THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PROGRAM
Small classes, individual attention and nurturing environment a hallmark of the Arlington School
A painting of a white dove against a yellow background hangs in Karen Clasby's office at the Arlington School. The bird holds one end of a kerchief in its beak. The other end reaches beyond the edge of the canvas where only the imagination can go. The title is "Hope."
The Arlington School has inspired such creative work for more than three decades. The 44 teens who comprise the current student body learn English, science, math and history. They also write poetry, paint, photograph and express themselves using every artistic medium imaginable, including computer digitization.
By fostering the one quality in students that might just be the most difficult to teach—imagination—this secondary school on the McLean campus has helped teens with emotional and psychiatric difficulties thrive. Most students go on to post-secondary schools.
Small classes, individual attention, flexible teaching approaches and supportive counseling—all geared to help teens manage a school environment—also cultivate success.
"We know what students are dealing with, we understand it, and we help any way we can," says Principle Karen Clasby. Math, science, and English are all important, according to Clasby, but the school's brighter than average students will not learn if their emotional needs are not addressed.
"We are very small," said Clasby. "Kids in the public schools are sitting in classrooms with 20 to 28 children. Our kids are just not going to go if they feel anxious in a class that size."
Creativity is not just the norm for students. It permeates all facets of the school, including building for the future. The school is buying new books and materials, integrating technology into the classroom, and envisioning novel ideas for using their physical space. When it comes to carrying out the school's educational mission, Clasby and her staff have no shortage of ideas.
One major goal is to update the curriculum. This year, the school upgraded its math curriculum using $5,000 of available grant money. In future years, Clasby wants to look at history, biology, language arts and environmental science.
The school has committed itself to integrating up-to-date educational technology. A media lab has been set up, and the school just received approval to employ a full-time media specialist. In addition to working with students, the media specialist will help teachers to use technology in the classroom.
Revamping the physical space is on Clasby's mind as well. She dreams of having a "cafetorium", a large open room that can be used as a cafeteria, gymnasium, and auditorium simply rearranging tables and chairs.
One staff member suggested emptying the attic of old records and creating a large library and media center, said Clasby. That would free up space for other uses where the library and media center are now located.
There is also a need for more shelving. The school just ordered more display cases for the art room. While walking through one classroom, Clasby smiled and said, "On my wish list: built-in book shelves all around the building in every classroom."
Surprisingly, for a school with a strong creative bent, music is not part of the current curriculum. Clasby pointed to an old upright piano formerly used when the school had a music program. "We'd all love to have music again," she said. "But we'd need a teacher and a place to put that person."
Perhaps the school will find a way to revive its musical past. If current student art work is any indication, connecting the past to the present is a well-developed forte of the Arlington School. This year the students have been studying masks. They learned about the role of masks across time and across cultures. They found photographs of ones they liked. They wrote about them and they created their own. The art room is home to many of these masks in their various stages of completion.
In the entrance hall of the school hangs a mask composed of thick gray layered strands. Numerous green eyes peak out from crevices. Nearby, a six-point black and white mask with a split smile, large teeth, and silver eyes also hangs on the wall. This high level of creative work is hard to imagine outside a college- or professional-level art class. But at the Arlington School, they are doing it.