Newtown Friends School Hosts 125 Educators at Edcamp Friends

On Monday, March 28, Newtown Friends School (NFS) hosted 125 educators for Edcamp Friends, a full day of participant-driven professional development. The attendees came from Quaker schools in the greater Philadelphia area, Friends Council on Education, and public schools. The participants were from the following schools: Delaware Valley Friends School, Friends School Haverford, George School, Greenwood Friends School, Lansdowne Friends School, Newtown Friends School, Plymouth Meeting Friends School, The Quaker School at Horsham, United Friends School, West Chester Friends School, and Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School.

Possibly the fastest growing movement in education, the first Edcamp (http://www.edcamp.org/) was held in Philadelphia in 2010. Since then, there have been over 700 Edcamp conferences held in 25 different countries around the world. Kim Sivick, founding Edcamp Board member and currently the Edcamp Foundation’s Operations Manager, was in attendance to help welcome guests and she shared a bit of the history of the organization. A grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation allowed Edcamp to grow quickly in order to help support groups that are organizing Edcamp events. Although it is important to note that Edcamps are always free for all attendees. Edcamp Friends is the first Edcamp designed specifically for educators in Quaker schools.

One of the distinct features of Edcamps is that participants create the agenda for the day after they arrive by placing session topics that they want to discuss with others on a large schedule board. After the board is finalized, attendees go to the sessions that interest them and are encouraged to move between sessions as their interests lead them. The session topics at Edcamp Friends reflected a wide range of interests. A few of the 28 session topics that were generated by the group include – Student Leadership Opportunities in Middle and Primary Grades, Teaching Social Intelligence, Current Events & Social Justice Incorporated into the classroom, Doing Hands-On Science, and How to Use Project-based Learning more effectively with young children?

During the lunch break, NFS faculty and staff, including Head of School Dana Harrison, offered tours of two exciting additions to the school’s programs and facilities – the Maker Space and the Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom and Playground.

Edcamp Friends attendees were encouraged to connect and share throughout the day via Twitter. NFS fourth grade teacher, Keela Fowler tweeted- “Enjoying some really great conversations and differing perspectives @edcampfriends today!” Eric Wolarsky, Associate Dean of Students at George School, tweeted, “This was such a valuable day of professional development. Huge thanks to @NewtownFriends for hosting.” The collaborative and participant-driven nature of Edcamp Friends was ideal for meaningful and useful discussions to take place, which inspired the educators gathered to return to their respective schools with new ideas, new friends, and renewed commitment.

Newtown Friends School is a Pre-K through eighth grade coed day school located in Bucks County. Rooted in Quaker values, NFS was founded in 1948 by Newtown Friends Meeting and provides a dynamic, student-centered curriculum.

Contact: Rebecca Niszczak, Director of Admissions and Marketing

rniszczak@newtownfriends.org, (215) 968-2225 Ext. 102

For information about the school: www.newtownfriends.org