Author: Don Adams

On Sunday morning at 02.00, those of us who were awake set our clocks back an hour at just the right moment. We do that every fall and to remember whether to move ahead or behind, we learned “Spring Ahead, Fall Back” in school.

I don’t like the idea of ever falling back – I think that we should always endeavour to Spring Ahead. It’s a good thing that I’m not responsible for setting our clocks or for teaching students to remember that phrase.

Daylight Savings Time is actually observed in around 70 countries, though it was and remains something US-driven. The idea behind the concept was that it saved electricity. More recent US studies show that Daylight Savings Time may actually increase the amount of electricity used, though this may be state-specific.

Maybe Daylight Savings Time is akin to what we all-too-often do in schools. We look at the information available to us at a given moment and make a decision. We rarely take a fresh look at that decision (say, the idea of putting school desks in neatly-ordered rows), electing instead to just move forward and let the status quo congeal.

I’m wondering aloud how many of the historical decisions we have made in and about schools are ripe for re-examination. Not necessarily a major overhaul (though, of course, many are) but a reasonably gentle tweaking, like moving a clock back or forward by an hour.

What things would you suggest?

Don Adams, Head of School

In our recent advertisements and our YouTube site, among other places, you will see us described as an “alternative” school.

Alternative to what?

We think about this question a lot. For many reasons, we embrace the notion of being alternative. First, we are alternative to what was the status quo for the students who come to The Academy. In that way, our alternative is small, intimate classes; teachers who are experts in dealing with students with learning style differences and learning disabilities; administrators who are on the leading edge of research and thought in this area of education.

We are also alternative in our ability as a school to invert the history of a students experience at and with schools. Where schools were previously places of failure, The Academy is a place for success. We spend the entire year spreading the word about our school. We actively prospect for the students and families who would most benefit from being part of The Academy community and an education at our school. We take these students on the way into our school and throughout their time here, empower them to succeed on the way out. This is transformative and deeply alternative for the families who come to our school.

FInally, alternative is an attitude. From the minute the school day begins, the expectation is engagement and success. Students take from an education at The Academy what they put in. We create an environment here that makes it safe, comfortable, rewarding for students to check in. It takes time to change the paradigm from school being a passive thing that probably should be avoided, to school being an integral part of who you are, in a community that not only cares about you, but is equipped to help you succeed.

The Academy IS Toronto’s alternative school. It’s a beautiful time of year in the city – come join us for a tour and a cup of good coffee.

Don Adams, Head of School

So much of what we read in the media today about schools revolves around the bare minimum. Labour battles, unions, governments – it all creates a real mess for our students, all of whom deserve to transcend the minimum each day.

Minimums are something that we quickly get used to. Some think (though I disagree) that most students spend a fair amount of their team figuring out where the level of minimum effort is. They say the same about teachers. At our school, we never see this. We see engagement, each and every day. We see teachers who arrive early and stay late, not out of obligation, but out of a commitment to deliver the maximum that they can for their students, for themselves.

Everything has a starting point, so I wonder where the disconnect began and I know that parents wonder this as well. Every week I hear stories from our parents about low levels of engagement at their child’s previous school. To parents of children with learning disabilities and learning style differences, the disconnect often begins and ends at the intersection of understanding and commitment. It’s remarkably difficult to be committed to something you don’t understand. If a teacher doesn’t understand a student and a student in turn feels lost in a system that doesn’t work for or with him or her, we have a void.

There are no schools that are a perfect fit for every student. We need to divest ourselves of the notion that there are, just as we need to get beyond the idea that the measure of a given day or week or academic year should be the least that we can do for each other. We all need to aim as high as we can, every single day. That’s the bare minimum we owe our students.

Don Adams, Head of School

In our recent advertisements and our YouTube site, among other places, you will see us described as an “alternative” school.

Alternative to what?

We think about this question a lot. For many reasons, we embrace the notion of being alternative. First, we are alternative to what was the status quo for the students who come to The Academy. In that way, our alternative is small, intimate classes; teachers who are experts in dealing with students with learning style differences and learning disabilities; administrators who are on the leading edge of research and thought in this area of education.

We are also alternative in our ability as a school to invert the history of a students experience at and with schools. Where schools were previously places of failure, The Academy is a place for success. We spend the entire year spreading the word about our school. We actively prospect for the students and families who would most benefit from being part of The Academy community and an education at our school. We take these students on the way into our school and throughout their time here, empower them to succeed on the way out. This is transformative and deeply alternative for the families who come to our school.

Finally, alternative is an attitude. From the minute the school day begins, the expectation is engagement and success. Students take from an education at The Academy what they put in. We create an environment here that makes it safe, comfortable, rewarding for students to check in. It takes time to change the paradigm from school being a passive thing that probably should be avoided, to school being an integral part of who you are, in a community that not only cares about you, but is equipped to help you succeed.

The Academy IS Toronto’s alternative school. It’s a beautiful time of year in the city – come join us for a tour and a cup of good coffee.

Don Adams, Head of School

I have one of the best views in Toronto.

My office is on the main floor of The Academy. It’s three floors up, has a big window, and looks north. So I look from Breadalbane towards Wellesley and points north. I can turn my head to the left and easily see Bay Street, to the right and easily see Yonge Street. Had I ever the opportunity to hit a golf ball from the roof of our building (assuming that the streets would be completely empty), I’m pretty sure I could at least get my drive to roll to College on the south and Wellesley on the North. I could easily clear Yonge without a bounce.

For a lot of families, location is everything. For a family working in Toronto’s downtown core, they can drop their son or daughter off at school. Don’t underemphasize the role of that commute in family life. We are an urban community school. We feel that we are a part of downtown Toronto. Surrounded by towers that drive Canadian and global commerce, we do something equally important – we prepare high school students with learning disabilities and learning style differences for a lifetime of success and happiness.

Take a look at the school video we made last year HERE. Do these seem like happy young adults to you?

Come by for a visit and let us show you how we make school a pleasure for our families.

Don Adams, Head of School