Academy Hill School celebrates 30 years of excellence

April 7, 2016 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

Academy Hill School teacher Carol Rosenthal has been with the school for 30 years.
Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs

SPRINGFIELD – Every morning the kindergarten through fifth grade students at the Academy Hill School gather for “The Good Morning Show.” The students recite the Pledge of Allegiance, sing a song and make presentations.

It all seems like any other school.

The presentation, though, is by a fourth grader who has mathematically analyzed what is necessary to win a game of “Monopoly.” He knows what number he should throw with the dice and he has figured out which properties he has to purchase to make the most money.

His audience is attentive.

“That’s the ultimate strategy to beat your parents in ‘Monopoly,’” he concludes.

Welcome to the Academy Hill School, which caters to gifted students.

Marking its 30th anniversary, the school has drawn international attention for its curriculum and philosophy.

The Academy Hill Center was started in 1979 as a weekend and summer program for intellectually gifted children on the campus of the MacDuffie School for Girls in Springfield. The program merged with Wilbraham & Monson Academy in 1981 and in 1986 opened its day school with an initial enrollment of 51 students on the Wilbraham campus.

In 1993 the school was incorporated as a non-profit organization and moved back to the MacDuffie campus. In 2000, a larger facility was sought and the school moved to its present location at 1190 Liberty St.

Robert Orlando, the head of school, explained to Reminder Publications there are now 103 students ranging in grade from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. They come as far south as Suffield, CT, and far north was Conway. The east and west boundaries are marked by Sturbridge and Granville.

Orlando said the greatest misconception about the students is that they “have a strong aptitude in every single subject area.”

Instead he said these students exhibit a “passion.”

He noted, “They are mathematicians, or artists or writers or poets.”

Orlando explained the term “giftedness” doesn’t really explain what or who a gifted student is.  He said at one time the results of an IQ test was the definition, “but it wasn’t always the case.”

He said, “The kids here look at the world differently.”

To encourage the students and their interest, Orlando said that while there is a core curriculum the students are allowed to follow their passion.

Orlando cited one fifth grader who wants to support the American space program. He figured out if every student in the country simply sent a nickel to NASA the agency would have the funding to pay for a mission to Mars. He is now thinking about an Internet campaign.

While the students “care deeply about grades,” Orlando explained that test results “are not the end game.”

What the school emphasizes is how the students use what they learn.

“The application of knowledge is really important here,” Orlando said.

Most public schools simply don’t know what to do with gifted students, Orlando contended. The emphasis there is to assist average or below average students.

This difference is an important consideration when Academy Hill students are ready to graduate, he said. Picking the right public, charter or private to continue an education is essential.

“The kids are highly invested in their own learning,” he said.

No one knows that better than Carol Rosenthal who has been with the school since it began as a day program 30 years ago.

A sixth grade teacher, Rosenthal, who taught in other schools prior to coming to Academy Hill, said the students “are the reason [teachers] come here and is the reason you stay.”

Being around gifted students can present a challenge. They ask a lot of questions and Rosenthal explained one of the techniques teachers must use is to admit they don’t know the answer to every question.

Finding out the answer together as teacher and student is the strategy, she explained.

Teachers at the school have the ability to develop classes and their teaching style according to the needs of the students.

“I have that kind of freedom that I love,” she said.

***

The Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education (MAGE) state conference on gifted education will be conducted at the school April 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sessions will be on what works academically as well as socially and emotionally for bright children in school and at home. The keynote speaker is Dr. Nicole Waicunas, international liaison for the Schoolwide Enrichment Model. The president of MAGE and the legislative liaison will give an overview of the new Every Student Succeeds Act and its implications for gifted children.

Registration is $30, which includes lunch and enrichment activities for school aged children who come with adults. Anyone interested in the educational or social/emotional needs of bright children should attend. Further details can be found at massgifted.org.

Got a comment about this story? Go to http://speakout.thereminder.com and let us know.

Share this: