Presents photos featuring students from the Perkins School for the Blind (Massachusetts) reprinted from "School," a book by photographer Nicholas Nixon and psychiatrist Robert Coles. Coles says Nixon's focused, confined scenes paradoxically open viewers' minds to previously unimagined or unrecognized possibilities. Photos are accompanied by…

Celebration, education, and community characterized the November 1998 People of Color Conference held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The National Association of Independent Schools is considering whether such a conference is antithetical to diversity initiatives. Renewal of participants' responsibility for creating inclusive school communities may be a…

Surveys of students in two private schools in northeastern states showed that antigay bias is pervasive (beginning with middle schoolers), involves mostly boys, arises in unstructured spaces, and is frequently overlooked by teachers. Schools considering interventions should recognize the import of sexual identity and respect, set precedents, and…

Founded in 1974 in St. Louis, Missouri, the Crossroads School has pledged to maintain "diversity." Defining the term remains a work in progress. Ethnicity is only one component. Exposure to people with varied socioeconomic backgrounds and abilities is important, as is recruiting a diverse faculty. (MLH)

Cranbrook School's Horizons-Upward Bound program, seeded by the Ford Foundation, was one private boys' school's response to challenges of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In 1965, efforts focused on three Detroit city schools. This HUB program thrived, as girls and a university partnership were later added. (MLH)

Seafarer Nainoa Thompson proved Western scientists wrong when they claimed his Pacific Island ancestors lacked the navigational skills to make their 2,500 mile trans-Pacific voyages, guided only by the stars and the sea. In the same way, schools must model different, more affiliative ways of gaining and imparting knowledge. (MLH)

All 50 exemplary private and public schools the author visited incorporated "best" educational practices: showing students how to learn; creating self-directed, independent learners; providing authentic learning experiences; increasing curriculum integration; using technology appropriately; equipping students with needed skills; and stressing…

A boy's struggle between connection and autonomy finds different expression as he grows. Most boys have a limited emotional repertoire for managing conflict, adversity, and change. Our culture supports emotional development for girls and discourages it for boys. Developing an emotional vocabulary is a first step. (MLH)

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS or "Council") supports the concept that periodic evaluation entered into voluntarily by institutions and their peers enhances the quality of the educational process and demonstrates that self-regulation of a profession is superior to outside regulation. To help institutions and…

The "Summary of Key Operating Statistics" is an informative document which includes the most recent statistics derived from the Annual Institutional Report submitted to the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) annually by accredited members. It presents data on educational outcomes and operations, enrollments, retention…

This annual report is a summary of the Council's activities during the fiscal year including the most recent audited financial report for the organization. The 2003-2004 Annual Report provides their accredited institutions and the public with an overview of their four statements of value intended to express what is important to ACICS within the…

Institutional effectiveness is "the process of articulating the mission, setting goals, and using data to form assessments in an ongoing cycle of goal setting and planning" (Grossman & Duncan, 1989). This definition encapsulates the intent of the ACICS criteria and expectations for the Institutional Effectiveness Plan (IEP) of accredited…

Suggests that the business of schooling requires teachers who face their responsibilities with a rational perspective about themselves. Provides guidelines for examining what triggers off an undesirable emotion. (RK)

Our series of brief accounts of the 17 NAIS member schools founded before 1776 ends with these stories of the two oldest schools--Roxbury Latin School in Massachusetts and the Collegiate School in New York City. (Editor/RK)

Independent schools must regain a sense of union in an underlying purpose and reaffirm their commitment to attaining excellence while resisting the goals that are simpler and easier to measure. (Author/RK)