Winter Break Information

Have a wonderful and safe winter break beginning Wednesday, December 20. School will resume on Wednesday, January 3. The next Basecamp News issue will be January 8.

Trimester Reports Now Available Online

We are changing over our trimester report system to an electronic format. Letters were recently mailed or sent in folders to give instructions on accessing trimester reports, billing information, attendance records, and grades (for middle and upper school only). Please save your login and password information for use in accessing all future information. You can change the login and password to something more memorable once you are logged in. Because this is the first attempt at using this system, you may notice some formatting mistakes. If so, please email Nate at nate.mcclennen@journeysschool.org. Two issues that you may notice are that words are occasionally joined together and comments are split between pages. Both of these issues are currently being addressed by the software company.

Toy and Blanket Drive a Big Success

Thank you to all of the families who participated in the Toy and Blanket Drive for the Wind River Reservation.  We filled the back of a one ton pickup with your generous donations.  Thank you, also, for bringing such thoughtful donations.  We got many more items appropriate for older children and teens this year!  Hopefully, we all learned a little more about the reservation and enjoyed working together as families and as a school community.

Journeys School Annual Fundraiser at Amangani – a WILD success!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY! What a fantastic night we had thanks to the Amangani and all the generous parents, friends, faculty, staff, and students who came to support the Journeys School Annual Fund. More than175 friends of Teton Science Schools attended the fundraiser last Saturday night and defined the true meaning of giving! It was the MOST successful Amangani event to date. All the money raised will support the diverse student body, dedicated faculty, and high performance facilities that make the Journeys School extraordinary. THANKS to all who made this a great success for our school! Stay tuned in future Basecamp News issues for more detailed information about fundraising results!

The Amangani evening is a significant fundraising event in the annual giving campaign for the Journeys School Annual Fund. This event alone does not raise all the funds necessary to make up the difference between tuition income and operating costs. You may make a gift to the Annual Fund at anytime during the academic year. The goal of the campaign is 100% participation for all families, faculty and alumni. Let us all show how much we value a Journeys School education. Gifts of any size are meaningful.

If you are interested in helping with any aspect related to fundraising at the Journeys School, please contact Nate McClennen at 733-3729 x 1113 or Heather Marks at 733-1327 ext.1111.

Need A School Calendar?

The calendar is found in two different places on the website. The home page has a link on the left-hand sidebar OR you can print a different format from the academics page. Click here to view and print the calendar. The link for the calendar will be at the top of the page.

Teton County Library Events

Sign up for and come to these free events at the library during winter break!

26 December, Tuesday

Y.E.L.P. – Young Extremely Literary People. 4-5 p.m. Young Extremely Literary People in grades six to 12 gather for this monthly book club to learn about the latest new young adult titles and share great reads. No assignments! No pressure! Teens always welcome to just listen and enjoy light snacks. Cost: Free. Location: Ordway Auditorium. Contact: Lara Lovett, 733-2164 ext. 221, llovett@will.state.wy.us.

27 December, Wednesday

Best Books of 2006. 2-3 p.m. The library invites young people ages 8 to 11 to feast on good books and snacks. Hear about some of the best books of the year and discuss your favorite 2006 literary pick. Cost: Free. Location: Ordway Auditorium. Contact: Youth Services 733-2164 ext. 103.

28 December, Thursday

The Book Buzz. 4-5 p.m. Teton County Library and The Refuge invite teens in grades nine through 12 to join this monthly book discussion of “must reads” while enjoying snacks at the teen-run Undergrind Café. Cost: Free. Location: Refuge’s Undergrind Café, 1745 High School Road, Building 500. Contact: Lara Lovett, 733-2164 ext. 221, llovett@will.state.wy.us.

29 December, Friday

Hip Hat Creations. 1:30-2:30 p.m. Kids are invited to the library to design and decorate New Year’s hats. Colter Elementary School art teacher June Nystrom will offer tips and techniques for creating hip hats. Cost: Free; sign up required. Location: Ordway Auditorium. Contact: Youth Services 733-2164 ext. 103.

Pre-Kindergarten

Announcements

Thanks

Thanks to Cathy Kehr for rolling up her sleeves twice last week to clean our classroom. It helps keep us all healthier. Thank you to Andrea Broyles for washing blankets last week.

Thanks to parent classroom volunteers, Jeanne Ball and Joann Honigman. Joann decorated ornaments with the children and Jeanne led students in a winter solstice activity.

