Indian Creek School Stays Ahead Of The Learning Curve

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Story and photo by Peter Crispino
@PeterCrispinoAV

@SPVoice

Eight years ago, the Indian Creek Upper School opened with an inaugural class of 16 just students. Today, 221 students occupy the 6-year-old, 96,000 square-foot academic and athletic building, and the 116-acre Crownsville campus allows for plenty more growth down the road. For a progressive school centered on preparing students for the future, the focus always stays trained on tomorrow’s potential.

“I think the most important thing is that we're forward-thinking. Education is fundamentally changing, and the most successful schools are going to change with it,” explained Head of School Dr. Rick Branson. “We can't expect the students we're educating to be the same as the students from 20 years ago. They're different kids; therefore, schools are wise to match their teaching strategies to the viewpoints and outlook of these new learners.”

The faculty at Indian Creek School bases their teaching strategies on the latest research on brain theory, peer collaboration and educational technology, according to Branson. Where educators in the past were tasked with imparting information to their classes, the focus today has shifted toward engaging in dynamic interactive discussion in the classroom, thanks in large part to the advances in technology.

“The strength of a teacher was always that they had knowledge people did not have,” Branson noted. “Today, we're past acquisition of knowledge. If a kid has an iPhone, they can acquire knowledge. We want to build the skills of what they do with that knowledge, how they manage that information, how they successfully weigh different viewpoints and how they form their own viewpoints.”

Another key aspect of the progressive academic culture at Indian Creek School is the acknowledgement and consideration of the fact that there is no single “best” means of instruction or assessment for all students. Teachers therefore seek to identify what kind of learners their students are and incorporate a variety of styles in order to play to the strengths and interests of each.

“We believe we can help students find success by realizing every learner learns differently," said Branson. “You want to build the strongest kid possible to go out into this world? You do it through teacher-student relationships, partnerships with parents and a strong curriculum, but especially by creating a place that supports kids in their area of strength.”

While the student body of Indian Creek’s Upper School has grown exponentially since its inception eight years ago, it remains small enough to produce a 12-to-1 student-teacher ratio. The smaller size also affords students the ability to participate in nearly any extracurricular they wish, a key part of the learning experience at Indian Creek School.

To that end, the school employs a unique daily schedule: classes do not start until 8:45am, and they run until 3:22pm; after a short break students take part in their choice of activities including athletics, arts, clubs, study hall or class-wide seminars before departing at 4:45pm. The later start allows for some activities, such as practice theater production, to take place before school; consequently, over one-third of the upper school students participated in the spring musical last year while over 90 percent played sports.

“There's a firmly held belief that students can come to our school and they can do it all: they can participate in arts, they can participate in sports, they can do any number of things and they don't have to specialize,” Branson noted. “We believe those group experiences are very important for kids' growth as well. We fundamentally agree that there's transference from those activities to growing a strong student.”

Indian Creek was named a Maryland Top 10 School in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) Talent Search in 2009, and with the school’s resolute commitment to innovation, it should be the first of many awards to come.

The next open house for the upper school will be held on January 27 from 1:00-3:00pm. For more information, visit www.indiancreekschool.org.

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