Looking in the Mirror

David Liebmann, Assistant Head of School, reflects on Kingsley's reaccreditation and the enduring wisdom of Dr. Montessori.

Every ten years, Kingsley undergoes a rigorous accreditation process through the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE), the regional membership organization for private schools. Members include Phillips Andover, Phillips Exeter, Roxbury Latin, Belmont Hill, Nobles, Winsor, and other highly regarded schools. We’re in good company.

A critical part of the process is a year-long self study, where we hold up a mirror to ourselves in fourteen areas including mission and philosophy, curriculum and pedagogy, student well-being, community engagement and partnerships, staffing and human resources, governance, finance, facilities, and safety and risk management. Under each of those broad headings are dozens of indicators that we address through data gathering conversations, document review, and writing. So far, our draft self study document totals around 200 pages. We’ve seen ourselves more clearly through the process. Like any look in the mirror, we like some of what we see and also find areas that deserve attention.

Beyond leading the self study, day to day, my broad area of responsibility is the academic program. Working with Pete Zetlan, Tara Hofherr, Claire Harris, and the faculty, I’ve been getting to know the school and our curriculum since my arrival in July 2021. As someone new to Kingsley but with a fair amount of independent school experience, I’ve been asking “what are we teaching and why are we teaching it?” The answers to those questions lie in a Montessori-rooted program that I’ve been delighted to see in action with our talented teachers. If all schools teach reading, writing, and math, what I’ve learned over the years is that each school does so differently. Kingsley’s hybrid program works very well. We know that through student portfolios and performances, objective measures like ERB testing, and outcomes like Next School admission.

The Montessori approach, so deeply valued by our faculty, prioritizes student agency and a child’s natural curiosity. We “follow the child,” starting at age two, with beautiful materials and the philosophy of “grace and courtesy.” Teachers know each child for his or her strengths and weaknesses and know how to best challenge them. Starting in Commonwealth and Newbury Garden and working my way to Upper Elementary on the 5th floor of Exeter, I can visit the full spectrum of classes over the course of a single morning. What I see is the expression of an academic program that is pure Montessori in Fairfield, all to the credit of trained and dedicated teachers, to a Montessori-rooted program in Exeter that uses contemporary curricula and materials. When we augment the Montessori materials of Lower Elementary with techniques from the Wilson “Fundations” reading and writing program, for example, we’re using tested approaches whose validity has been vetted by researchers in the field. In fact, some literacy approaches have been shown to be ineffective in recent years. (Listen to “Sold a Story” podcast for an example.) Kingsley uses curricula that have been shown to actually make a difference in learning outcomes. In Upper Elementary, we combine the best aspects of Montessori with progressive pedagogy.

What does progressive mean? If traditional teaching and learning is teacher centered, then progressive education is student centered, very much in alignment with Montessori. Having taught at the high school level for quite some time, I know our students are well served by their Kingsley experience and are ready for success based on the assignments they receive and the work they produce.

Noteworthy in that process of self reflection is the fact that Maria Montessori was a medical doctor, a trained scientist, so there is no doubt in my mind that she would have embraced modern approaches informed by education’s version of big data and the findings of neuroscience, neither of which existed in the same form when she died in 1952. I dare say Dr. Montessori the scientist would approve of our thoughtful review of what we’re teaching and why we’re teaching it.

So back to the self study and reaccreditation. What happens if we hold up the mirror and “yuck!,” we definitely don’t like what we see? What if the visiting team we’ll host in October 2023 says we’re way off course? We’ll reflect, and if we need to, we’ll change. We’re obligated to do right by our students, especially if there is a better, more proven way that fits our philosophy but offers a modified or new approach. Though we believe in the value of what we offer, we have to embrace what observation and the science of learning determine to be true. I suggest that’s what Dr. Montessori would want. We’re not going to eschew our roots, but we are committed to finding ways to be true to them while modifying or enhancing our practice.

In coming weeks, I’ll share more about ways we plan to enhance the math program, further report on the literacy work we started last year, and highlight teacher voices that show the value of a transition from a strong start in Early Childhood to the Montessori-rooted, progressive program of Elementary in Exeter. 

David Liebmann, Assistant Head for the Academic Program