment efficiently, confident that everything else would fall into place as a result. In doing this, they managed to out-perform Intel, GE, Coca Cola and Merck over a 15-year period.

My point in all of this is that “high-quality, early education programs with high elementary-school readiness rates” seems to have a lot of potential as a Hedgehog Concept for a well-functioning, high-performing society. If we look at early educational success as a leading indicator for future graduation rates, job growth, health care costs, judicial costs and crime rates (which numerous studies have proven is the case), it becomes easy to understand why this is perhaps the single most important measure of our society’s well-being. It obviously requires long-term vision, but the rewards we gain years from now will be exponential.

And that’s why all of us here at The Grove School are doing what we do. If we do our job well, we can change the world.

Dan steers our business development. As the father of a toddler and a conscientious consumer, he's energized by The Grove School's focus on high-quality education and the triple-bottom line (social and environmental responsibility in tandem with profitability).

Keywords: early childhood education, Geoffrey Canada, Good to Great, Grove School, Harlem Children's Zone, hedgehog concept, James Heckman, Jim Collins

Skype Hype in Our Arctic Adventure!

Scott Andersen | June 24, 2010 | Comment (1)

We are in the middle of our second biome study as part of our summer program, EcoAdventures. Our students are currently studying about the Arctic biome. As part of that study this week, our students held a Skype session with their sister class in Plano, TX. During the skype session, the students introduced themselves and then studied various images on their respective SmartBoards. The teachers facilitated a discussion between the students.

The photos show a life-size outline of an emperor penguin and also a polar bear cave the students made from recycled materials. The video below is some raw footage from Ms. Alli’s class in Cary.

This was a fun use of technology to help the students learn more about their arctic adventure. It was also a nice way for them to make connections with other students somewhere else in the world.

As we are beginning the process of using skype during our instructional day, we are also learning about teaching the children about webcam etiquette. For instance, several of the children naturally wanted to be right in front of the camera, thus blocking the view for others. (I don’t know where they get that!)

We will be skyping more with our friends in TX and hope to find other friends as well.

Keywords: arctic, Cary, Dr. Scott Andersen, Grove School, skype, Summer Program

Little Rain Makers

Scott Andersen | June 21, 2010 | Comment

Our Early Preschool students (age 2) are still studying about water. Part of that study is about rain and the purpose of rain. This photo shows an activity the students did to simulate rain and what it does to replenish the earth.

I like several things about this activity. First, I like that it engages the students in hands-on learning. I also like that fact that it teaches the importance of rain. But most of all, I like that fact that this activity is likely to make a mess! Learning is messy sometimes. Finally, this activity is fun because it involves water. Our students have shown a clear love of learning (and playing) when water is involved.

Speaking of rain, I found this site that was wonderful images of rain…http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/07/35-brilliant-examples-of-rain-photography/. I thought you might enjoy it.

Keywords: Cary, curriculum, Dr. Scott Andersen, ecology, Grove School, rain

Meet Ms. Gina!

Scott Andersen | June 14, 2010 | Comment

We are thrilled to introduce to everyone Ms. Gina, a new teacher at The Grove School of Cary. Ms. Gina is working in the Early Preschool classroom with Ms. Katie.

Ms. Gina has been working in preschools for eight years, the last five as a lead teacher. Ms Gina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.

Please stop in and introduce yourself to her. I know she would love to meet you.

Watch her introductory video:

Keywords: Cary, Grove School, staff

Sea Foam and Bubbles!

Scott Andersen | June 11, 2010 | Comment

Today students in Ms. Alli’s preschool class made sea foam and bubbles as part of their “Under the Sea” EcoAdventure. The students stirred up the water to make the foam then used their wet hands to blow bubbles. Reactions were mixed as some students liked getting their hands “slimy” with the sea foam more than others.

Nonetheless, it was a fun (and wet) activity on a warm Friday afternoon! Enjoy the photos and the video as a way to share the experience with our students.

More summer fun is on the way in next week’s Under the Sea adventures.

Keywords: Cary, Dr. Scott Andersen, Grove School, science, Summer Program

My Experience With The Grove School

Josh Keller | June 11, 2010 | Comment

Hey there everybody! My name’s Josh Keller, and I am a new intern/temporary employee here at Knowledge Universe. I work specifically with The Grove School as the Community Administrator, managing the social media and website of the school. I’ve only been here about a week and a half, and I already love it here! Everyone is extremely welcoming, light-hearted, energetic, and enthusiastic about what they do. I thought it would be appropriate to write a post about my experience here with The Grove School and to tell you all a little bit about myself.

I’m a 19 year old soon-to-be sophomore at the University of Portland. I plan to major in Marketing and Advertising, but for now, I am currently in the Pamplin School of Business. I attended All Saints grade school and graduated in 2005, then went to Central Catholic High School, graduating as the class of 2009. I enjoy playing basketball, the occasional video game, going to the gym, working with computers and technology, and hanging around my family.

I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to work at KU and with The Grove School. I love what The Grove School is doing for kids; encouraging a healthy mind, body, and planet. My employment here so far has been filled with excitement and anticipation of what’s to come. I am super excited to be on board with the school and cannot wait to get more involved. Thank you all for this wonderful opportunity!

Keywords: Grove School

Welcome Ms. Tanja!

Scott Andersen | June 11, 2010 | Comment

All of us here at The Grove School are thrilled to have Ms. Tanja with us. Ms. Tanja started this week and will be working with all of the students in our school as our strand teacher. Classes will come into the multipurpose room for lessons in art, music, dance, theatrical play, etc. that have been especially designed for them by her. She will also be here in the mornings to work in the wrap around program.

Tanja is from Germany and received her degree in Early Childhood Education there. She studied holistic movement, dance, relaxation and fitness there as well. She has worked as a preschool teacher, a dance teacher, a movement teacher, a multi arts teacher as well as a nanny.

We are fortunate to have her with us. We hope that you will stop by and introduce yourself to her. I know she would love to meet you!

Watch her video below.

Keywords: Cary, Grove School, staff

Water, Water Everywhere!

Scott Andersen | June 9, 2010 | Comment

The exciting EcoAdventures have begun at The Grove School! Summer is here and summer usually comes with WATER! The first of our six biome adventures is Under The Sea. The photos here show some of the student work from the first few days of this biome. Most of the work featured here is from Ms. Sue’s amazing Pre-K classroom.

Students are shown making “raincoats” for their little furry friends. This experiment allowed the students to see if they could design a way to keep their furry friends dry. By the looks of the after picture, it would seem they did a great job!

Students also made a 3-D beach map showing the water and the sand. They have also designed a window aquarium with fish swimming around along with a wall model of a beach.

Playing in water is fun whether at the beach or in your classroom. Students this week have played with ocean toys in our water tables as well as participated in an experiment where they predict which items would sink and which items would float.