UPPER MARLBORO, MD – Prince George’s County Public Schools and ASCD, the international education leadership association, are pleased to announce that Drew-Freeman Middle School has been selected to participate in the association’s Whole Child Network of schools. Leaders from Drew-Freeman Middle School kicked off their participation with a two and a half day Whole Child Network Summer Institute at ASCD’s Alexandria, Va., headquarters on July 15–17, 2012.
Drew-Freeman Middle School is one of 10 schools from across the United States and Guam chosen to participate in the Whole Child Network. Participating schools have committed to a comprehensive school improvement process using the tenets of ASCD’s Whole Child Initiativeand its indicators (PDF).
ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative is an effort to change the conversation about education from a focus on narrowly defined academic achievement to one that promotes the development of children who are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged within a sustainable approach to education and community engagement. Through the initiative, ASCD helps educators, families, community members, and policymakers move from a vision about educating the whole child to action.
Through its participation in the network, Drew-Freeman Middle School will receive customized support in implementing a whole child approach to education an ASCD Institutional membership, and a trip for up to five team members to ASCD’s 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in Chicago, Ill. Each network school also receives a $10,000 grant for the 2012–13 school year.
“Our school is thrilled to have been selected to participate in the Whole Child Network of Schools,” said Dr. Marla M. Dean, principal of Drew-Freeman Middle School. “We are excited to work with ASCD and the Whole Child Initiative to continue professional development and implement tools and services that will ensure that each child in each classroom is healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged.”
During the recent summer institute, teams of administrators and teachers from participating schools gathered to formulate strategies and learn tactics for implementing the whole child approach to education in their schools. Elements of those plans include needs assessments; customized face-to-face trainings; and the deployment of tools, products, and services that address the various needs identified by the assessment.
The institute in Alexandria will be followed by an additional one-day, on-site professional development training at Drew-Freeman Middle School. Facilitated in partnership with ASCD’s Whole Child Programs staff, this event will introduce the whole child approach to education within the school’s community. ASCD staff will work in close consultation with school officials throughout their participation in the network to support the implementation of their school improvement plans based on the whole child tenets.
“We know that it takes collaboration, coordination, and integration to implement a whole child approach to education in a school,” said Molly McCloskey, managing director of Whole Child Programs at ASCD. “Our work with Drew-Freeman Middle School and the other members of the network supports key leaders and team members as they create and implement long-range plans that ensure each child in each classroom at their school is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.”
For more information on this topic, please contact (301) 952-6001 or communications@pgcps.org. Follow Prince George's County Public Schools on Twitter: @pgcps and @pgcpshite.
For more information about ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative, visit www.ascd.org/wholechild. For more information about ASCD contact Stephen Wakefield, ASCD communications director, 703-575-5764.