By Susan Smith, Director
www.willowwind.org

Following the closing of the laboratory school at the University of Iowa in 1972, Willowwind School was created by a group of educators and parents who wanted to provide an innovative approach to education. Since then, families have been attracted by the innovative approach, small class sizes, and the sense of community created by the social curriculum of our school in Iowa City.

There is not a typical Willowwind student or family. Each is unique and brings their own interests, talents, and needs to the school. Our students come from rural and city settings and represent an economic, ethnic, and academic cross-section of the area.

Willowwind’s mission is to develop in students:

• Curiosity and a love for learning;


• Self-esteem combined with social consciousness, emotional sensitivity, and respect for others;


• The ability to think flexibly and critically, problem solve, and express oneself clearly and constructively;


• Self-discipline and the acquisition of academic skills and creative pursuits; and


• An appreciation and respect for other cultures and the natural world.

We believe these traits are an essential part of becoming informed citizens who contribute to our local and global community. Willowwind creates an environment where students are nurtured to take on responsibility, to become leaders, to value and contribute to a strong community, and to share a sense of the global community and think more broadly about how they can contribute. Our students not only have a firm grasp on the basics of education but know how to apply knowledge in analytical and productive ways.

Willowwind’s mission and curriculum can be best described using Dr. Ernest Boyer’s Basic School Framework. The Basic School Framework is built around four priorities, community, curriculum coherence, climate, and character.

Being a citizen means active participation in a community, beginning within each classroom. Our ideal class size is between 14 and 16 students. Students are encouraged and expected to participate actively. Their interests, strengths, and needs guide the instruction. Our classes are multi-age allowing peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher relationships to grow over multiple school years. Our classes are connected by a sense of purpose, learning, and celebration.

Relationships take time and practice as well as communication. We plan that practice into our daily and weekly schedule. We meet as a school group three days a week for a group discussion. Our discussions are often student-led, sometimes teacher-led, and focus on events of the day, activities, social relationships, and curriculum. Students have the opportunity to talk, listen, and share. The voice and perspective of a five-year old is as respected and honored as the voice of an eleven-year old or teacher. Group Discussion has been used as an opportunity to share family traditions and customs.

Another way that student-to-student relationships are nurtured is through partner activities. These partner groups will last throughout the school year and beyond. Partners serve a variety of functions, one of the most of important of which is an opportunity for older students to serve as mentors. Younger students often see in their partner what they can become.

At Willowwind, teachers are viewed as leaders, empowered to work in teams and serve as mentors to students. Willowwind School has a talented and creative group of teachers. Our lead teachers have over 90 years combined experience in education. We also have benefit of community and university members to teach classes in advanced literature, French, Spanish, Latin, art, and music. Teachers at Willowwind are active participants themselves in classroom learning.

Parents and families are active at Willowwind supporting their children and the school in a variety of ways and take active leadership roles on committees and the board of trustees.

Willowwind School embarked on a journey of curriculum review over a year ago. The process began with a study of curriculum standards and benchmarks. The teachers examined current curriculum and standards and to build a revised set based on the information gathered in their research. Work continues on translating the standards to units of instruction.

The curriculum theme at Willowwind this year is change. Classes are examining change across families, communities, structures and architecture, water, weather, the environment and other elements around us. Students are presented with continuous and connected strands of learning. Academic rigor is present throughout the curriculum. Science and social studies projects allow students to apply and integrate strong math and reading skills. We are accountable to our community for helping students achieve the standards and benchmarks. Our goal is to ignite in our students a passion for learning.

Climate in the Basic School framework refers to using resources to enrich student learning. We feature small class sizes and flexible learning groups. Willowwind makes use of local resources by visiting the library, the recreation center, and taking in performances at area theaters.

The fourth element of the Basic School framework is commitment to character. This begins with our care and concern of each other. Students this fall created a Willowwind Declaration of Respect, Responsibility, and Dependability. The care and concern extends to the community through opportunities such as trick-or-treating for UNICEF or learning as the middle group did about the water cycle and the work needed to create clean water.

Caring for our environment and natural resources is not limited to the classroom. Willowwind School will move to a new campus, also located in Iowa City, in June. The former Moose Lodge is being renovated for our use. The new Willowwind School will be “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) certified meaning we are focusing on being energy and environmentally aware. Willowwind expects to be the first independent school in Iowa to be certified. Willowwind School received a grant from Rockwell Collins to plan a community garden and area of natural prairie. Students harvested seeds from prairie grasses and flowers to plant at our new school.

Our growth at the new campus will include expanded instructional space and new preschool classrooms. We are currently planning the Willowwind Preschool program to serve children ages three, four, and five in Montessori-style classrooms. We anticipate our student enrollment will triple in the coming years. Our commitment is to continue to focus on the Basic School elements of community, curriculum with coherence, climate, and commitment to character as we welcome new families to the Willowwind community. Willowwind School has embarked on an exciting journey of growth and renewal.