trevordayschool

It's all about relationships … With the advent and explosion of distance learning, all schools are challenged to demonstrate their relevance. As methodologies and pedagogies evolve, what it means to be a great school is constantly shifting. What is the value proposition of continuing to privilege face-to-face contact between teachers and students, over more impersonal methods such as e-learning? Trevor is on the cutting edge of these debates. To witness classes from Pre-K through grade 12 is to experience inquiry-based education alive and well, driven by the question that from a young age defines human inquiry: "Why?" is question and other essential questions with which students grapple at all grade levels define who we are as a school community. It is further expressed architecturally through our commitment to the Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Common Room on 88th Street and the Middle School Common Room and High School Center on 95th Street. ese spaces are the architectural embodiment of what we believe about education. It is, at its roots, all about relationships. e most important element in any school is the relationship between student and teacher. e common space approach at Trevor celebrates this very fact. It is not the typical school experience. Some see its collaborative nature as the educational counterpart of working on the trading floor or a tech firm, or even former mayor Michael Bloomberg's concept of open work spaces at City Hall. Yet we know it as an approach to education that simply places the students at the center of all that we do. Support for our method is drawn from vast constituencies within our community and a track record of successful and empowered graduates. A faculty member said it well: "e Center and Common Room are great at making students feel normal about going to the teachers and advocating for themselves and figuring out what they want to get out of their own learning. I think that's a special feature, both about Trevor and its students." And a 4th-grade parent concurs, "e way these children in fourth and fifth grade interacted with adults was incredible. I was the mother of a two- year-old at the time and thought, 'is is how I want my son to be in fifth grade. I want him to have that confidence and ability to balance his schedules and navigate the Common Room.'" A Middle School faculty member commented, "You have a sixth grader working with an eighth grader. Where else does that happen? In the Common Room it just unfolds organically, and it's heartwarming." e common spaces are part of our mission at Trevor. ey are very much who we are. ey create a major value proposition for our children. For, in the end, Trevor offers not only a top- It's all about relationships... Scott R. Reisinger, Head of School 2 6 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L n W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6

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