South School: A Caring Community

By Diane De Roche Johnson

Diane De Roche Johnson South School New Canaan, CT

It all began with a thought, an idea, a seed planted years ago. Before the concept of character education received the level of attention it has today, Russ Firlik, principal of South School, was educating his faculty and parents to teach to the "whole child." A core group of teachers -- Dee Johnson, Sue Ebdon, Mary Lou Cantrell, and Dianne Rearick -- studied Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory. As Mary Lou states: "It is not how smart you are but how are you smart." Using Howard Gardner’s theory, the team of teachers began to create a Multiple Intelligence summer camp with the focus always being on the child. South School soon developed a reputation of being a caring, child-centered elementary school.

When Assistant Principal Joanne Rocco joined the South School team, she brought a "service project" aspect to the school. When Joanne was a science teacher, she was the overseer of the student council. The student council created many service projects that led to a project called Kids in Community Service (KICS). One goal of KICS was to keep everything sweet, simple, and child centered. Children were learning how to serve and help others. Each classroom participated in a community activity whether it was making cards, baking for local firemen, or singing carols to the elderly.

As these activities were starting at South School, Dr. Edward DeRoche, Professor and Dean of Education at the Universtiy of San Diego, presented a workshop on the topic of "Character Education." The faculty embraced the principles of character education. South School was already teaching respect, honesty, caring, and sharing. South School focuses on the academic, social, and emotional needs of the child. Character education was already a large part of South School, and the question was what next steps shoud we take? South School needed a committee to lead and organize all the wonderful activities going on in the school. Dee Johnson, Maggie Joyce, and Joanne Rocco worked over one summer to create a three-year plan.

With their leadership, three sub-committees were developed: Town Meetings, Communication, and Mapping/Tracking.

South School is now in its second year of implementation. With support from Dr. Firlik and Joanne Rocco, hard work from teachers and PTC, and leadership from Dee Johnson and Maggie Joyce, children are learning how to be responsible citizens in their community. Through classroom activities, town meetings, morning meetings, and grade-level assemblies, children are learning about respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring, and fairness! These values are implemented and reinforced daily. The next time you are in New Canaan, stop by! The minute you walk through the door, you will know why South School earned the reputation of being an academically sound school with a caring and loving environment!