Apr. 24th, 2012 – Measure for Measure

Don Adams Head of School

At a most fundamental level, it’s the job of a teacher to measure achievement, whether that be scores on a test, understanding of a concept, progress in a whole variety of learning skills, and so on.  Such measures of student achievement are commonly the basis for a judgment not only of how well the student is doing, but also how well the teacher is doing.  The problem is, it seems to me, that we measure the wrong things — with all good intentions and due diligence!  We measure test scores which are, to an extent, necessary.  They point to the student’s possession of a discrete bit of knowledge, but sometimes we overlook more important things.  When I visit a class at The YMCA Academy, what I see is a community of learners (and this includes the teacher) working together to understand.  What I see is deeply engaged students — engaged in their own learning, and that of their community.  The problem for habitual measurers is that it’s difficult to quantify engagement — but you know it when you see it.  You see engagement in faces, you hear it in words.  You see engagement also by what you don’t see, specifically the signs of boredom and discontent.  You see intellectual struggle, but it’s a struggle to satisfy the innate curiosity to know that has been freed in our students.An engaged child is an amazing thing to see, particularly if it’s her or his first experience being excited about coming to school.We hear this from our parents all the time — the child who returns home after a day at The Academy simply isn’t a defeated one; rather, he or she has entered into the struggle to know, and to know more!

Wins are hard to come by in life for young people. We do our best to make that happen.

Don Adams – Head of School

Apr. 20th, 2012 – A School’s Vision

Don Adams Head of School

Being a school leader in a large organization like the YMCA of Greater Toronto has its perks.  You get to learn about leadership and strategic direction from a group of caring leaders who are as concerned with their mission as they are with their margin.

One thing that I have learned is that, in order to achieve success, you must first have a very-clear and thorough vision of exactly what you are trying to do, and how you will go about doing it.

At the YMCA Academy, that’s a lesson we’ve learned very well indeed.  As a career educator, I’ve seen many schools throughout North America, and I have found that successful schools are purpose-driven places.  The idea that a school can be everything to everybody is no longer true.  We have seen that this doesn’t work so well in practice.

Where have we seen this?  Well, we’ve seen that many of our own students here at the Academy were lost in schools that were very general in purpose, and, I might say, nondescript in their ideas of what they were about.  Each of our students has very specific learning needs – absolutely not a good fit in those generalized high schools many of us grew up attending.

The future of schools is more specialization.  It’s about customizing an experience for the students that fits who they are and who they want to become.  By doing so in a very focused way, we’ve achieved very impressive results for our students.

We do that here at The YMCA Academy, and we’re always looking for new school relationships so we can help others do the same.  Watch for the Academy Summer Institute 2012 in this connection!

Don Adams – Head of School

Apr. 17th, 2012 – Are Schools Broken?

Don Adams Head of School

Today, Sir Ken Robinson is one of the world’s most well-known and highly-regarded educational thinkers. In a presentation given to the Royal Society of Arts in late 2010, he argued “every country on earth at the moment is reforming public education”.

That’s an astonishing claim — why would educational reform be so widely spread? Well, you hear it every day, don’t you, in all sorts of media — “schools are broken.” I’m not comfortable with such universal declarations of disaster! Imagine if the people criticizing schools donated half the time and energy expended in their criticisms to volunteer in schools in their communities!

“Community” is the key word; without it, any school is only a building, students, teachers, and things. It doesn’t have a soul.

When you’re in a school that is also a community, you can feel it from the minute you walk in the door. There’s a warmth that you feel, fellowship, perhaps best defined in the six core values of the YMCA of Greater Toronto: inclusiveness, health, responsibility, respect, caring, and honesty. These are the qualities that bind together every community. They define the YMCA Academy.

Our school is a community school, part of the new centre of community that is the Central YMCA. You can feel that the minute you walk in the door for your first visit. You don’t see formality; you see people helping each other.

Our staff and students like to come to school in the morning. When we have breaks, they look forward to coming back. They want to see each other and share the experience of what it means to be at our school.

If your school has that, fantastic. Come by and feel what’s it’s like over here, and we’ll share our successes.

If your school doesn’t have that, then please come by and feel what it’s like over here. We pride ourselves on always having good coffee and snacks around. Come in and test us out.

Don Adams – Head of School

Apr. 2nd, 2012 – 1,200 Hours

Don Adams Head of School

Remember the theme song from Cheers, “Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got”?

Well, it strikes me that this thought is truer today than ever — especially so if you are a student with a learning difference and your individual gifts are not recognized by your school.

When you were in school, how often did you get a helping hand just when you needed it? If you did, I’m sure that experience is one that resonates for you still – most of us recall the caring support of an amazing teacher who somehow knew just what we needed exactly when we needed it.

We have worked very hard at The YMCA Academy to design a program and assemble an amazing faculty so that we can constantly give our students such support.

All our students share a common bond: school wasn’t working for them before. Now, it does.  Why? Each academic year, every YMCA Academy student receives approximately 1,200 hours of direct support from a caring and fully qualified staff and faculty!  We individualize our program for each student, to recognize their individual strengths, and to support their areas of need.  We teach our students to learn, to advocate for themselves, and to succeed in the world on their own.

That turnaround is remarkably powerful – it’s like nothing they’ve seen or experienced before!
Come and see for yourself – visits are always welcome!

Don Adams – Head of School

Mar. 26th, 2012 – OSSLT on March 29th, 2012

Don Adams Head of School, Updates

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On Thursday, March 29, 2012, Grade Ten students across the province, including our students at the YMCA Academy, will be writing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT).  The successful completion of the test is a requirement for any student pursuing an Ontario Secondary School Diploma granted by the Ontario Ministry of Education.

This year we have 11 students writing the OSSLT. This number accounts for nearly 37% of our student body and as such, we require the full support of staff and resources at the Academy on the day of the test. To meet the needs of our students and to provide individual accommodations for those writing the OSSLT, we require additional space and staff support on the day of the test.

For this reason, school will be closed on Thursday, March 29, 2012 for all students who are NOT writing the OSSLT. School will resume with regular classes on Friday, March 30, 2012.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at the Academy.

Regards,

Don Adams
Head of School