Unicycles in Parades

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Written by Joel Smith

This past spring, graduate Anna Williamson decided to honor Bill Mullins during his tenure at Antioch School. She and Liz Griffin put together a wonderful video collage about the many wonderful and innovative things Bill Mullins did during his tenure as teacher at Antioch School.

Quite a few Antioch School children and graduates came to honor Bill, but many of the Older Group children were not at Bill’s celebration to see it. I thought they would love the history and to see the many things that have stayed the same at Antioch School over the span of 50 years, encompassing Bill’s career. They did indeed love it and had quite a few questions about some of the things we have done in the past, especially participating in parades.

“What? You mean they got to ride unicycles in parades?”

“Absolutely, often several parades a year.”

“Why don’t we do that now?”

“Well, because we stopped having enough children who wanted to participate. It seemed like soccer and other weekend activities interfered too much. It was sad when we stopped participating in parades.”

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Educational Grit

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Written by Joel Smith

In the last few years I have seen several articles and interviews about the importance of grit in determining a child’s success later in life. Grit is in fashion at the moment as the missing ingredient for our country’s educational woes. If we only can find a way to bottle it and force feed it to every child, then America will be at the top of the world’s educational rankings and we can all rest easy.

The most recent interview I came across was on WBUR’s On Point radio show heard across the country on NPR radio stations as well as online at www.wbur.org/onpoint. The interview was with Angela Duckworth, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance.

One of the things I enjoyed about this interview was that grit, while important, wasn’t portrayed as a perfect quality and that it does have a down side. For example, when grit crosses over into stubbornness, success goes down. You still need qualities like creativity, open-mindedness, vision, social skills, intelligence, etc. to be successful. A very interesting interview that you can listen to here.

A Day at the Antioch School

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Written by Joel Smith

A Day At The Antioch School from Carter Griffin on Vimeo.

The Antioch School Movie

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Written by Matt Cline

The Antioch School from Cline Cinematography on Vimeo.

Matt Cline, from Cline Cinematography, put together this wonderful movie about The Antioch School. The movie was first shown at the 2014 Silent Auction. A big thanks goes out to Matt for his hard work at creating this movie as well as many of the photographs used on this site.

2020 Auction Gala

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Written by Joel Smith

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Auction Gala is being postponed. Michelle Wolf has graciously agreed to reschedule her performance. Date to be determined.

Comedian Michelle Wolf To Headline Antioch School Fundraiser

The Antioch School’s 2020 Auction Gala will feature a hilarious performance with Emmy nominated comedian Michelle Wolf on Saturday, March 14, 6pm, at the Foundry Theatre at Antioch College 920 Corry St., Yellow Springs.

MICHELLE WOLF has quickly become one of the most influential voices in the comedy landscape with the Village Voice calling her “the voice comedy needs right now.” She recently released her second hour-long standup special “Michelle Wolf: Joke Show” on Netflix. Previously, she made international headlines as the much buzzed-about headliner of the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner.

In 2017, Wolf debuted her first hour-long standup special, “Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady”, on HBO. The well-reviewed special tackled a wide range of topics from her surprising thoughts on feminism, the environment and more of life’s everyday absurdities. She received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special.

The gala will include both silent and live auctions, gourmet hors d’oeuvres from Current Cuisine, open wine bar, and dessert. Live auction items include a stay in Bali, Lake Tahoe and a private plane ride. The silent auction features over a hundred items, such as overnight getaways, fine dining at area restaurants, tickets to theatrical and cultural events, fine art and jewelry from local artisans, and health and wellness sessions.

Cash Donations Up to $10,000 of donations will be matched, thanks to a generous grant from the Morgan Family Foundation. Even if you are unable to attend, your gift will still be matched! We are relying on your generosity to meet the full financial need of all families.

The Antioch School is the oldest democratic school in the country and an essential Yellow Springs institution. The Gala is the school’s largest fundraiser, with proceeds supporting the scholarship fund. Tickets are $65 and can be purchased by calling the Antioch School at 937-767-7642.

For more information, contact Liz Griffin at (937) 767-7642.

Thank You to our Media Sponsor:

Purchase your tickets now as seating is limited.

COVID-19 Schooling Plan

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Written by Joel Smith

Fostering a safe learning environment for students, families, faculty and staff.

The Antioch School is committed to balancing the safety of our students, families, faculty and staff with our collective desire to have in-person school in September, if community conditions are conducive to doing that safely. With that as our goal, we have been working on our schooling plan. We have crafted this plan based on guidance from the Greene County Health Department, the Ohio Health Department, and the Center for Disease Control, and factored in family feedback to our survey, and the values that always inform the educational decisions at our school. The surveys were especially informative, and there were many topics where there was a consensus from our community – the desire for in-person school, daily temperature checks, hand-washing with safe soap, limiting of adults in the building, and maximizing the time your children spend outdoors.

The Antioch School has many advantages when it comes to maintaining a safe learning environment during the pandemic. For starters, we are a small school with small class sizes. Typical student enrollment is less than 60 students spanning Nursery (3 1/2 year olds) through the Older Group (up to 6th grade equivalent). The fewer number of students means less individuals available for contact, which means a safer environment.

Antioch School students also spend a significant amount of time outside every day. We also have outdoor classrooms that are used year round - even in winter! Outdoor learning has been an intricate part of the school since its inception. We know how to do it and do it well. Outdoor learning isn't an add-on to the curriculum because of COVID-19, it is one of the core principles of the Antioch School.

The school building itself has some advantages. Each classroom has direct access to the outside, so students can arrive/leave without ever having to go through crowded hallways. The classrooms also have tall ceilings and lots of windows - that actually open. In warmer weather it is possible to get cross ventilation throughout the school through strategic opening of those windows.

Antioch School Safety Plan for 2020-2021

Assessing Symptoms

• Everyone will need to get tested the week before school starts. Students must have a negative test result before starting the school year. This is for baseline data and some screening benefit, although it doesn’t guarantee that exposure won’t occur after that.
• Students will enter their classroom every morning through their room’s external door on the tire swing side of the building, and have their temperature checked with a no-touch thermometer by their teacher. Any adults who enter the building will have their temperature checked as well.
• If a student, faculty or staff member has any of the following symptoms: fever of 100.4° F or higher, chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, cough, or an epidemiological link to a case of COVID-19, that individual must stay home and consult your doctor about when to get tested. Once you have a negative test and are healthy, you can come back to school. If you have a known or presumed case of COVID, follow the CDC guidelines for returning. Families should use their best judgement with regard to this policy and always keep sick children home from school, even if it is not likely to be coronavirus.
• If testing is indicated by symptoms or an epidemiological link to someone with the virus, yet testing is slow to process, or unavailable, a two week isolation period will be necessary. Families must take this extra responsibility for ensuring that their child does not have coronavirus before they return to school. This is essential for maintaining the safety of the school community and helping us to remain open for in person school.
• If a student, faculty or staff member tests positive, they will immediately inform the school. Whoever is determined to have been exposed to that person will need to isolate for two weeks. This may include an entire group, groups, or even the entire school. If a group or groups need to isolate at home, online instruction will be offered during that time.
• If a member of a school family tests positive, children in that family will need to isolate for two weeks and not come to school.
• If your family travels to one of the states identified by the Governor as a high infection area, your child will need to isolate at home for two weeks, before returning to school.

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