Farewell

Farewell from the Coalition of Essential Schools On March 10, 2017, the following letter was emailed to the Coalition of Essential Schools network. Dear CES Friends, As planned and previously announced, the Coalition of Essential Schools’ Executive Board voted in December 2016 to cease the organization’s operations. We’re sending this final email to share information about ongoing access to our resources, the ways you can continue to stay connected to the CES network to receive help and support, and expressions of our appreciation and gratitude. The CES Website Will Remain Available The CES website, including CES’s online resources–­­our journal Horace,
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Fall Forum 2016 Remarks and Speeches

We were able to capture and share a few of the millions of words that were exchanged among us at Fall Forum–far too few, but still, quite wonderful ones. Our Saturday morning speakers shared their thoughts from their particular perspectives of student, teacher, and principal. And one of CES’s founders, Nancy Faust Sizer, who was there at the very beginning and every step along the way, told her truth at our closing moments. Here are all of their remarks: → Emily Garlock, School as Family → Benadette Manning, The Truth about Teaching and Learning → Dave Lehman, A Culture of
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The Training Wheels Are Off

Nancy Faust Sizer–author, educator, CES Executive Board Member, and wife and partner of CES founder Ted Sizer–concluded Fall Forum 2016 with these remarks, which we are honored to share with you. I came down here this weekend determined to be brave. I had my “talking points” all ready. First, I planned to note that Ted was an historian: he knew that reform movements don’t last forever, especially those, like ours, which are so dependent on philanthropy. Our ideas, while sensible and popular with many in high and low places, are not locked into law. They are expensive, as innovation always
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A Culture of Caring and Justice

Dave Lehman, who was for many years the principal of Alternative Community School in Ithaca, New York (renamed Lehman Alternative Community School in Dave’s honor when he and his wife Judy, the school’s secretary, retired), joined us at Fall Forum 2016 to share his thoughts about the CES Common Principles in action, concluding a three-part keynote that also included remarks from Emily Garlock, a student at Steller Secondary School and Benadette Manning, a teacher at Fenway High School. We’re honored to share Dave’s remarks here. It began on a fall day early in the 1986-87 school year when our English and drama
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The Truth about Teaching and Learning

Benadette Manning, a math teacher at Fenway High School in Boston, joined us at Fall Forum 2016 to share examples of the power of the Common Principles, joining a three-part keynote that also included remarks from Emily Garlock, a student at Steller Secondary School and Dave Lehman, the long-serving and now retired principal of Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca, New York. We’re honored to share Benadette’s remarks here. Good Morning, my name is Michelle Obama…just kidding—I just wanted to get your attention! Good morning, my real name is Benadette Manning. I have been a teacher at Fenway High School in Boston for 15 years. I
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School as Family

Emily Garlock, a senior at Steller Secondary School in Anchorage, Alaska, joined us at Fall Forum 2016 to share her thoughts about life and learning at her school, leading off a three-part keynote that also included remarks from Benadette Manning, a teacher at Fenway High School and Dave Lehman, the long-serving and now retired principal of Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca, New York. We’re honored to share Emily’s remarks here. I am a 17-year old student Anchorage, Alaska, which is pretty far, but I wanted to come and share my story with you and why being at a school like mine is
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Fall Forum 2016 Recaps

We’re so pleased that Fall Forum 2016 participants have been writing about their experiences. If you have written a Fall Forum-connected a blog post or other thoughts, please send them on and we’ll share! → A pre-Fall Forum contribution from longtime CES friend Kathleen Cushman, “Changing High Schools in this Time of Change,” appeared in Education Week’s Learning Deeply blog. → Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School’s head Matt Underwood wrote about his experience with CES on his school’s blog. Check out “The Power of the Coalition of Essential Schools’ Common Principles.” → In “Farewell Tribute: The Influence of the Coalition of
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Thank You, and Next Steps

Dear CES Friends, The final CES Fall Forum was held this past weekend in the Providence, Rhode Island, the city where the first Fall Forum was held 28 years ago. Today I am writing to thank you for making it yet another successful gathering. We saw old friends, made new ones, learned together, and celebrated decades of good work. It does not matter whether you were in attendance or not last weekend. The success of that gathering and everything else CES has done has been due the work of school people like you. Every one of you was present, if
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Fall Forum Evaluations and Feedback

Please visit the Fall Forum 2016 evaluation form to share feedback, kudos, and suggestions for improvement with Fall Forum’s hardworking workshop and session facilitators. We designed this form for you to visit multiple times, after each workshop, session, or talk. We will share your feedback (anonymously) with facilitators and speakers. Thank you!
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Visit Youth Development Organizations!

Visit Providence’s Fabulous Youth Development Organizations! A Fall Forum Pre-Conference New Addition Thursday, December 1, 3:00 – 5:00 pm On the afternoon of Thursday, December 1, we invite Fall Forum guests to visit a few of Providence’s youth development organizations. Providence is known nationally for being home to forward-thinking community-based organizations that are partnering with our city’s young people as they pursue their passions. Please note: we are also talking with Community MusicWorks about a rehearsal open house. As soon as we have that information, we will share it. This is an open house event; feel free to drop by
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