Pine Run Elementary Marks 40 Years of Open Learning

When Karen Matlack interviewed for a teaching position at in 1971, the first question she was asked was, “How willing are you to share?”

That readiness to be part of a collaborative, family community has defined her lifelong career at Pine Run in New Britain, which is celebrating its 40^th birthday this year with a special open house on Oct. 1 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

While technology at the school has evolved from 8 millimeter slide projectors to spacious computer labs and smart boards, Pine Run is still one of only a few schools in existence that has kept an open floor plan first developed in the late 1960s.

“Open is really a state of mind,” said Matlack, who teaches second grade.

Pine Run’s open floors with moveable dividers allow for constant movement and communication between classes, which are grouped into four “houses” around a central library. Large group instruction areas, or LGIs, exist to accommodate inter-grade learning during meetings, special presentations and group lessons.

“I was thrilled, but intimidated,” Principal Amanda Mumford said, of being selected seven years ago to head Pine Run after working with more conventional models at and Mill Creek. 

But the friendly welcome she received was more than enough to convince her to stay.

“I thought I had died and gone to principal heaven!” she laughed, remembering sixth graders waving hello in the hallways soon after she started. “It’s extremely positive to know what’s going on around you where there are no closed doors.”

Mumford said the open space model helps foster an inclusionary environment among the children, who, for example, are more inclined to accept peers with disabilities and unique learning needs than others who’ve never been exposed to such situations.

Asking her class of eager second-graders what they enjoy most about Pine Run, Matlack called on one student who summed it up perfectly: “Spending time with people,” she said.

But the 559 students at Pine Run today aren’t the only ones to benefit from community. The school's 46 teachers and 29 staff members do too.

When Pine Run considered changing to a traditional set-up a few years ago, 100 percent of the teachers voted to maintain team planning and coordinated lesson plans – a strategy that Mumford said invokes healthy growth.

“Being challenged to find new ways to deliver instruction makes you a better teacher,” Mumford said.

Pine Run parents are encouraged to become part of the classroom family as well, and have stepped up to the challenge, said Matlack, who had 16 volunteers for a recent back to school night.

“There is great loyalty in this community,” said Matlack, having taught nearly 1,200 pre-K to third grade students during her tenure at Pine Run.

In fact, some of Matlack’s current students are the sons and daughters of students she taught when Pine Run first opened.

Through teary eyes, she smiled, thinking about today’s successful teachers, doctors and lawyers who once sang in school musicals, listened to guest speakers during “VIP” sessions at the library and competed in Olympic Day – Pine Run’s annual field day of Greeks versus Romans.

On Oct. 1, the past and present Pine Run communities will have an opportunity to reconnect and celebrate at the open house run by a group of retired faculty members called the Pine Run Past-Timers.

“Pine Run changed in curriculum and approaches to learning, but the closeness and dedication the staff had to each child never changed,” said Judy Snyder, chairman of the open house and former teacher of 35 years.

To help young students learn about the generations before them, Pine Run held an assembly showcasing the school’s history along with fun photos of retro hairstyles and clothes – a student favorite.

“We’re using the past as a way of looking forward,” Mumford said, confident in the family she has found at Pine Run.

“These kids give so much more than they receive from this building,” she added. “They teach us life lessons.”