How might we continue to evolve and innovate in order to provide an excellent education that prepares students for the future?
The Institute for Innovative Teaching & Learning
How might we best identify and understand the skills, perspectives, and traits needed for students to thrive now and in their future?
How might we find ways to identify the cross-sections of our initiatives and principles throughout our program, and facilitate their efficient and practical implementation and curricular integration?
How might we create meaningful leadership and professional development opportunities that inspire collaboration as well as passion and enthusiasm for our tasks/roles as educators?
How might we catalyze faculty-led efforts to imagine, explore, and launch new ideas, programs, and innovative methods that advance the School?
Rye Country Day School launched the Institute for Innovative Teaching and Learning in 2016 to support faculty innovation and collaboration in the implementation of the School’s programs and mission. The Institute, which grew out of the School's strategic plan Bold Vision: 2020., is based on the belief that encouraging creativity and leadership amongst teachers is critical to providing an excellent education to students. From the outset, this innovation lab for faculty has sought to:
- Cultivate a deep commitment and collaborative approach to school values by tying together current and future strategic programs and priorities.
- Promote a thriving faculty by creating opportunities for faculty to lead, collaborate, and innovate while delivering the School’s mission, recognizing that in order to thrive, faculty must feel empowered and supported in taking initiative, and they must have meaningful opportunities to contribute, learn, and grow.
- Facilitate the development of and ongoing support for innovative and integrated programs, curriculum, and instruction.
- Contribute to and learn from the global dialogue on education and form partnerships with educational institutions around the world.
Faculty Fellowships
The RCDS Institute for Innovative Teaching and Learning has overseen 20 faculty-led projects since its launch in 2016. As of 2019-20, 35 RCDS faculty members have served as Institute fellows.
Each year, the School solicits proposals from faculty for projects that extend their passions and ideas beyond their individual classrooms and disciplines. The RCDS administration selects five projects for the Institute to fund and support. Institute fellows have one summer and the following school year to grow their projects from idea to implementation. The Institute then supports the integration of successful projects into the School’s program.
Note: due to COVID-19, and the need for all faculty to innovate and collaborate, RCDS will not run the fellowship program during the 2020-21 school year.
How might we engage students in a meaningful discussion about and interaction with social justice, global history, and civil disobedience?
How might we harness the power of storytelling in order to bring the entire RCDS community together through the sharing of our profound, important, and life-changing perspectives while, at the same time, keeping the experience personal and intimate?
How might we dig deeper into the curricular conversations we are already having while developing connections between and across divisions, disciplines, and with RCDS initiatives, values, and commitments?
How might we improve the school's use of the CTP5 (ERB) data?
How might we showcase the talents of our students and faculty to a wider audience?
How might our athletic and academic faculty work together to elevate student success and achievement?
How might we provide all RCDS students with significant opportunities for character education and experiential learning?
How might we capitalize on the work that the Curriculum Scope and Sequence Committee has done over the past three years and continue to roll out the Atlas Rubicon curriculum mapping tool?
How might we maintain the curricular conversations we are already having while developing deeper connections between and across divisions, disciplines, and with RCDS initiatives, values, and commitments?
How might we develop leadership skills in middle school students in order to prepare them for future leadership opportunities in the Upper School and beyond?
How might we support women in leadership roles within the RCDS Community?
How might we change the persistent student perception that math, science, and computer science are only for certain groups of people acknowledging that the current state of STEM participation at RCDS is heavily skewed toward white and Asian male students?
How might we create a leadership role for students in our Makerspace that leverages student engagement and knowledge, allows students to work as apprentices, and provides an opportunity for Upper School students to engage with Lower and Middle School students in an interdisciplinary way?
How might we improve the critical thinking and decision-making skills of our students without sacrificing the learning of content?
How might we support teachers in implementing mindfulness practices and give students the strategies to promote emotional well-being?
How might we ensure the identities of students of color are affirmed in the RCDS community?
How might we make sure that all students and families feel like Rye Country Day School is made for them?
How might we support a culture of digital responsibility among students and adults?
How might we create meaningful leadership and professional development opportunities that inspire collaboration as well as passion and enthusiasm for our tasks/roles as educators?
How might a weekly video broadcast build the Middle School community and share messages and examples of good citizenship, ethical behavior, positive decision making, service, and excellence?
How might we enhance our classroom environments and furniture for optimal learning?