The Pre-K would like to wish you all a Happy Holiday and thank you for your wonderful support!

Birthday Celebrations

We value family involvement in celebrating each student’s birthday. Your child’s birthday is a great time to come into class to join our special Thank You Circle for the birthday boy/girl.  You may also want to lead your child’s favorite game or read your child’s favorite book to the class. Birthday treats also make this a special day.  Please remember: we serve healthy snacks at Journeys School and encourage healthy treats to be shared with the class during birthday celebrations.  

Parent Zone

Curriculum Night – Please attend

We will be hosting the Pre-K Curriculum Night on Wednesday, January 11th from 5:45pm-7:00pm.  Childcare will be provided and children can be dropped off as early as 5:45.  Parents will have the opportunity to view and comment on slides of recent student work and activities. The meeting will focus on giving parents insight into what and how their child is learning in Pre-K.

We will also facilitate a discussion into future parent training nights that will be led by teachers, parents, and community experts. Topics may include: health, nutrition, discipline, guidance, and physical development.  We aim for these trainings to be relevant and applicable to each parent, therefore, your input is needed.  We hope to see you at this event. It is a great time to meet other parents and learn more about your child’s school experience.

Calling All Parents for Help Tomorrow!

Pre-K will be hosting a Super-Hands-To-Work.  We will be cleaning our classroom thoroughly before we leave for winter break.  If you can make it in a little early tomorrow,Tuesday, December 19th, we could use your help in a parent cleanup!  All cleaning supplies will be provided.  The Super-Hands-to-Work will begin at 1:30 pm. Children can stay until the usual time and we will provide activities outside of the classroom for the last hour of school on that day. See you there! Thanks, Pre K Faculty

Curricular Updates

Simple Machines

In the last week and a half prior to break, students have been reviewing inclined planes, levers, wheels and axles in preparation to introduce these simple machines to the middle school.  We will be introducing these simple machines on the Wednesday when we return from break so encourage your child to keeping thinking about them. If your child attends school on Wednesdays there will be homework in his/her mailbox today for practice over the holiday break.

Social Skills

We continue to work on developing better social skills in the Pre-K. Our focus this past week was on "Being a Good Sport".  We read books that highlighted the topic and role-played both being a good sport and not in order to really understand the difference. 

Announcements

K-2 Play in Paper!
There is a wonderful article about the Murie play in last Wednesday’s Valley section of the JH News and Guide. It is a full page spread with photos of Tucker Kortum, Forrest Bucholz and Alex Coosaia and many wonderful quotes from our students. A big thanks to Bari for having the foresight to call the paper to cover such a successful event.

Winter Celebration Thank You
Thanks so much for bringing your children to the Winter Celebration last Tuesday. The kids did a wonderful job singing in front of parents after many energetic rehearsals. We changed the flow of the evening this year to ensure that young children were able to get home to bed at a more reasonable hour. Your feedback on this year’s changes is welcome so that we may continue to improve our program.

Super Hands to Work
You may have seen a notice in your child’s folder about our Super Hands to Work tomorrow. If you would like to help us clean our building before the break, we will be starting clean up anywhere between 1:00 and 1:30 and ending when school is out. We cannot thank you enough for the work that was accomplished during the last Super Hands to Work!

Questions about Trimester Reports
Trimester reports were sent out via email last Friday. If you have any questions or concerns about the reports, feel free to get in touch with your child’s advisor.

Tissues Anyone?
Noses are a runnin’ and tissues are a runnin’ out. If you have any extra boxes of tissues lying around, we could use them. Thank you so much!

Have a peaceful and joyful winter break! We will see you again in 2007!

Curriculum Updates:

Navigation Theme
Whether they are exploring in the mountains, sailing the oceans, crossing the wind and snow swept expanses of Wyoming, floating in space, or simply walking up to the Journeys School, every good explorer/naturalist needs to be able to navigate. After winter break, our theme in K-2 will make a shift to Navigation. Some of the essential questions that we will explore include: Why do we need to navigate? What tools do we use to navigate? How do we use the sky for navigation? Who are some famous navigators? How do animals navigate? Many teaching opportunities come from these questions such as map and compass skills, learning about the movement of the sun, moon and stars, hearing stories about famous navigators, animal migration and so much more. The journeys off campus may include visiting dog sleds teams before the Stage Stop race, going on a sleigh ride at the elk refuge, and navigating town. If you have any navigation stories or skills of your own, feel free to call Kalen (x1109) or Hatilie (x1101) to arrange a class visit or lesson. Also, mark your calendars for the winter journey on February 15-16. We will have a sleep over on campus and a very special urban orienteering project. We look forward to navigating through the winter trimester!

