So what is this corner of the educational universe that Proctor owns? What core values drive our practices? What is Proctor's genetic code?
Certainly the commitment to experiential modes of teaching and learning is one major component. Below, students just back from Proctor in Spain and France compare photos:
With close to 40 students back from fall term in Europe and the Caribbean (replacing 30 who have gone for winter in Europe and Mountain Classroom) this is a time when the social composition of the community is invented anew. Below, Proctor in Segovia teacher Derek Mansell connects with former students from previous terms:
This touches on a second strand of our DNA: Proctor's informal/egalitarian social culture. While it is hardly noticed by those of us who experience it daily, the informality between teachers and students is arguably Proctor's most unique quality.
This, in turn, is related to a third distinguishing trait: support. We operate on an assumption that is widely rejected (yet we've proven it to be true), that academic support can make a school more challenging rather than less. Here, ninth graders await the start of world cultures:
So that's it: direct, experiential learning, supportive safety structures and a set of relationships that elevate adolescents. PA's DNA.
