At The Davis Academy I am Smart

Recently I had a conversation with a parent. It was one of those conversations that confirmed my deepest beliefs about The Davis Academy-- that Davis is everything a school should be and more. Among the many positive things this parent shared with me was a comment that her child made one day while doing homework. The child said, "Mommy, at The Davis Academy I am smart."

I asked the parent what she thought her child meant. She explained to me that the child's teachers and the child's homeroom teacher in particular created a warm and nurturing environment where the child felt safe to explore ideas, reach new heights, make different mistakes and learn from them, share thoughts, and grow intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. The teacher, this parent explained, had found a way to wed high expectations with tremendous support and encouragement; to both push and carry the child on an amazing learning journey.

I'll never forget when I was in 2nd grade at a public school in The Los Angeles Unified School District. One day, after seeing that I'd done a less than Picasso-esque job of completing a coloring sheet, my teacher scolded me saying, "Can't you do anything right?"

To be honest, I don't recall that being a traumatic experience at the time, but I recognize that it could've been. I also recognize that 30 years later I can hear her voice.

My heart breaks that the experience I had in 2nd grade remains the norm, while the idea that a child could come home from school and joyfully say, "At The Davis Academy I am smart," is tragically rare.

Some schools don't have mission statements. Other schools have them posted on walls and websites where they quickly become archaeological artifacts. What this parent confirmed for me is that The Davis Academy lives its mission seamlessly and with a certain kind of inevitability. Our mission challenges us to create a "nurturing and secure environment" while simultaneously dedicating ourselves to excellence in all areas. Unfortunately, most of the educational world hasn't figured out how to reconcile these two aspirations.

If I could push a button and transform the landscape of education in Atlanta and in this country so that there were more schools like Davis and more teachers like those that bless us with their talents here each and every day I would. And I haven't given up hope that such a fundamental goal of instilling in children an appreciation for their own capacity can be achieved by more schools. But in the meantime I will count myself among the thousands of individuals that feels blessed to be a part of The Davis Academy kehillah, a community dedicated to excellence and rooted in a profound love for every one of our children.