Be Kind
As the busy winter break is quickly approaching, we find ourselves reminding children about what it means to “be kind” to neighbors. Days are shorter and kids are both tired and excited for the holidays and sometimes it is hard to remember how to use kind words. Kind words have the power to light up everyone’s heart and they help in making and keeping friends. The ability to use kind words is a skill that requires practice and frequent reminders from teachers and parents. Will you help us give those gentle reminders to “be kind” and “use kind words” with our friends and neighbors? If we are successful, there will be a domino effect of kindness this holiday season!

Announcements

Ski and Ride Program

Information about the Journeys School Ski and Ride Program at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was sent home in folders last Monday, December 11. If you have not already returned your child’s ski forms, please do so before the Winter Break. Please contact Ryan Bolton at extension 1138 with questions about the Ski and Ride Program.

Super Hands to Work

Parents, please join us for Super Hands to Work tomorrow from 2:00-2:45 p.m. We try to leave our school as clean as possible before long breaks, and parent help is always appreciated. Please join us if you are able!

Kelly Campus Visitors

During the week of January 1, Grades 3-5 will host graduate students from the Kelly Campus of the Teton Science Schools. Robin Brooks, Outreach Coordinator, will teach the ISLAND (Increasing Scientific Literacy to Assure Natural Diversity) curriculum to the Grades 3-5 students. We are looking forward to their visit!

Teton County Library Best Books of 2006 Celebration: On Wednesday, December 27, the Teton County Library will hold a Best Books of 2006 Celebration from 2:00-3:00 p.m. The library invites young people ages 8 to 11 to feast on good books and snacks. Children will get to hear about some of the best books of the year and discuss their favorite 2006 literary pick. Cost: Free. Location: Ordway Auditorium. Contact: Youth Services 733-2164 ext. 103.

Curriculum Updates

Extended Winter Journey

The Grades 3-5 Extended Winter Journey will take place on Thursday, January 18 through Friday, January 19, 2007. The Journey is entitled “Around the Town,” and will take place in the Jackson Hole area. The Grades 3-5 teachers are excited to use this journey as an opportunity to better get to know the members of the Grades 3-5 community. We are also looking forward to delving into our winter theme, “Pathways in our World,” during this journey.

We are especially interested in learning more about the cultural heritage of Grades 3-5 families. More specifically, we would like to help students learn about the diverse pathways families have taken to end up in Jackson Hole. Did your family recently move to Valley? Has your family lived in town for many years? Does your family run a business that would be of interest to Grades 3-5 students? Does your family participate in community activities or do community service? Does your family have relatives living overseas? Does your family have traditions that reflect your cultural heritage?

We are asking parents for assistance in two ways:

First, do you have a special skill or talent you would like to share with the Grades 3-5 students? We are especially interested in learning about the cultural heritage of Grades 3-5 families. Activities could include cooking a traditional family meal, sharing family rituals/traditions, doing a craft inspired by your family’s heritage, touring a place of business, sharing family photos, etc. We are thrilled to work with parents to create learning experiences that will help our students learn more about the families who make up the Grades 3-5 community.

Second, would your family be able (and willing) to host an overnight for a group of students and a teacher (six to ten people total)? Responsibilities will include hosting a simple dinner, providing sleeping space, and hosting a simple breakfast the following morning. No home is too big or too small. Bed space is not necessary, and teachers will work with families to compensate for food costs within our budget.

The Grades 3-5 teachers realize that this is a new idea for a journey, but we are excited to try something different. If you have talents or space you would like to share, please contact Sarah at extension 1127, or return the form that was sent home in folders last Thursday. Additional details about this journey will be sent home after the winter break. Thanks for your support!

Reading Workshop

Winter Break provides a wonderful opportunity to foster your child’s love of reading. Encourage your child to read before bed, to read recipes to you in the kitchen, or to read with younger siblings. For a fun family activity, choose an exciting new book and take turns reading it aloud. All Grades 3-5 students should work towards the goal of reading independently for at least thirty minutes per day during the break. You will find a Winter Break Reading Log attached to this week’s Monday letter. Encourage your child to use it to keep track of his/her reading over break. If you choose to fill out this reading log, please return it to school after the break.

