Student Investment Pays Dividends

As an MBA turned teacher, I love to discuss investment!

Recently, my mother and I had one of our weekly conversations. I live in Fort Worth, Texas while she lives in Harlem, New York (where I grew up). Our conversations can run the gamut; we will talk about anything from Oprah Winfrey's impact in entertainment to Serena Williams' dominance in tennis to the current fashion trends.

This conversation steered toward education, specifically toward why so many young people in my old neighborhood were not completing high school (forget about the low numbers attending college). We were trying to decipher the cause of the incessant phenomenon of young people choosing to drop out of school rather than being consumed by a long-term view and understanding how important schooling in their early years would be to the rest of their lives.

So, where does investment come in?

I reminisced about my experience as a young person growing up in Harlem and Mount Vernon, New York. I considered my wife, who grew up in rural Kentucky and how she describes her educational experience. I thought about my niece, who lives with me in Fort Worth, and her experience attending an independent school. Many factors that led to the three of us placing a high value on education- families that have preached this virtue, teachers that have a tremendous positive influence and experiencing success in our educational endeavors. 

A common thread, however, kept surfacing when looking at our educational experiences throughout our time at school (for my wife and I, a thread that continued even in college). My wife was a cheerleader and academic team member through middle school, then she joined student government, Future Business Leaders of America and her school's science club. My niece cheered in middle school, then she focused in upper school on volleyball, swimming, track, and chorus. I played football, baseball, basketball, and I served as a student government representative. 

We were involved- but more important than involvement, we were invested in our schools.

The National Center for Education Statistics published research from the US Department of Education in which students that participated in extra-curricular activities at elementary and secondary schools across the country reported higher attendance numbers, fewer skipped classes, higher GPAs, higher performance on math and reading assessments and go on to college at a higher frequency. This research isn't earth-shattering, as I am certain that most teachers are well aware of these statistics. 

The connection that I made is that independent schools do an incredible job of ensuring that this engagement is not only offered as a part of their academic programs, but required to attend and graduate from these institutions. 

Think about this for a second. Independent schools represent incredibly rigorous academic institutions. If independent schools could wave a wand and eliminate non-academic influences, our students' days would still be chocked full of reading, writing, projects, studying, debating and loads of other educational pursuits. Our students would not lack school related activities to fill their time, by any means. When was the last time you heard a student at an independent school say "man, I am so underworked!" 

Yet, there is a recognition by our institutions that teaching to the whole student has incredible value and is truly our responsibility as educators. Mind, body and spirit- these are more than buzzwords at independent schools in this day and age of budget and programmatic cuts in the public school realm. 

How many of our schools require art courses, theater participation or musical pursuits? Does your school require physical education or athletic participation? Especially as our students get older, how many varied club offerings do we make available to our students?

This is how we reinforce student investment. Develop students holistically, and, hopefully, it fosters better people. 

I attended private school in New York. Growing up in urban New York City, there were lots of negative influences. It would have been easy to "cut class" rather than wake up early to take a train, to a bus, to be greeted by Honors Trigonometry- as a 15 year old. What kept me going back? 

Well, I could not look my teammates in the eye if I missed practice while they were enveloped in the same experiences I was- they had to wake up just as early and take classes that were just as difficult; I couldn't quit because they never did. 

Besides, I didn't want to miss hanging out at Welsh Farms, scarfing down burgers while we planned the next school dance with my fellow reps in student government. The bus rides to New Rochelle with my boys were too much fun- and occasionally, we actually did talk Trig (Mr. Leoti might be surprised to hear that, however). They constituted support, as much for me academically as any other system that was offered by my school. 

The investment built a sense of pride in my school. It also reinforced a sense of pride in myself. I developed the integrity that would not allow me to take the path that so many of my friends walked- the one that led to their dropping out of school, that led to their drug use, that led to their criminal activity and, in some unfortunate cases, their untimely deaths. 

Luckily, my reality is the reality for few of our students. However, their choices are as real and as poignant as the choices I made. Independent schools, must continue to do the yeomen work  to offer the vast array of programs that speak to the diverse interests of our student bodies. 

My niece HATES to miss school! I feel it is important to note- my niece is 16! She has lots of reasons for never wanting to miss a day, not the least of which is the difficulty of making up the work from her missed classes. However, she loves her choir class and track team at least as much if not more than she loathes making up Algebra II homework. When she visits family in New York during summer vacation, she always gets back at least a couple of weeks early to make sure she can see her friends and get ready for volleyball. 

Of course, our core is the academic. We must also continue to engage our students meaningfully in the classroom. 

The best independent schools in my experience, though, have found meaningful ways to get students to invest in the school community outside of the classroom. Those communities also have students that whole-heartedly support each other in this shared experience of rigorous academics, fantastic fine arts and stellar athletics. It is almost as if the students subconsciously bond over the shared experiences, both the difficult and the enjoyable. 

Independent schools know the value of what some schools refer to as extra- curricular. In reality, at most successful independent schools, these activities are now a part of the curriculum. As the statistics continue to bear out, this is to the benefit of our students. 

Advisor, football coach, debate sponsor, assistant division head- I am not special in that I wear a lot of hats as an independent school community member. These hats, however, have equal weight in the overall successes of my students. Sometimes, this is lost in the hustle and bustle of a school year.

The renaissance men and women that make up our independent school faculties are doing their part to ensure our students have life-long success. I hope that we never forget that we do this as much on the stage, in the band hall, in the gym and on the field as we do inside our classrooms. The education statistics continue to bear that out. As said by the great philosopher, Shawn Carter (also known as the hip hop artist Jay-Z); "Men lie; women lie; numbers don't."