Nationally Recognized Schools Attuned Professional Development Program Launches in the Triad Area
Program gives teachers the knowledge they need to help all children succeed
Winston-Salem NC June 26, 2003 - Forsyth Country Day School (FCDS) in Lewisville NC is the newest Regional Training Site for Schools Attuned, a nationally recognized professional development program that prepares educators to meet the diverse learning needs of all students in their classrooms. Both public and private school educators throughout the Southeast can attend the Schools Attuned program at Forsyth starting in July.
Schools Attuned, provided by the nonprofit All Kinds of Minds Institute, recognizes that teachers, administrators, and related service professionals are in the best position to observe and manage students with learning differences. Oprah Winfrey, while interviewing Dr. Mel Levine, the pediatrician who founded All Kinds of Minds declared, "It's REV-O-LU-TION-ARY. a new approach that is really unlocking the secret of how children learn." The program has been featured in Newsweek USA TODAY, The Los Angeles Times, Teacher Magazine Scholastic Instructor and Good Housekeeping .
"When we look at the many theories of learning offered along the educational landscape, the Schools Attuned research-based and practical approach to reaching students clearly stands out above the rest," said Hank Battle, Headmaster of Forsyth Country Day School. "We truly believe training our entire faculty, as well as other teachers throughout the region, will impact thousands of students and their families in immediate and tangible ways."
Dr. Rebecca Shore, Executive Director of the FCDS Regional Training Site, has enjoyed a distinguished 21-year career in public and private education. She teaches graduate courses in educational leadership at Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro .
"Do teachers need to be brain scientists to reach children? To best teach our students, we need to understand what's going on in their heads," said Dr. Shore. "I see this marriage of education and brain-based research in Schools Attuned as a positive, inevitable trend."
"It's incredibly important that teachers truly understand how learning works, identify where learning breakdowns occur and cause a child to struggle, and then work with that student to develop his or her strengths," said Dr. Mel Levine, M.D., who also heads up the Center for Development and Learning at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Levine will visit Forsyth Country Day School for an opening celebration on August 22.
Forsyth Country Day School (FCDS) is a co-ed college preparatory independent school for grades pre-K through 12. The school, located in the Triad region of North Carolina's Western Piedmont, will train all of its faculty in Schools Attuned over the next three years, incorporating its "From Good to Great" philosophy throughout the staff.
A Forsyth Country Day School family donated a generous $250,000 gift to establish this Regional Training Site and implement Schools Attuned for the entire faculty. Anne Taite Austin is Director of Operations for the site, and can be reached at 336-945-2134 x530.
Schools Attuned is a yearlong professional development and service delivery program that helps educators acquire the knowledge and skills, and offers a system of innovative tools, to meet the diverse learning needs of K-12 students. The program equips general classroom teachers to make the best instructional decisions to ensure that each student can find academic and social success. When implemented within schools this program enriches the way all children are educated.
Forsyth Country Day School joins seven other Schools Attuned Regional Training Sites located in Los Angeles, CA; Palo Alto, CA; Ft. Worth, TX; Olean, NY (Western New York), Grand Rapids, MI, Honolulu, HI; and Toronto, Ontario.
Beginning in 1987, Dr. Levine and his colleagues worked with over 5,000 educators across the country to develop a program for schools. Schools Attuned was launched as a year-round professional development program in 2000. As of June 30, 2003, 7,000 educators in the U.S. and Canada will have participated in the program.
All Kinds of Minds provides programs that integrate educational, scientific, and clinical expertise to help students who struggle with learning measurably improve their success in school and in life. For more information about Schools Attuned or All Kinds of Minds, visit the Institute's Web site at www.allkindsofminds.org.