Writing Workshop

Grades 3-5 students have been working hard as our third writing unit comes to a close. Third graders are finishing up their “All About Books"; informational books written about a topic on which they are an expert. Jack Fenn’s book is entitled, “All About Skateboarding.” Noelle Huser is writing, “All About Being in a Musical,” and Henry Hakoshima is writing, “All About Downhill Skiing.” Students have learned to write paragraphs with a thesis statement and supporting details during this project. They have also learned how to organize their writing using a table of contents.

Fourth and fifth grade writers are finishing up their personal essays, which are essays written about a topic that is familiar to them. For example, Sascha Heywood is writing an essay entitled, “It is Hard to be the Oldest Child.” Alex Lang is writing an essay called, “My Dog is an Important Part of My Life.” Kathleen Wright’s essay is entitled, “Alaska is Important to Me.” During this unit, fourth and fifth graders have learned to write a thesis statement and supporting paragraphs. Students have also learned how to write introduction and conclusion paragraphs, and to make their writing flow by using transition words and phrases such as “in addition,” “also” and ”finally.”
Students will share their completed pieces of writing with their classmates after the Winter Break. Parents can expect to see these pieces come home in student folders during the week of January 8. The writing students have done during this unit will prepare them for our next unit, which will revisit the idea of expository writing. This time, however, students will write “All About Books” or essays about topics they will have to research.

Math Facts

Students in Grades 3-5 have been graduating from our math facts program, which means they have mastered basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Congratulations to Asa, Charlotte, Melissa, Caden, Shelley, Nicole, and Ella! Once they graduate, students continue to hone their math skills during Math Facts time. Our graduates have been working in cooperative groups to solve complicated logic puzzles. Ask your Math Facts graduate to tell you about the logic puzzles he/she has been working on.

Announcements

Winter Electives
We are looking for volunteers to lead a winter elective starting in February after the ski program has ended. Elective time is for one hour on Wednesday afternoons and will run approximately 8 weeks. Elective offerings in the past have included knitting, improvisational theater, world sports, open studio art, community service, rocket building, a cappella singing, and others. So far we are planning to offer art, yearbook, quilting, music and cooking electives this winter. If you’d like to help with one of these, or if you have a different talent or interest to share with a small group of middle school students, we would love to add you to our list of offerings. Please contact Chris Horne (x1106) if interested.

Homework Online
Just a reminder that parents and students have access to homework assignments online. While we emphasize students writing their homework in a planner at the end of each class period, this electronic version is a good back up if a student leaves the planner at school or a parent wants to double check the planner’s accuracy. Ask your student to show you how to access the homework calendar online, or you can find it using the following address: http://mail.tetonscience.org/public/Journeys%20School/Middle%20School%20Calendar/?Cmd=contents&view=weekly

Ski Program Reminder
This past week you should have received information and forms regarding the upcoming Wednesday ski program. Please fill out these forms and send them back to school by tomorrow, December 19th. Students not signed up for alpine or snowboarding by that date will be placed in the Nordic program. Thank you!

Wed. Dec 20 ~ This week in GAP! Michelle Miller from Magpie, a boutique located in Driggs, will be doing a beading activity with the girls at Jackson Middle School. This meeting is sponsored by a grant from the Wyoming Women's Foundation. Not only will the girls be having fun, but they will also learn about how Michelle was able to open her own business. New members are always welcome! For more information, contact Charlotte (x1129).

Thurs. Dec 27 ~ The Book Buzz. 4-5 p.m. Teton County Library and The Refuge invite teens in grades nine through 12 to join this monthly book discussion of “must reads” while enjoying snacks at the teen-run Undergrind Café. Cost: Free. Location: Refuge’s Undergrind Café, 1745 High School Road, Building 500. Contact: Lara Lovett, 733-2164 ext. 221, llovett@will.state.wy.us.

Thank You

Welcome to Phil and Jack Hessler. It has been great having you join our middle school community!

Thank you to all parents and friends who attended and supported the middle school at the Amangani Fundraising event last weekend and the Winter Celebration last Tuesday.

Thank you to all of the a cappella singers who dedicated their time on Saturday night to perform for the Journeys School Annual Fund event at the Amangani. You exhibited just one of the many valuable programs of the Journeys School that are more than worthy of financial support. Your performance definitely inspired people to give to the school. Well done!

Happy holidays! We look forward to an invigorated return after the new year!

