Dear Families,
On Tuesday, researchers from the University of Delaware’s TELL Lab were on campus to lead our Lower Division students through a fun listening comprehension activity as part of research on the efficacy of speech-language screeners. The venture is part of a larger initiative to increase community partnerships at Pilot.
Obviously, research partnerships are ideal for us. They keep us close to the most current findings on education, child development, and therapeutic best practice. They also align with our desire to be a “learning organization” full of dynamic professionals, themselves lifelong students. It is our hope that the present partnership with the TELL Lab will be the first of many collaborations like it.
An entirely different kind of partnership, but just as exciting, is the one we’ve forged with the Brandywine River Museum. If you missed the information in last week’s Pilot Post, our students’ artwork is currently being exhibited at the museum and will remain there until April 25. This Saturday, from 10am to 12pm, all Pilot families are welcome to visit the student exhibit and the rest of the museum for free. We hope to see many of you there!
Next week, we also roll out a month long collaboration with the American Heart Association. Our Upper Division students will be taking part in The American Heart Challenge and our Middle and Lower Division students will be participating in the Kids Heart Challenge. Check out more details about those programs below.
Finally, a partnership much closer to home–that between the school and all of you–has me thinking about our next book club in a couple of weeks. If you haven’t picked up the book yet, we’re reading The Optimistic Child by Martin Seligman. This is a good one! Dr. Seligman developed the theory of “learned helplessness” and is the preeminent scholar behind the field of positive psychology, both of which have far-reaching applicability in the world of education for children who learn differently. If you’re a parent interested in raising resilient, happy children, then this one’s for you!
After a bit of an isolated January, here’s to the community in the month of February!
Warmly,
Alli
