Anastasis Academy with Kelly Tenkely Transformative Principal 248

Transformative Principal

Kelly Tenkely founded Anastasis Academy in 2011.

We visited this school in September 2018, and we want to make

Anastasis is a kindergarten through 8th grade innovative, non-denominational Christian school located in Centennial Colorado. Our Reggio-Emilia, inquiry-based approach challenges students to gain a deep understanding of concepts and skills. Experiential learning allows our students to explore the world through research and play. Students collaborate in small, mixed age classes with teachers who support learning. It's no wonder that our student love coming to school every day!

• Metanoia - greek the journey of one’s mind, body and spirit.

• The way we interact is a journey.

• Tie the morning time in with what is happening in our inquiry block.

• Community time.

• Mile walk together - all students and teachers all together.

• Disregulated kids get regulated by walking together.

• 3:10 time: we meet all together in the lobby.

• Daniel Pink’s book, When.

• The last thing that happens is the thing that stands out.

• Sometimes it is a dance party.

• Parent feedback about what these two things do.

• We have parents ask, “Who did you notice being kind today?” It’s not just about academics, but about caring at a human level.

• Kids feel judged when their parents ask about school because they think their parents ask about areas they are weak, so we coach parents to ask about social

• What did you do creatively today?

• The way we are shifting education is very different from what parents experienced in school, so we need to help parents see how the landscape has changed.

• Our parents are a little more open to that because they are choosing this education.

• My kids’ friends are memorizing 50 states.

• Table topics at back to school night.

• Getting to know people on a personal level. Cultivating community between parents and teachers.

• Meeting of the minds - parent teacher conferences.

• Sending postcards to parents as just in time information.

• Pull information from handbook and put it on the postcards.

• Making our handbook fun to read.

• Most challenging is hearing parents say, “Why can’t you just call it X?”

• People who aren’t in the space every day, don’t understand everything about why you need to call it something else.

• How to change perception of what we are based on people’s experiences.

• Start comparing yourself to what you want to look like.

• “We are a magnet school if a magnet school was run by Pixar!” Connect to something they are familiar with and connect with that.

• Assessment - means to sit beside.

• We apprentice students in the art of learning.

• Traditional assessment is a teacher making a determination of a grade. It’s never about a student understanding and reflecting on their own work.

• Different things focused on social skills became part of upgrade (their report card).

• Continuum of learning - Novice -> Apprentice -> Practitioner -> Scholar -> Changemaker

• So many more skills than just doing math facts in under a minute.

• 5sigma conference - See the kids’ activities first hand, then do breakout sessions.

• How to be a transformative principal? Get into the classroom and get to know students on a personal level.

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