Curricular Updates

Math 1a
In math 1a we have wrapped up Unit 2, and completed the introduction of skills associated with adding, subtracting and multiplying with decimals. In the next unit, we have shifted the focus to geometry, and begun focusing on shapes and measurement of angles. This week, we have covered the ideas of acute vs. obtuse angles, and practiced measurement of angles using protractors.

Math 1b
Level 1b math has been learning about polygons, lines and angles. The unit is rich with math vocabulary which we have been using in class to express our math ideas clearly. Recently students learned to use protractors to measure angles. In addition, we have found patterns about the sums of interior angles of polygons. Ask your student to explain this and show you the table they created.

Math 2
Level 2 math is winding down our investigations of similarity. These concluding activities challenge students to: recognize the relationship between similarity and equivalent fractions, learn the effect of scale factor on length ratios and area ratios, recognize that triangles with equal corresponding sides are similar, recognize that rectangles with equivalent ratios of corresponding sides are similar, find and use scale factors to find unknown lengths, collect examples of figures and search for patterns and use the concept of similarity to solve real-world problems. Students are also learning to program their graphing calculators. Recently acquired programming skills include inputting values for variables and then performing operations on the values using formulas. Students also learned how to link calculators and transfer data.

Math 3
Level 3 math continues to build off our explorations of linear and non-linear relationships as we now examine quadratic functions. Students have been graphing parabolas to map relationships between perimeter and area, and predict patterns to solve problems. Students are also drawing upon prior knowledge of the distributive principle to convert quadratic equations from factor from to extended form. ex: (x + 2) (x + 3) = x2 + 5x + 6.

Spanish
This term in Spanish, we will be looking at Spain and its long history through the lens of "forces in opposition." The trimester began with students researching and reporting on the different autonomous communities in Spain. They searched online and in texts for information about the landscape, cities, culture, and foods. With this information, they wrote descriptions and created posters that collectively illustrate the diversity within this southern European nation. The students also read an article on the history of Spain, looking at all the groups that conquered or coexisted in the Iberian Peninsula over time. This reading helped the students better understand the nature of the independent communities and the Spanish identity.

Coming up following winter break, we will examine more recent history by looking at the Spanish Civil War, fought between 1936 and 1939, and how it was a precursor for World War II. To do this, we will look at Picasso's painting Guernica and explore how it represented and continues to serve as a call for peace. After discussing the Franco dictatorship and eventual shift to democracy, we will look at different elements of life in contemporary Spain, specifically talking about family, shopping, and leisure. Through these studies, the students will learn new vocabulary and continue to develop their grammar, pronunciation, comprehension, and communication skills.

Announcements

Wu Shu Update

Special thanks to Ryan and Master McDonald for all their work with the Journeys School Wu Shu club. Congratulations to the following students who were presented with new rankings (in the form of colored belts):

Brandon Kapelow: blue belt with black stripe

Mikey Bird: green belt with black stripe

Connor Nay: green belt with black stripe

Colin Woods: yellow belt

Gus Pierce: yellow belt with black stripe

Irwing Bernal Moye: yellow belt

Joseph Lovett: camouflage belt with black

Curricular Updates

Life and Health Education

The life skills curriculum for the fall focused on Dr. Mel Levine's, founder of All Kinds of Minds, neurodevelopment construct of social cognition. Social cognition has to do with the many ways we present ourselves and interact with one another from the most informal to the most formal settings. Students have a variety of strong and weak social cognition skills, and, since we focus a great deal on building a strong learning community at Journeys School, we found it valuable to help students learn ways to be more socially attuned. Course work involved some lecture and a lot of student role play situations that were then discussed among the student body. Topics included 'self-marketing,' or how one physically presents oneself, dating, what is called code switching, or how one uses a different style of language and delivery with a peer versus an adult, and what it means to be cool. Students gathered historical information about cool from parents and grandparents and compared the similarities and differences to their own lives. One cannot assume that all students have been transformed to be immediately more socially cognitive, but they have, indeed, developed a perspective on how they relate to others and how that affects self and community.

Fall Projects

Over the fall trimester, ninth grade students participated in the new Project GYE course. Project GYE is designed to allow students to build their own knowledge about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem using an open inquiry approach. The course used the “sustainability triangle” as a framework, examining social, economical and ecological sustainability. Students began the trimester by creating a PowerPoint on the social, economic and ecological capital that defines the GYE. The course culminated during mini-mester with a poster project in which students explored various issues in the GYE. Issues included brucellosis, wolf de-listing, pathways in GTNP, cost of living, and methamphetamine use. Throughout the project, students researched text and interviewed experts to create a poster providing background information, opposing views of the issue, and potential solutions.

