The Lakefield Educator’s Apprenticeship Program

Nourishing our teachers within an exemplary learning community “Every year’s a LEAP year at Lakefield College School!”  It’s the expression a beaming Joe Bettencourt, Assistant Head: Academics, used last Wednesday at our program meeting as he shared the many successes of our newest initiative: the Lakefield Educator’s Apprenticeship Program (LEAP). Coming out of a very successful pilot launch in 2013/14, LEAP is well into its second year with equally strong results. In addition to strengthening and advancing the 21st century learning experience for our boarding and day students, the purpose of LEAP is to support new teachers as they begin their professional career as educators. Through a competitive process attracting some of the best teacher graduates from across Ontario, four outstanding candidates are selected each year to participate in our program. Teaching Fellows contribute fresh talent, resources and support to our greater LCS faculty team who, in turn, provide mentorship…

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What Great Boarding Schools Have in Common

Every day at LCS, we look for those things that inspire and energize us, teachers and students alike. The more we share and collaborate, the more motivated we become and the more we learn – together. We often describe the process as “learning through relationships,” a keystone to developing and strengthening habits of lifelong learning. I recently came upon an article, written by two leaders in the private education sphere, highlighting the qualities and priorities that boarding schools like LCS, “built to last,” tend to share: 25 Factors Great Boarding Schools Have in Common. In it, the authors write: “Great boarding schools persist over time because they appeal to families seeking an education of deep impact, focused not only on academic training, but also on the formation of good character, habits of lifelong learning, and active citizenship.” The article lists so many qualities that resonate with the richness of learning…

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All types are needed in boarding

I was asked today at lunch, "What type of students do you attract?" I answered, "no one particular type". The person asking wasn't asking about personality type but it got me thinking again... I have been a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner since 1993 and love that it can be applied to almost every interaction I have with people. Some of the most interesting have been observing my colleagues speak about students I know or have interviewed myself. The interaction almost always goes better when the interviewer and student share similar 'type' and have had an easy time establishing rapport. So much so, that I was inspired to offer an MBTI session at the SSATB Annual Meeting a couple of years ago to help admission professionals explore their own type to ensure that there wasn't any personality type bias in their interviewing and admission processes overall. The danger simply is…

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