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Private label Private schools rise to OC’s expectations Orange County’s private schools are changing the world one child at a time – in their own unique ways. Whether it’s focusing on international awareness, encouraging service to others, developing creative approaches to learning, teaching foreign languages or promoting core values like respect and courtesy, private schools have the freedom to create unique environments that nurture children beyond the basics. “There’s nothing like a private school education,” says Rick Weinberg, director of corporate communications for the Fairmont Private Schools. “In my experiences, it offers so much more of everything. “Most private schools are similar in the respect of offering unparalleled education, smaller classes, offering more one-on-one help.” Private schools also share a commitment to creating differences – distinctive programs that attract like-minded families and educators. While many private schools adopt the same curriculum as their public school counterparts and test students according to the state academic standards, they have the freedom to tailor their teaching methods and layer other programs into students’ studies. For example, Heritage Oak Private School in Yorba Linda emphasizes social behavior as a key to success in the classroom and fortifies the lessons through an annual cotillion. And St. Mary’s in Aliso Viejo is the only private school in the county to offer both the International Baccalaureate Primary Years and Middle Years programs for all its students. In both cases, the schools are able to offer these unique educational experiences because of the financial freedom they benefit from as privately-financed institutions. “Unfortunately for public schools, they have a responsibility to narrow the curriculum to meet testing guidelines,” says Greg Cygan, president of Heritage Oak. The advantage of a private school education, educators say, is that the approach to teaching is not limited to one-size-fits-all. Private schools also typically have smaller class sizes and staff devoted to supporting students, which encourages all students to participate socially and achieve success in the classroom. Take families with specific goals, such as helping their child get into top universities. They want an environment that provides individual attention and focus on objectives. “They want their children to go to the Harvards and Yales of the world and this school prepares them for it – certainly more than any public school does,” says Weinberg of Fairmont. While many of the private schools deliver top academic experiences in the classroom, some have cultivated a passion for teaching life lessons. “We’re teaching students to be critical thinkers, risk-takers and good global citizens,” says Diane DiCorpo-Fuller, St. Mary’s head of school. “As adults with the Internet, they’re going to have to be international citizens; so we’re getting them ready to do that.” DiCorpo-Fuller hopes lessons around respecting different cultures go beyond the classroom and stay with students for life. “We don’t teach the kids that they have to believe what other cultures believe or do, we just teach them they have to respect what they do and believe,” DiCorpo-Fuller explains. “Even though we are a Christian school, we have students from every religion here. Our school is a little bit of the whole world.” Developing respect for other cultures and people is a key part of living in the world. Cornelia Connelly High School, an independent Catholic school in Anaheim, devotes time in the classroom and during weekly mass to the importance of respecting the beliefs of others. “We really use that word a lot and try to teach them trust and respect in the classroom and in all activities,” says Sharon Olsen, Connelly’s director of communications. Life lessons are taught to a different beat at Heritage Oak. Included in the well-rounded education students receive there are formal dance lessons and dining etiquette, taught in preparation for a cotillion, a formal event often associated with Southern culture – and one that is a widely popular experience at the Yorba Linda school. Cygan firmly believes the lessons learned preparing for the cotillion help students prepare for success in the classroom and beyond. “The two most sustaining characters of any school are high academic expectations and high behavioral expectations,” Cygan explains. “We have spent a great deal of time focusing on the whole child.” At Heritage Oak, high behavioral standards go hand-in-hand with a rigorous academic environment. “In order to be fair to all children in the classroom, you have to have a very respectful environment,” says Cygan. “Our parents understand that is very important to a challenging academic environment.” Another area where private schools are able to offer a more unique approach to education is through specialization. The Prentice School in North Tustin covers the same curriculum as most public schools, but with an entirely different approach to teaching. Prentice is the only school in Orange County with a program designed for dyslexic students. Using the Slingerland Approach, students at Prentice learn though multi-sensory instruction with a focus on oral language and phonics. Prentice Executive Director Carol Clark is proud to be the only Southern California school designed for children who have language learning issues. “Our students have an above average intelligence but struggle with reading, writing and language,” says Clark. “They learn differently. Instead of feeling like, ‘I can’t keep up,’ we’re really working with the students to think that, ‘I am really smart but I just learn differently than others’.” Not only does Clark stress that the Prentice students are just like everyone else learning the same state-approved curriculum as other students, the school’s campus looks like any other public school. “We are on a former Tustin school site,” Clark explains. “When a student visits, I get a lot of comments like, ‘The kids here are just like me.’” Connelly also offers a specialized block schedule aimed at preparing students for college schedules. For many students at the all-girls parochial school in Anaheim, which has 100% of its students accepted into college, the daily schedule resembles a university program with longer class periods on a rotating schedule. “It’s a different approach than other Catholic schools,” Olsen says. “We have a little independence.” Richard Ramus is a freelance writer living in Orange. He can be reached at rich@richramus.com. |
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