Sophomores and juniors used Wednesday and mini-mester project time to work on "Challenge 2020". Challenge 2020 is a contest organized by the National Association of Independent Schools that asks students to address one of 20 global problems, and propose a solution to be implemented over the course of 20 years. This year's topic was illegal drugs. Our school was partnered with independent schools in Ohio and Mauritius to address this problem. Students researched several topics relating to the global drug problem, and then narrowed their research to the problem of methamphetamine abuse in Wyoming. We had two law enforcement officers as guest speakers. As their final product, students are working on producing a website, radio ads, and an informational flyer.

The Accreditation Process: From Accreditor to Accreditee

By Margot Martin

Imagine. Seventy-two hours to infiltrate a school, observe and understand all aspects of its program, facility, governance, admissions, and finances; to interview its teachers, read its self-study, and converse with the students, parents, and alumni, in order to determine its adherence with its self-proclaimed mission, philosophy and goals, and its ability to promote its program and sustain it into the future. Imagine seven teachers, administrators, and Heads of School, thrown together to investigate a school in depth and with breadth, to write up its strengths and recommendations for its weaknesses. I was a part of this team for a mere 72 hours, to determine whether or not to accredit a school, to help it become the school it wants to be. This was my charge, and soon we will be opening our doors to another team that will evaluate the Journeys School for accreditation.

This past November I had the fortune to be a member of a Visiting Team to evaluate the Billings Middle School for admittance into the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS). “PNAIS is a voluntary membership organization that promotes high educational quality for its schools through the establishment and advancement of comprehensive accreditation standards.” (PNAIS Accreditation Manual, 2005, p. 1) The Association assists independent schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, with this process of school improvement, i.e. accreditation. The Association’s standards are based upon attributes that have been deemed necessary in a quality institution, recognizing that each school has a unique mission and philosophy.

If a school becomes accredited, that indicates it meets or exceeds the PNAIS major standards and good practices for independent institutions. The accreditation process includes many steps that take place over a three to five year period. It requires a full disclosure and peer group review process, seeking to confirm congruence between the school’s stated mission and its actual program and services. Thus, an accredited school has the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs and can give reasonable evidence that the school will be sustained into the foreseeable future. 

The Journeys School is currently in its final stages of the accreditation process. Last year all faculty and staff contributed to a school-wide self study, to describe the basic elements of our program, plant, governance, finances, and admissions, and to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses in these areas. The Journeys School has submitted this 150 page document to PNAIS and will have an accreditation Visiting Team evaluation in March to determine whether or not the school is achieving its self-stated purposes. The Team also provides recommendations to help a school obtain its goals. Accreditation is an on-going process of school improvement, so once accredited and a member of PNAIS, Visiting Team re-evaluations occur every eight years.

In addition to school improvement, many benefits result from being accredited. Accreditation assures parents and the public that a school is providing a safe and enriching learning environment while maintaining efficient and effective operations. It provides school leadership with an independent, objective validation that the school is delivering quality education. It eases the transition of students between accredited institutions. Accreditation also provides education leaders at all levels with deserved recognition for producing exceptional programs, while allowing other schools to share and learn about best practices of their and other schools. Finally it allows student teachers to easily gain credit for their teaching practicum at an accredited school.

I am grateful for my opportunity to be a part of an Accrediting Team. Rarely does one get to visit and learn about another school so deeply, work intensely with professionals from other schools, and help a school to become fully recognized for its mission and stated purposes. Through this experience I gained insight into the process as we head into sharing our program with a Visiting Team of professionals from PNAIS. I feel grateful for the parts of the Teton Science Schools (governance, finance, school plant) that are intact and efficient, and allow the faculty to focus solely on the school program. When this infrastructure is absent, the school program gravely suffers. When it works so well, however, it is difficult to realize that it even exists.

Although it can be intimidating to have a group of experienced educators in well-established, high-performing schools enter and evaluate every aspect of one’s school, the accreditation process is an invaluable opportunity to assess one’s school and help to ensure its viability and sustainability into the future. This process has already helped the Journeys School improve and secure its ability to support the learning of students for years to come. It also assures that our commitment to integrating ecology, culture and community to ensure academic excellence and personal success is achieved and our innovative practices are shared with other schools. The Journeys School is well positioned for a positive accreditation process.

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© 2005, Basecamp News, Journeys School of Teton Science Schools.