The Unquowa School: Educating Students In A Changing World
This Patch article is sponsored by The Unquowa School.
The Unquowa School is an independent private school in Fairfield, Connecticut, offering preschool through eighth grade instruction, and has been educating children for 102 years. It was founded as a healthy school environment for children during the Spanish Influenza outbreak of January 1918.
Today, the school finds itself faced with the challenge of responding to the new coronavirus outbreak, an epidemic similar to the one that spurred its founding.
Sharon Lauer, head of school at The Unquowa School, is committed to delivering a meaningful education to students and keeping families connected in the face of social distancing.
Learn more about Lauer and the The Unquowa School in this exclusive Patch interview:
Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you're in, and how did you get started?
Lauer: Over 30 years ago, I was teaching English composition and American Lit to college students when a friend convinced me to take over her eighth grade English class at an independent school over my college spring break so that she could attend a conference. I reluctantly said yes and was immediately enamored by the ethical and academically sophisticated atmosphere. I immediately retooled my resume and had a position teaching English at an independent school by that fall. I haven’t spent a day outside of the independent school environment since and have been a school leader for the past 23 years.
Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger, what would you say?
Lauer: Educating students to develop an unafraid spirit in a changing world.
Patch: What's the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you've faced in your job?
Lauer: This very moment! Over a century after our school was founded, we now find ourselves faced with the challenge of responding to an epidemic similar to the one that spurred its founding. I have no doubt that, as we try to deliver a meaningful “distance education” to our students and to keep families connected to us and each other while we “social distance,” we can distinguish ourselves as we did over 100 years ago.
Patch: What's the most satisfying part of your job?
Lauer: Empowering teachers to do the things day in and day out that collectively nurture kids to grow up to be personally happy, professionally satisfied and ethical human beings. Nothing matters more.
Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?
Lauer: All independent schools provide a solid education; our independence lies in our delivery and community. Our school’s deep commitment to visual and performing arts as powerful methods of developing individual confidence, and the meaningful connections our parents find within our community, are certainly two defining characteristics of our school culture.
Patch: What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given when it comes to success?
Lauer: In her 1928 book, "Coming of Age in Samoa," Margaret Mead said, “Always doubt the wisdom of a decision that is made for the convenience of adults rather than the good of children." I have judged every decision I’ve ever made as an educator by Dr. Mead’s adage and have never regretted it.
Are there any new projects or endeavors you're working on that you're extra excited about?
Lauer: Yes, one architectural and one curricular. This past summer, our school gutted its locker rooms and replaced them with a large community changing space. It’s a large, pleasant gender-neutral space that provides privacy for all kids with a central community space for students and teachers. It has had a huge impact on levels of respect and comfort about body image.
A second project, Voices of Change, is a curricular project in its third year. A seventh and eighth grade visual arts project which allows students to focus on a social justice issue of deep concern to them, these conceptual art pieces are built over several months and exhibited each year in a local gallery typically showing only professional work. Students write powerful artists’ statements to accompany each piece, and a show catalogue weaves the show together. Nowhere in the gallery is there an age identifier, and I would defy any viewer to guess that this show was mounted by middle schoolers.
Patch: Do you have any events coming up in your community?
Lauer: Well, had you asked this question a month ago, I would have had a long list, including our middle school musical that every one of our students takes part in, but the recent pandemic has put our entire spring on hold. We are currently in the midst of asking ourselves, “How do we rewire all of these events as we live with distance learning?” Our school’s practice of employing backward design to find solutions has never been taken so seriously. There is a way, and we are working on the answer.
This article originally appeared on the Fairfield Patch
