Carroll Connection

Most families find their way to Carroll because their child is struggling to read. Of course, a ton of student growth happens here in reading, language, and communication skills. But it’s important to make clear that progress is not limited to these domains.

Currently, six of Carroll’s full-time educators and nearly 25 summer counselors are also Carroll alum. Years ago, these individuals sat in some of the very same classrooms in which they now teach. Their decision to return reflects their enormous commitment to Carroll and enriches our community deeply. Recently, I sat down with four of these educators.

Summer@Carroll — our accredited summer school with afternoon enrichment opportunities — is no ordinary summer school. Since 1975, it has been integral to our very mission, and who we are as a community.

As I wrote last spring, new research exploring the neuroscience of reading has stirred the debate over how best to teach our children to read. At the forefront of the discussion is Dr. Maryanne Wolf, an internationally-known researcher, teacher, and advocate for children’s literacy, who I had the fortune of learning from as a graduate student. I recently sat down with Maryanne to get her reaction to the current dialogue around the science of reading.

In that first year of teaching at Carroll, I thought a lot about what drove their relentless optimism and persistence, neither of which are necessarily taught in teacher education programs. What leads them to work so hard for these kids? Slowly, I began to realize. The ineffable factor—the thing that really ignites learning with students—was, and is, their mindset.

Increasingly, restorative practices are being used in schools across the country as a powerful community-building tool. Not only do they offer an effective complement to traditional disciplinary measures, they help students to build important communication and relationship skills. At Carroll, we began exploring the use of restorative practices several years ago ... Dr. Renée shares how it's going and how it fits into Carroll's mission.